Continuing the blog post on Maryland Heroes, meet Lisa Polyak and Gita Deane. Here is Lisa's speech from the recent Equality Maryland rally in Annapolis
I am Lisa Polyak, and this is my partner Gita Deane. We are among the 19 plaintiffs who are asking the Courts to determine if the Maryland Declaration of Rights -- our cherished State Constitution -- is sturdy enough to bear the weight of our families.
As I sat down to write these remarks, to try to convey what it would mean for our families to participate in civil marriage --- and what it means when we can not --- I was overcome with a tremendous feeling of inadequacy, and dread. The inadequacy has to do with my sense that there is very little that I can tell most of you about this situation that you don't already know.
You already know that Gita and I, and the 17 other plaintiffs, and many of you here in Annapolis today are in committed, loving relationships. That we want to raise our families, and care for each other and our children in the best manner that we can.
You already know that Gita and I, and the plaintiffs, and many of you here in Annapolis today have built lives and homes. We go to work and school, and church and the supermarket --- all with the simple intention of being the best people that we can be for our employers, our colleagues and our communities.
All of this, you already know.
But you must also know that in the journey to making our relationships, caring for our families, building our lives and homes, and holding our jobs --- we find that we have gone as far as we can go, done as much as we can do with the tools that we have, and the conclusion is inescapable: our families are terribly, yet needlessly, at risk.
Our plans and our promises are at risk. Our homes are at risk. Our health is
at risk. And perhaps most importantly, our children are at risk. All for want of a civil marriage license. And from that conclusion comes my sense of dread.
I had put off writing these remarks for weeks, and finally set myself to
it on Friday night, only to find I could not find words to educate or inspire.
I know that we have had an amazing glimmer of a hopeful future with the decision rendered by Judge Brooke Murdock. Her reckoning that our State Constitution was indeed sturdy enough to support our families set many of us
to cautious rejoicing for an entire weekend, until we were brought up short
by the Monday-morning actions of some public officials here in Annapolis.
How could they so completely misrepresent the essence of Judge Murdock's
ruling ?? How could they so easily dismiss the harms and the hopes of
more than 12,000 households in Maryland ?? How could they respond to a
pattern of neglect and abuse that no modern legal system should tolerate, much less enforce, with a proposal to write our families out of the State
Constitution??
You know, some in this town say they just want to 'amend' the Constitution -
like they are fixing a flat tire. But I think my younger daughter said it
better through the whistling gap where her front teeth used to be when
shesaid, "I don't want them to offend the Constitution !!."
I sat at my keyboard for most of Friday night, cried a little in frustration, had a disagreement with Gita (a small one), and then went off to soak in the shower. When I came back downstairs, I flipped on the TV to catch some of the Opening Ceremonies of the Winter Olympics. And there on myTV screen was Peter Gabriel sitting in the dark of the Olympic stadium, with the mist of his breath illuminated by the thousands of lights held by the international athletes, singing John Lennon's magnificent anthem --- Imagine.
And then I really started to cry.
I cried for myself and my lgbt sisters and brothers. I cried for our children who experience deprivation most acutely, with little use for context or pretext. I cried for those who go to sleep cold and hungry in the 3rd wealthiest State in this country. I cried for those who are still hoping and waiting for economic justice, and racial justice and environmental justice.
Where is our Imagine ???
In this beautiful crowd today I see friends from all corners of this Free
State eastern shore, western Maryland; city dwellers and farm folk. We are
black and white, Asian and Latino. We are old and young. We are children
and parents. We are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and straight. And we
are here to tell our elected leaders that the line between what is and what
ought to be is only a barrier if you imagine it to be so.
We are here today to tell our elected leaders to show our elected leaders -- that we want them to create a future where justice is not denied on the basis of any human condition. We expect better. We insist on better.
As we go forward into the halls of the Legislature, and later back to our
families and communities, let's try to remember and to act on John
Lennon's prophetic words:
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one.
Posted by David at February 23, 2006 08:05 PM
