On Oct. 11, a vast crowd marched on Washington to urge Obama to support equal rights for gay citizens, yet the media was strangely silent.
The Mall on Washington D.C. was filled with protesters last Sunday, who demanded that Obama finally give equal rights to all citizens, with a lot of focus on ending the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" military policy.
The media on television was largely silent regarding the march, with almost no coverage to be seen, urging
Jon Stewart to ridicule the media for their scant coverage, and especially focusing on FOX, which flocked to the smaller Tea Party protests, but ignored this much larger one.
The Los Angeles Times managed to post a sizable online article covering the march.
Many were upset at Obama for continuing to promise, yet not deliver an end to "Don't Ask Don't Tell". Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, a gay man and Army veteran, said:
"For this president to keep throwing us out of the military is unconscionable."
Rosendahl shared with the crowd the fact that 36 states currently discriminate where housing is concerned, and that not having the right to wed loses them an accompanying 1100 rights that heterosexual marriages enjoy.
"I'm here today because I lost my son to hate," said Judy Shepard, mother of Matthew Shepard who was tortured to death in Wyoming eleven years ago for being gay. "We're all Americans," she continued. "We're all equal Americans -- gay, straight or whatever."
Among the speakers at the rally were NAACP Chairman Julian Bond, Army 1st Lt. Daniel Choi, who is a graduate of West Point, served in Iraq and is facing discharge for his sexual orientation, Lady Gaga, a glam musician, and Michael Huffington, former California Republican congressman.
Openly gay House Democrat Barney Frank thought the march was useless, saying, "The only thing they're going to be putting pressure on is the grass."
Lady Gaga replied at the march: "Today this grass is ours. We will come away today and continue to do the work in our own backyards."
