MLK Day

In its 30+ year history, the gay rights movement has so far been unable to produce a leader of this caliber -- or of any caliber, unfortunately. So I kind of co-opted the leader of another cause, because his ideas seem so universal. How can the "I Have A Dream" speech not ring through your ears when you're protesting for your rights on the State House steps?

Still, it wasn't exactly a speech written for me. It was a speech for blacks and whites, when there was nary a rainbow flag in sight. At best, I was just borrowing it.

Maybe that's why I was always glad to hear when his wife, Coretta Scott King, had given another speech in support of gay marriage or talked about the similarity between the civil rights and gay rights movements. "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," she would say, quoting her husband. And his wife's words are enough to make me believe that if MLK had written his speech today, in his famous list of black and white, Jew and Gentile, Protestant and Catholic, he would have included gay and straight.

It's a good speech, and a good dream. For everyone.