Millennium March on Washington

April 30, 2000
Washington, D.C.

On April 30, I was able to participate in the Millennium March on Washington DC -- an event that ended up being one of the great experiences of my life.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the event -- it was a march from the Washington Monument to the plaza of the US Capitol of gay and lesbian people, groups, and supporters from around the world, to let the government and the US people know who we are, and that we are out in the world -- a person just like they are.

Along with the march that Sunday, there was a 10-block long "street fair" with hundreds of booths of gay and lesbian organizations and businesses as well as businesses that support us. The street fair was also a great place to mingle and meet people from all over the world.

Being involved in the LGVMA gave me a great opportunity to be in the March on Washington DC. Two main events happened with the LGVMA. The first was an informal get together at the home of our great (and soon to be ex-) president, Dr. Tim Withers. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend as we were tied up with a group of fellow Californians that made the trip. But talking to our members that did make the get-together, everybody had a great time. Thanks Tim!!!

Then EARLY Sunday morning, the parade line up began. My partner, Tom and I were totally blown away when we made it to the Washington monument field and saw the thousands of signs posted, indicating where each group was supposed to meet.

Since the event was well-organized, we were able to find our group, with the LGVMA flag flying proudly in the wind! When we got there, there was a minimal crowd, but within the hour, the area around the Washington monument was packed with people.

You name a type of group, it was probably there. Groups from gay Mormon fathers with children, to gay Montana cowboys (ye-ha!!).

Within our group it was great meeting old friends and developing new ones from all over.

The parade started shortly, and was it an experience!! Thousands and thousands of people cheering for you as a gay and lesbian veterinarian, veterinary technician, veterinary student, or veterinary spouse. Comments were yelled at us- things like "We love you, you take care of 'our children'", and "Are any of you from the St. Paul area? We want to bring our pets to you“.

Along the parade route, I was amazed by how many people we "recruited". We had several people come up and say, "I'm a veterinarian, I didn't know that you existed, where do I sign up and can I march with you?" Poor Dr Withers was kept busy taking down names and numbers. There was so much going on, that I could take up several pages writing about it.

Three groups, other than ours, that were involved in the parade stand out in my mind. The first was a group of straight boy scouts that support gay scout leaders. The second was the hundreds of PFLAG people, saying things like I love my gay son, or I support my lesbian aunt.

The third group, unfortunately, was also along the parade route -- the Reverend (and I use that term lightly) Phelps and his group of hate-mongers. I finally got to meet him, and what an evil person he is. His only belief in life is to thump the Bible and believe that every gay and lesbian person deserves to die. If you want to know what hate is, go to his web page of www.godhatesfags.com. It's interesting that the drawings on his web page look a lot like the Nazi drawings that Tom and I saw at the Holocaust museum the day before.

After the parade, all in our group had the same comment: all in his group looked like big closet cases, and if, according to him, we can never be saved, no matter what we do, then what is the purpose of them being there?

The next morning after the parade, we got the Washington Post, and the LGVMA was on the front page!! Now AVMA — what other veterinary groups have made the Post's front page lately?

For those of you who thought about going to the march, but didn't, you missed a great event. This was my first time in Washington DC, and for those of you who live there, we love your city. There is so much history to see, and the monuments and buildings -- wow!! We even found Dupont Circle (the gay area of DC) to be very friendly and fun to, unlike alot of gay areas that we have visited. Strangers would come up to us and say, "Hi where are you from? Good to have you here!!" And of course, being the national gay weekend, we WERE the majority, a nice moment for once.

There were a lot of people who boycotted the march because it wasn't political enough. I felt that the event was successful. Seeing all of the groups and people from all over the world marching as one. Seeing total strangers meet and become fast friends. Heck, even Tom and I set up a cross country date with one of our lesbian friends here in California. We struck up a conversation with a lesbian couple who we have never seen before, seated at a table next to us in a restaurant -- we had a friend, they had a friend -- perfect for each other….the date is on.

One thing that sums up the march and what it means: after the rally, we saw two older lesbians, mentally challanged, in wheelchairs that had met each other at the parade. Just the look in their eyes that they had meet someone like them — that's what the march on DC means to me.

A footnote to all of the LGVMA members. I wish that more LGVMA members would get involved in events like this. Don't use distance or time as an excuse. Jennifer and Liz drove from Michigan. Tom and I flew from California, and we all had a great time. Things like this are set up to enable veterinarians, technicians, and students to get to know each other. Get involved and have fun. And if any of the members that were at DC have photos us in the parade, I'd love to get some copies.

— Craig Callen, DVM