Students gather to rally for marriage equalityMike Fila 16 March 2006 The Towson Campus Greens, Libertarians of Towson and the Queer Student Union pooled their efforts to create a marriage equality rally in the University Union Potomac Lounge Tuesday afternoon. A laminated magenta sign emblazoned with the message “Don’t Legislate Discrimination” carried the tone and message of the two-hour long event. Junior Alex Peak, president of the Libertarians of Towson, said he wanted to sponsor a campus event focusing on gay marriage, but “wanted different opinions, so I approached the Campus Greens.” With a second group on board, Peak then approached QSU to “help bring attention to the issue,” the electronic media and film major said. As students filtered into the Potomac at 3:30 p.m. the event looked more like a gathering than a rally, with about 50 students in the room at any given time. Speaker George K. Reynolds was satisfied with the attendance. “I actually expected a much smaller crowd. I’m pleased with how many students are out today,” the coordinator for the Libertarian Speakers Bureau said. In addition to Reynolds, Towson English professor David Bergman, Equality Maryland Field Organizer Meredith Moise, and former-Chair of the Libertarian Party of Maryland Steve Boone spoke to the co-ed crowd. Mike Depew, president of the Campus Greens, and Peak also offered their perspectives on marriage equality. Heather Vickers, QSU co-president, hoped the speakers would shed more light on the issue of marriage equality. “I don’t want to be the same as everyone else, I just want to have the same rights. It’s about being able to marry who I want,” she said. Students could voice their beliefs between speakers by signing a marriage equality petition. Peak said the document will be sent to representatives in Annapolis. The three student groups also set up information tables with materials about their groups and political issues, in addition to individual fund-raising efforts staged during the event. Equality Maryland was also represented with a table, staffed by Moise. Students left their seats with applause following her speech. “Civil marriage imparts over 1,000 rights and protections onto those who marry…and with one swoop of a pen they can all disappear,” she told students, encouraging political involvement. “After you get out of here the world is going to open up,” she said, addressing the student crowd. “And you will find love, you may have already found love and you deserve to go down to the court house and express that love if you want to…this is a civil rights issue.” Currently, there have been 25 proposals introduced to state senate and house committees affecting gay marriage in Maryland according to Equality Maryland records. This article was published in The Towerlight (16 March 2006), pp. 9–10. |