A Letter in Response to Critics of the HRC

I found several blogs recently that have been questioning (to put it politely) the validity and efforts of the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC’s) efforts in the face of the past election where constitutional amendments passed in 3 stated banning same-sex marriage.  Prop 8 in California, Amendment 2 in Florida and Amendment 102 in Arizona.  Below is an excerpt from a blog posted by Andrew Sullivan entitled; The Day The Music Died For The Human Rights Campaign.

Like so many other models of political organization, like the top-down Clinton campaign, the special interest group politics of an institution like the Human Rights Campaign is finished. They are no longer even faintly relevant to the struggle for gay equality. Markos Moulitsas:

The Human Rights Campaign … is being rendered irrelevant by current events, and with irrelevance, it will shrivel up and die on its own. … The anti-Prop 8 campaign was an exercise in frustration. What we’re seeing now … is brilliant. … These nationwide protests are a watershed moment of sorts — the moment when the gay community realized that it had the power to fight for change on its own, and didn’t require any of its so-called, self-appointed ‘leaders’ to give them permission to engage.

I’ve been dreaming of the death of this useless, fearful, money-vacuum ever since I saw the potential for marriage equality and they wouldn’t. Rex Wockner:

You don’t have to listen to the gay “leaders” who failed you anymore, you don’t have to give them any more money, you just have to figure out what you want to do next with the power that now is yours — to get what you want: Full equality.

I decided to contact the HRC, as I have been a dedicated supporter for years in order to get their response to such criticism.  Below is their reply.

Dear James,

Several bloggers have questioned the leadership of the campaign as well as organizations involved in various aspects of the campaign. A few bloggers who have posted comments criticizing the Human Rights Campaign specifically are individuals who have had a long standing anti-HRC stance. They are indeed entitled to their opinions about the organization, but we believe it is important to make sure that our community has a full accounting of the facts behind critics’ claims, especially when it comes to such an important issue as the Prop 8 campaign and HRC’s work for full marriage equality.

Below are several general questions raised that are directly or indirectly asked of HRC and our responses:

Q1. The protests that sprung up across the country were created from the grassroots and not organized by any national or state organization. Our larger institutions did little or nothing to support these protests, other than highlight them after the fact. How can our larger institutions claim to be leaders?
A1. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is proud to be our nation’s largest organization working for LGBT equality.

We are a membership-based organization that relies on a volunteer structure that has always believed that the power of our community lies in the strength of LGBT individuals and their allies throughout the country. HRC has almost three dozen volunteer-led committees across the country, each helping to engage and fight for LGBT equality in their own unique way.
HRC’S local committees seek to support HRC’s federal work at the local level, as well as working with local LGBT and allied groups to support local efforts that impact their LGBT community.

The HRC website, along with an email letter from HRC President Joe Solmonese to our entire membership, promoted the Join the Impact protests that happened last Saturday. We actively encouraged our members to attend and, in some cities, HRC’s volunteer structures helped organize the protests.

After the protests, on Monday morning HRC’s Backstory blog ran pictures and personal accounts from protests held throughout the country.

And just as we, like all supporters of Equality for All, had our resolve strengthened by seeing the tens of thousands of activists take to the streets across the country in the aftermath of the vote on Prop 8, HRC was also proud to not only see but have had a leading role in helping to organize and mobilize 44,000 Californians who volunteered on the No on Prop 8 campaign over the preceding nine months.

Q2: Why didn’t HRC and other organizations fund the campaign earlier and with more money?
A2: The simple fact remains that our movement is, and has always been, underfunded when compared to the right wing. In fact, if you look at the major right-wing organizations like the Family Research Council, the Heritage Foundation and others you will see that their annual budgets dwarf the size of HRC’s. When you add in worldwide religious denominations like the Mormon and Catholic Churches, it isn’t really a fair fight. We certainly wish this wasn’t the reality we lived in, but unfortunately it is.

That being said, the Human Rights Campaign was the second largest funder overall for the No on 8 campaign. We were one of the first organizations to put forward $100,000, as well as six field staff, early on in the signature gathering process to try and stop the amendment from reaching the ballot. When the campaign against Prop 8 was formed, HRC’s early contribution of $1 million helped provide the campaign with one-third of the cost of their first media buy. Because it was an early buy, the campaign was able to purchase premium television spots at efficient rates. When all was said and done, HRC contributed $3.4 million directly to the Equality for All campaign.

By the end of the campaign the No on Prop 8 campaign raised more money than our opponents.

Q3: Why were our leading organizations not focusing enough on California and the fight for marriage in general? Did HRC do a poor job in this campaign?
A3: HRC has been and remains in the forefront of the battle for partnership recognition and marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples, both at the national and local levels.

· HRC was involved in many of the marriage amendment battles across our country over the years;

· The Human Rights Campaign has spent millions of dollars to effectively defeat a Federal Marriage Amendment, twice;

· HRC provided the first funds for the then fledgling Massachusetts state group – MassEquality – and over several years contributed over $1 million, as well as staff, to help preserve marriage equality in that state. HRC is proud of our close partnership with MassEquality and provided support to them – while not directing them;

· In 2006, HRC was proud to have been the largest organizational donor to Arizona Together, helping them become the first group to defeat a marriage-related ban. We funded them early and like MassEquality, worked in close partnership without directing them;

· In California, HRC funded the Equality for All Coalition. We were proud to partner with them and to fund them early, be one of the leading funders throughout the campaign and to have staff on the ground donated to the campaign. However, HRC did not direct their work.

As a national organization we work hard to find the correct balance between our entire membership’s interests and giving proper deference to local leadership.

Q4: Will there be a post-mortem done on this campaign so the public can see for itself how resources were allocated and when?
A4: We could not agree more that there should be a full accounting of the way the Prop 8 campaign was waged and it is our understanding that the campaign will seek out an independent audit.

Q5: What did HRC do to help elect Barack Obama? Was it enough?
A5: HRC is proud of its strong support for Barack Obama for President. Several HRC leaders held key positions in the campaign and/or were Obama delegates to the convention. In addition, every election year HRC spends significant resources on mobilizing our members to volunteer on campaigns as well as getting out to vote. On top of this, HRC helped raise over $1.6 million directly for the Obama campaign.

HRC conducted 17 Camp Equality campaign activist trainings this year, arming over 500 campaign activists with key campaign skills and sending them to targeted campaigns throughout the country. Camp Equality locations included the swing states of CO, IN, MN, NV, NM, NC, OH, and VA.

HRC sent more than 50 full-time staff in the final week (or more, in some cases) to many states including the swing states of FL, MN, MO, NV, NH, NM, OH, PA and VA. While most of these staff members worked for congressional candidates, turning out HRC members and other progressive voters helped the Obama campaign as well.

Q6: Why did HRC not give money from its general fund, but solicited donors to contribute to the campaign? How did the Mormon church raise so much?
A6: We established the HRC California Marriage PAC to raise funds specifically for defeating Prop. 8, as required by California law. HRC solicited contributions, both small and large, specifically for the initiative, and all of the $3.4 million we raised went directly into the No on 8 campaign. State law limits our use of general funds from donations and membership dues for California political purposes. However, we did supplement the many contributions made to our California PAC with certain HRC income that we were legally permitted to use for this purpose.

HRC donated staff time to the No on 8 campaign, including 8 staff who spent significant amounts of time on the ground throughout California. Some staff were on the ground for several months. Tracking and calculation of expenses associated with Prop. 8 was done by in-house counsel and accountants, and reported in accordance with California law, which requires the disclosure of in-kind contributions of goods and services.

Note: The LDS church did not make any cash contributions to Prop 8 nor did the church directly raise money via its own PAC as HRC did. The Mormon church encouraged its members to contribute to the campaign.

Q7: How could HRC take credit for one of their donors who gave $1 million to their California fund?
A7: Almost all the money HRC raises, either for our general work or for California-specifically, comes from our donors. We are just as proud to take credit for our members who contribute $10 as we are of members who can afford much larger contributions.

Q8: Has HRC just dropped the ball on the fight for marriage equality?
A8: From our work in Vermont, helping to re-elect Governor Howard Dean in his razor-thin re-election victory shortly after signing the historic civil unions bill into law, to helping to build and maintain the group that defended historic marriage equality in Massachusetts, to providing seed money and becoming the largest organizational donor to the historic successful defeat of a marriage-related ban in Arizona to our $3.4 million contribution to the California effort, HRC is deeply proud of our strategic work to move our country forward to equality for all.

While the stripping away of marriage rights is a gut-wrenching blow, we are not down. We lost the similar California battle of Prop 22 in 2000 by 22 percentage points. Earlier this month we lost by four points. We are making progress and HRC is committed to doing all that it can to win back the right to marry in California and win that right in key states over the next several years.

One of those key states is New York. HRC spent $120,000 there this fall to help elect a fair-minded state Senate that we hope will lead to the Empire State becoming the first in our nation to enact marriage equality purely through legislative means.

We are winning, slowly, but surely. By working together, we will see victory sooner.

Respectfully,
The Human Rights Campaign

HRC - Working Hard So We Don’t Have To?

I attended an HRC reception yesterday evening for Allison Herwitt, who is a Legislative Director for the Human Rights Campaign.  She addressed several key issues including gay marriage (California’s Proposition 8 and Florida’s Amendment 2).  She spoke of the efforts, the goals and the victories and the losses that the HRC has experienced.  She spoke of the need and importance of funding.  She spoke as to how the funding was used.    She noted how still today, in the state of Florida, you can be fired for being gay.  She spoke of so many issues that affects the daily lives of the entire GLBT community. But most importantly, she spoke of the work that needs to be done.  Our rights and our futures our in our hands.  We don’t have time to be complacent.  We can not afford to be comfortable in thought that our rights will come.  We can not rely soley on the efforts of the HRC to insure our futures.  This is in our hands.  We have to work. We have to volunteer.  We have to talk to people.  Hate is caused by fear, and fear comes from the unknown.  The unknown is a product of ignorance, and ignorance is bliss.  It is our turn to educate people.  Come out to someone.  Show them that we of the GLBT community are people, who deserve the same rights as everyone else.  It’s not that hard to find someone who opposes equal rights for the GLBT community.  Take the time to get to know these people and to let them know you.  Change minds through personal education.  Small efforts build huge bridges.  It’s up to us people.  It’s our future, It’s our fight.