Busy days

Life here at BTL is always busy, but no more so than every Tuesday when we send the paper to press. Between changing news – which never honors deadlines – and the occasional story-eating computer, our weeks frequently feel as though there are far more items on the to-do lists than there will ever be time to get it all done.
As goes our paper, so too go the lives of the people we cover.
The enemies of equality, for example, have never been busier. Whether it's a Kentucky school that made time to read a student's web site – and then expel him because he came out online – Michigan Nazis rallying in Lansing, or our own U.S. Pentagon gathering "intelligence" on peaceful groups protesting the military's anti-gay policy, one has to imagine that the enemies of equality are mighty tired, and their Palm Pilots mighty full.
Thankfully, the friends of equality are hardly slackers. Triangle Foundation, for example, is among a large list of statewide and national groups helping LGBT families gather on the White House lawn on April 17 for the annual Easter Egg Roll. This year, the eggs won't be the only rainbow-colored things on the lawn during the heavily covered event; look for the proud children of proud same-sex parents wearing multi-hued leis in perhaps the ultimate "We're here, we're queer – we're normal," statement.
Meanwhile, here in Michigan, same-sex parents and allies are preparing for Family Lobby Day, at which they plan to tell our representatives to get busy passing state Rep. Paul Condino's second-parent adoption bill. Because protecting children is a cause worth getting busy for.
Yes, the Nazis are rallying in Lansing – but the city of Lansing has been busily preparing to meet them with a party celebrating the city's diversity and a play to remind us that the Holocaust was all too real.
In Highland Park, the board, staff and young people of the Ruth Ellis Center are quite busy as well. Having just moved into a ten thousand square foot building and celebrated with an open house, Grace McClelland's crew is now looking for a new development director and raising funds to help even more homeless LGBTQ teens. If you haven't done so yet, you may want to consider getting busy yourself – with your checkbook, to make a donation to this most worthy cause.
The ACLU, among the busiest of our allies, may well also be in the most difficult – or, to put it mildly, the least understood – position. On page 13 Jay Kaplan, the ACLU of Michigan LGBT Project staff attorney, explains why proposed legislation that would restrict the ability of Fred Phelps' followers to protest at military funerals is a bad idea, and unconstitutional to boot. Because the moment we allow our government to busy itself with the speech of others, we invite anti-equality politicians to restrict our speech as well.
Far from a dreamy Spring fever, both the opponents and the supporters of equality seem feverish with activity. Fortunately, there are far more of us than there are of them, and more people are being "re-born" into fair-mindedness with every passing day.
As long as they remain active, we here at BTL will make sure you know all about it – and how you can be busy, too, in the cause of ensuring equality for all.