One of our readers, Stephen Coats, submitted the following story following the National Equality March which occurred this past Sunday in Washington, D.C.

The March was organized to promote equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender citizens. Hundreds of thousands marched by the White House and ended at the Capital, ending with a mass protest, speakers, etc.

Thanks to Stephen Coats for the following story:

Come out, come out, wherever you are. And come out we did.

This past weekend, I trekked all the way up to our nation’s capitol to be a part of the National Equality March. It was indescribably incredible. Saying there were rainbows everywhere is quite the understatement. People flocked to D.C. holding hands and carrying their children. The city was coated in Pride.

The actual march took place at noon on Sunday, syncing up with National Coming Out Day. The LGBTQ youth were asked to lead the march through the city. Cries and chants rang throughout, pausing in front of the White House with tumultuous shouts of “Yes We Can” and “Si Se Puede”. During the march, it was impossible for anyone not to here us. People were hanging out of buildings, lining the sidewalks, and climbing as high as they could to see us. In a final stretch, the march ended at the steps of the Capitol Building.

The numbers were staggering. It was reported that 200,000 supporters were actually marching, not counting those on the sidelines. Despite the crowd, I managed to be but twenty or so feet away from the stage on Capitol Hill. When I turned around, the sight was awe inspiring. As far as the eye could see, people were standing, cheering, celebrating, holding protest signs, waving flags, you name it, all in support of the LGBTQ community.

But two main issues, I felt, were emphasized this weekend: equality for all and the importance of the youth movement. Voices were raised for all groups: soldiers affected by “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, transgender people, allies, youth, Latinos, etc. Calls for equality were abound from the speakers, often inciting the Founding Fathers’ words that “all men are created equal”. And the importance of the youth movement was huge. Half a dozen speakers under the age of 20 got up to speak, inspiring the hundreds of thousands of queers in front of them.

Oh. And Lady Gaga. Who could forget her? When she got to the stage, you couldn’t help but be shoved in the back of the person in front of you.

Still, what I took away from this, what I feel we all should, is despite criticisms and pessimistic comments saying we could not pull this off, we did. And we did it big. We have made a giant push with this demonstration. And it was a grassroots effort. We here in Athens need to make our voices heard. We need to contact our representatives. To come out and be proud of who we are. To talk openly and honestly about the issues.

Echoing throughout the city, one speaker chanted, “Rights delayed are rights denied.” I couldn’t agree more. Being a part of this historic march was life changing. What started for me as a mere dream to be there, turned into a spontaneous road trip leaving Friday at midnight without any assurance of a place to stay or food to eat. Still, for those who couldn’t, it doesn’t take a nine hour trip to inspire you to change your world. You have to be your own inspiration. As Harvey Milk, a true personal hero of mine, once said, “Hope will never be silent.”

Make your voice heard. Don’t let your hope be silent. After all, that was the point of this march.