A former marine sergeant who was kicked out of the military for being gay has formed his own political action committee to rally support for the passage of SB10. His group will concentrate mainly on building support in communities of color.
Marquell Smith said that being in the Marines had taught him the importance of sacrifice, and he hoped that his new PAC, Inclusive Community Project ( ICP ), would impart that relevance to members of the public who want to see same-sex marriage brought to Illinois.
At ICP's inaugural gathering Oct. 3 at the Sheraton hotel & Towers, 301 N. Water St., Smith said that when he was let go from the service under Don't Ask Don't Tell, he was offered an honorable discharge only if he promised not to fight the charges. But he refused to keep quiet about them.
"That meant I didn't get benefits. That means I can't get the GI Bill," Smith said.
DADT is now in the past, but Smith hopes that some of the same tactics and energy that brought it down can be applied to the state's marriage equality effort.
Smith earlier wrote an impassioned letter to state lawmakers asking for the right to marry, for example. Supporters of SB10 have to be prepared to make sacrifices, be it their time, energy and money, he said.
ICP is part of the Illinois Unites for Marriage coalition and will focus on mobilizing communities of color, which are "an untapped resource," according to an IPC statement that said majorities in both the Black and Latino communities support marriage equality.
State Rep. Kenneth Dunkin, chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus and a co-sponsor of SB10 in the House, said, "This is something that should have gone on a long time ago," adding that he and his colleagues are being perceived as just meeting with older white gay men.
"That is the perception, and that is a real issue in Springfield among Caucus members. … There are members of my own caucus who want to impeach me, and think that this bill is an abomination," Dunkin said. As such, supporters of the bill needed to "get active with their voice" and get the bill passed.
"This group here is only the beginning," Dunkin said.
ICP will be sponsoring busses to Springfield for a lobbying day Nov. 5. For information, visit www.inclusiveproject.org .