
The American Apparel store in Bethesda was
recently vandalized for featuring tees in its front display that read
Legalize Gay: Repeal Prop 8 Now! Whether you believe the phrase "Legalize Gay" makes any sense (I do, but it's spurred multiple debates/heated conversations between my more literal coworkers), it's safe to say that any non-gay-hating liberal will be exasperated by this bit of news - really, more gay-bashing? COME ON, HOMOPHOBES.
Instead of backing down & removing the "controversial" shirts from their public display windows,
American Apparel has stepped up, offering free t-shirts to any organization in the DC area working for LGBT rights & marriage equality. I just so happen to be employed by such an organization, & on Wednesday, our much-anticipated box of 20 black & white "Legalize Gay" shirts - all mediums - rolled in via USPS. Thanks, American Apparel!

First, I'm happy that a medium tee fits across my chest. Because, you know, sometimes things don't. And by "sometimes," I mean, "I haven't worn a medium anything since I was 15." But more importantly, I am more stoked than a vegan in a veggie patch to be able to wear my new "Legalize Gay" shirt proudly across DC.
I would probably be more excited to wear it - & also more afraid of getting beaten up - if I were still living in Ohio, where there are more bigots & fewer loud-&-proud stores like Dupont's
Lambda Rising, which features crotch-bulging mannequins in teeny-tiny undies on display on Connecticut Avenue. Here in the District, same-sex couples are free to engage in the same nauseating public displays of affection as straight couples, which means I am able to be an equal-opportunity vomiter & eye-roller. But really: Here in my adopted city, gay is not a dirty word - a fact that makes me quite happy.

But yesterday, wearing my new shirt through Cleveland Park as I ran my errands, I watched through sunglassed eyes as passersby took note of my note of my tee's message & then either smiled or looked disdainful. Two people told me they liked my shirt (including a withered old rockstar who told me I was beautiful); one mother blatantly shot me the stink-eye as she sheparded her kids around me. And I later realized that the bank teller I'd been chatting with seemed to think I was hitting on her, which was probably a result of the toxic comibination of the shirt, my unfortunate habit of stranger-talking (inherited from my grandmother) & the shirt & the fact that she was hot. [Note: I've always been a loud ally, which sometimes means I'm mistaken for a lesbian, to which I say, "Whatevs" & "So what if I were?"]
OK, so not every gay person has it emblazoned across his or her chest at all times, I get it. But wearing my new tee yesterday was an interesting reminder of how difficult it can still be to be gay today, even in a city as LGBT-friendly as DC - there are still those close-minded enough to think that being gay is some sort of disease worth shielding children from or that attempted friendly conversation on the part of a lesbian means she's putting the moves on you. And that's just the beginning.
The only way to "legalize gay" is for citizens to speak up & make it happen, to say that we won't sit back & accept the fact that our country still treats gay, lesbian, bisexual & transgender people as second-class citizens. No civil rights movement ever succeeded without the help of allies - women needed men, black needed whites, & now, gay people need straight people. So gay or straight, do your part to make it happen:
I was going to try to end this on some witty note, but I've got nothin'. Speak up. Legalize gay. And look for me in my t-shirt.