Taking to the streets: whether or not war is a traditional "gay issue," more and more gay people are taking an organized stand against the U.S.'s potential invasion of Iraq. (Activism).

In 1990, when President George H.W. Bush was preparing to go to war with Iraq, Mara Math marched in protest while wearing a shirt that depicted an American flag with skulls in place of its stars. In January, as President George W. Bush threatened another war with Iraq, the San Francisco-based lesbian activist donned the "old and unfortunately still relevant" T-shirt once again. This time, however, Math marched in a sea of lavender armbands, literally shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of other members of the Out Against the War Coalition, a Bay Area organization of gay people who oppose military action in Iraq.

The recent demonstrations against a possible war in Iraq have been some of the largest in decades. And notably, among the hundreds of thousands of people hitting the streets are an unprecedented number of self-identified lesbian and gay activists.

On the face of it, this is not so surprising. As Math says, "Queers have always been disproportionately represented in social justice movements." Still, the visibility of gay activists has never been so prevalent on an issue that is not specific to gay people, such as hate-crimes legislation or sodomy laws.

In 1991 the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force was the only major gay organization to take a position against the Gulf War, and it was widely criticized for doing so. Urvashi Vaid, the group's executive director at the time, has said that the decision cost the NGLTF "goodwill" as well as financial support from moderate and conservative supporters. But in the past few months dozens of national and regional gay organizations have come out against a possible war, including the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, National Center for Lesbian Rights, National Transgender Advocacy Coalition, Lavender Green Caucus, National Youth Advocacy Coalition, Pride at Work, Al-Fatiha Foundation, and the Chicago Anti-Bashing Network.

And as another measure of how much things have changed in 12 years, this time NGLTF has been castigated for not speaking out quickly and forcefully enough on the issue. Kevin Weaver, a San Francisco-based coordinator for Out Against the War, initiated a publicity campaign against the gay rights group late last year. His campaign ended December 26, when NGLTF announced it had joined Keep America Safe, an antiwar coalition of progressive groups such as the National Organization for Women and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

W. Brandon Lacy Campos, a member of the Lavender Greens who authored that group's antiwar statement, says this generational shift reflects the maturation of the gay rights movement as a whole. "When we come together as gay individuals, we do not leave behind the other aspects of our identities," he says. "I believe that LGBT organizations have a duty to speak out against injustice, particularly, but not exclusively, when LGBT communities [are affected]."

"It would have been unheard-of 30 years ago for a national LGBT organization to come out with a statement about the Vietnam War," adds Lorri Jean, the current executive director of NGLTF. "But now we are everywhere, and I think that's a good thing. [Those] who say we have no right talking about the big issues of the day are simply wrong."

Indeed, that position may be one of the few Jean shares with the conservative Log Cabin Republicans, one of the few gay organizations to have issued a statement supporting the war.

"If Iraq does not comply with U.N. resolutions, we stand behind President Bush in the war on terror, including the use of military force if necessary," said the group's executive director, Patrick Guerriero.

But some activists oppose taking an organized stand of any kind on the war. "I think gay rights organizations should focus on gay rights," says Rick Rosendall, a former president of Washington, D.C.'s Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance. "But if they think they've worked on our issues enough, then they should disband. There are already enough groups that oppose war. If they want to do that, they shouldn't pretend to be a gay rights group."

Some gay organizations concur. The national gay advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, for example, has maintained its neutrality on the war issue. "We believe such a statement [for or against war] would fall outside our specific mission, which is to ensure that gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people achieve equality in today's society," said David Smith, HRC's communications director.

Still, Jean maintains that opposing the war is in keeping with her group's mission to fight for social and economic justice, even if it's not "exclusively a gay issue." And other gay and lesbian activists go even further, saying war is of direct concern to their community and that the entire dialogue about what constitutes a gay issue is an outdated one.

"That kind of thinking is very myopic and needs to be left in the past,"

says Weaver, who became involved in antiwar activism after September 11, 2001. "What affects queer Muslims and queer Arabs is a gay issue." Tim Kingston, a bisexual who is communications associate for the human rights group Global Exchange, posits that groups that "say `We deal with gay issues' are really saying `We only deal with white gay issues.' When you don't work or are poor or not of the right color, your choices can often be unemployment or the military," he says.

"It's almost irrelevant whether it's a queer issue," Kingston adds. "It's not only inhuman and unethical [not to speak out], but it's deeply stupid. You're ignoring your own welfare."

And while some war proponents point to Saddam Hussein's actions against his own people--including gay and lesbian people--as justification for military action against Iraq, Kingston disagrees. "Does one oppression make another OK?" he asks. "I don't think so."

What no activist will deny is that gay people's participation in war demonstrations--both for and against--extend beyond Iraq and presidents with the last name Bush. In fact, as NGLTF's Jean points out, many people think the gay rights movement itself was a by-product of the late 1960s antiwar movement. This new visibility, she says, is simply another result of the changes that have taken place in society in the past 30 years.

"We were founded by political progressives who [believed in] opposing the Vietnam War, supporting feminism, and the right to choose," Jean says. "That's where our roots are, and taking such positions is just as legitimate now as it was then."

Howey's book Dress Codes: Of Three Girlhoods--My Mother's, My Father's, and Mine was published last spring.