Message to Those Gathered Outside Supreme Court for Marriage Equality: 'Liberation Can't Wait'

WASHINGTON DC - June 26, 2015 -- Following the Supreme Court's release of its decision on Obergefell v Hodges, GetEQUAL leaders and partners are taking action this morning to call attention to the long list of other needs facing the LGBTQ community. Organizers with GetEQUAL and partner organizations are standing outside the Supreme Court dressed in black and holding a banner reading "Liberation Can't Wait" -- reminding the American public, mainstream media, and other LGBTQ organizations that we must continue to work toward liberation for all LGBTQ people.

While today is a day of celebration for some LGBTQ people, many other LGBTQ individuals are facing the very real struggles of police brutality, detention and deportation, insufficient access to healthcare, systemic racism, unsafe/unstable housing, and poverty. Marriage is just the tip of the iceberg in a bigger fight -- the fight for liberation. As mainstream LGBTQ organizations proclaim that"Love Can't Wait," GetEQUAL maintains that"Liberation Can't Wait."

"We can't let this moment distract from the very real violence that LGBTQ people, especially LGBTQ people of color and black people, are facing," said Angela Peoples, co-director of GetEQUAL."As people gather in Charleston right now to mourn the lives of those murdered by a white supremacist gunman, we know the struggle for liberation is an urgent one -- for LGBTQ people, black people and people of color, people living below the poverty line, and anyone experiencing violence and discrimination. The work of the movement is far from over."

This reminder comes on the heels of an action taken earlier this week by Jennicet Gutiérrez with Familia QTLM, Not1More, and GetEQUAL, a transgender undocumented woman, at the White House to draw attention to the violence being experienced by transgender detainees. While, for some, marriage is not just a social justice issue but also an economic justice issue, Jennicet's action reminds all of us that many LGBTQ individuals face threats, harassment, danger, and violence on a daily basis -- whether in detention centers, schools, or their own homes.

Interviews with those who took action today are available on request, and pictures of the action can be found at www.facebook.com/GetEQUAL.

GetEQUAL is a national grassroots social justice organization whose mission is to empower the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community and allies to take bold action to demand full legal and social equality, and to hold accountable those who stand in the way. For more information, go to www.getequal.org. You can also follow GetEQUAL on Facebook at www.facebook.com/getequal or on Twitter at @GetEQUAL.