Public Forum

40 Years after Stonewall: Gay Liberation and Socialism

Speaker Orla Gallagher

Le Cirk Bar, Dame St. (upstairs) Dublin

Tuesday 30th June @ 7.30pm

On June 28 1969 a movement emerged
following a riot after police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York. People fought back over several nights against police persecution.

The movement spread rapidly, emboldening
many to "come out of the closet" and fight against discrimination and
for equal rights. Activists at the time took it for granted that they were part
of a wider movement that fought racism and opposed the Vietnam War.

In Irish law same-sex couples are currently
afforded no civil or legal rights as they are not recognised in Irish law. Equal
rights means all citizens having the exact same rights, not two sets of rules
for two different groups. Beneath the legal reforms lies the reality of
oppression that gay people continue to face. For Marxists the struggle is about
more than legal reforms or striving merely for the rights that heterosexual
people already have – after all, the heterosexual family can be a frightening
place. Women’s oppression, the alienation of children from their parents and
the pain of physical and psychological violence are all part of “family life”.

Socialists always stand with the oppressed.
We support every movement to defend and expand human rights so we support calls
for gay marriage. But we have to also ask why marriage is the only acceptable
form of union and why more open and diverse forms of relationships are not
respected in society.

Politically, we have to ask, who benefits
from keeping sections of the population oppressed. Capitalism depends on
keeping working people divided. Racism, sexism, nationalism, homophobia- all
have the same effect. In America the Christian right supported Bush, the war on
Iraq, cuts in taxes on the rich-and they oppose equal rights for gay people.

We argue that capitalist society is the
root cause of inequality and oppression, and that a system based on
competition, profit and greed – one that therefore requires inequality and
division – can never deliver real liberation.

Even at it’s high point the celtic tiger
couldn’t provide real equality. Now that the boom is over right-wing
politicians will use moral wedge issues to deflect anger as they try to hang on
to power.

Stonewall launched a movement to bring
change that was radical and revolutionary and we believe a radical movement has
to do more than appeal to those who run the system and use homophobia to divide
us.

So come along to the meeting on the 30th
and join us in the fight for a real alternative!