This weekend, Equality Across America will march on Washington, DC, to demand one thing: equal protection under civil law. A coalition of LGBT groups and allies will culminate a weekend of workshops, prayer meetings, and lobbying, with a rally at the U.S. Capitol building. There, we will stand up and say, “All citizens deserve equal rights under civil law. Now is the time.”

While the issue of marriage equality grabs national headlines, often ignored are other inequalities that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens have to face every day. In a thousand little ways, society tells the LGBT person that he or she is not a full citizen. It’s not just policies like “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which tells certain citizens that they cannot both be who they are and also defend their country militarily, but more subtle, less institutionalized policies that undermine the rights of LGBT folk. It’s the doctor who decides that a gay man can’t donate blood. It’s the transgender person killed in DC last month whose gender identity was mislabeled by the press. It’s every time the police aren’t called because the victim is more afraid of the police than of facing the situation alone. It’s the grocery store clerk who is told that her life partner can’t get the store discount (let alone company health insurance), while her best friend’s husband can. Large and small, little incidents add up, and say, “You pay your taxes, you go to church, you donate money to good causes, but you don’t belong here.”

Equality Across America is not just calling for society to accept and include all citizens equally; we are calling for federal legislation. Piecemeal, state-by-state or town-by-town equal protection laws are progress, but they are not enough. It is not acceptable that while some companies are progressive enough to extend domestic partner benefits, those benefits could be taken away at any time. It is not right that people can lose their jobs and their safety because of their sexual orientation. It is not fair that a couple can marry in one state, move to another, and be told that their commitment is no longer valid — or, in the case of California, be told “Oop! Sorry! Your rights are subject to a vote.”

The National Equality March is not calling for “special” rights; we are calling for equal rights. “Equal rights” means everything a straight person takes for granted: being able to live and work free from harassment, having equitable healthcare, being protected from hate crimes, knowing that the system will treat you in the same manner as all other citizens. It’s a matter of fairness.

The time is now. Please join us this weekend for equality across America.

- Janaki Spickard-Keeler