The So-called Dallas Principles

Who are the founders of these Principles,
On May 15-17, 2009 in Dallas, Texas twenty-four thinkers, activists, and donors gathered to discuss the immediate need for full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual transgender people in the United States.  Collectively they prepared The Dallas Principles. Click here to see the list for yourself.

1. Juan Ahonen-Jover, Ph.D.  - Miami Beach, FL
2. Ken Ahonen-Jover - Miami Beach, FL
3. John Bare - San Franciso, CA
4. Jarrett Tomás Barrios - Boston, MA
5. Dana Beyer, MD - Montgomery County, MD
6. Jeffrey H. Campagna - New York, NY
7. Mandy Carter - Durham, NC
8. Michael Coe - Washington, DC
9. Jimmy Creech - Raliegh, NC
10. Allison Duncan - San Francisco, CA
11. Michael Guest - Washington, DC
12. Joanne Herman - Boston, MA
13. Donald Hitchcock - Washington, DC
14. Lane Hudson - Washington, DC
15. Charles Merrill - Palm Springs, CA
16. Dixon Osburn, Washington, DC
17. Lisa Polyak, Baltimore, MD
18. Barbra Casbar Siperstein, Edison, NJ
19. Pam Spaulding - Durham, NC
20. Andy Szekeres - Denver, CO
21. Lisa Turner, Virginia Beach, VA
22. Jon Winkleman, New York, NY
23. Paul Yandura - Washington, DC 
24. Joe Falk- not listed on site, found on pam's houseblend.
    

So who is the 24th person,, this person isn’t listed on the site, MMM why? So what are these very so-called important Principle, one might ask they are below,
The following eight guiding principles underlie our call to action.  In order to achieve full civil rights now, we avow:

1. Full civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals must be enacted now.  Delay and excuses are no longer acceptable.
2. We will not leave any part of our community behind.
3. Separate is never equal.
4. Religious beliefs are not a basis upon which to affirm or deny civil rights.
5. The establishment and guardianship of full civil rights is a non-partisan issue.
6. Individual involvement and grassroots action are paramount to success and must be encouraged.
7. Success is measured by the civil rights we all achieve, not by words, access or money raised.
8. Those who seek our support are expected to commit to these principles.

FULL CIVIL RIGHTS GOALS
Being united by common principles and engaging in united action, we will achieve the following goals:

1. DIGNITY AND EQUALITY. Every lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender person has inherent dignity and worth, and has the right to live free of discrimination and harassment.
2. FAMILY.  Every LGBT person has the right to a family without legal barriers to immigration, civil marriage or raising children.
3. ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY.  Every LGBT person has the right to economic opportunity free from discrimination in employment, public housing, accommodation, public facilities, credit, and federally funded programs and activities.
4. EDUCATION. Every LGBT child and youth has the right to an education that is affirming, inclusive and free from bullying.
5. NATIONAL SECURITY.  Every LGBT person should have the opportunity to serve our country openly and equally in our military and foreign service.
6. CRIME.  Every LGBT person should enjoy life protected against bias crimes.
7. HEALTH CARE.  Every person should have access to affordable, high quality, and culturally competent health care without discrimination.

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First off Health Care is not a real LGBT issue since over 40.6 millions of Americans don’t have health insurance.. Care is never the same at all, those whom can pay always get the best health care in this country. All Crimes are commit on some form of bias, the poor guy steal from the rich guy, is this a hate crime? Education is again not a LGBT concern, those who are Bully have the power to stop it, all they have to do is to Stand up to the Bullier. Once the Bullier see that he can no longer bully you they often will leave the person alone. If you have the strength to come out of the closet then you have the strength to stand up to protect yourself. We all have the same Economic Opportunity, we just have to apply ourselves to achieve those opportunities. No Family unit is perfect there for this one is null and void. National Security, this one is not a LGBT solely item, there are many who would love to serve their country but are not allow to do so for many reasons. Last but not least Dignity and Equality, Please we don’t even have these things within our own community, so how can we except the str8 to give us this things as well.
Let see what others are saying about The Dallas Principles,

NGBOLG, and Focus had this to say (updated)

Granted the "Dallas 24" have only been so for about two weeks, but when you have a bunch of self anointed demigods claiming to represent the LGBT community, establishing a set of principles and goals, and a cute little widget and logo they want you and me to add to our blogs for free, the skeptic in me says, not so fast, guys.

While I do have some admiration for the idea, I find it personally amusing that they use the terms thinkers, activists and donors as if they are the only ones in the LGBT community who can accomplish something for the community at large.

So far, all I've seen from this bunch is videos posted on YouTube and blogs on Huffington Post and Air America; which is okay, actually. They're getting the word out and that's a good thing.

Queer Equality Revolution had this to say,

The "idea" of full federal equality is great, BUT -
I believe we cannot "demand" anything and get what we want without wielding some kind of POWER, and the ONLY power we have is our tax dollars.

The OutQ News Blog had this to say,

There are critics of the effort– some grousing that the group was self-selected and provided no advance notice to or access by the media.
Others say the groups membership was dominated by politicos from big coastal cities, and still others express concern that the group did not have sufficient racial diversity.
But C. Dixon Osburn –one of the 24 activists— says the group was just a group of friends trying to inspire the gay movement.

Osburn: “We don’t want to be an organization. We don’t say that we speak for the movement. We see The Dallas Principles as an invitation the entire community to adopt them, to incorporate them into their personal lives, incorporate them into their volunteerism, and by doing so, hold accountable political and appointed leaders and organizations.”

For better or worst, this group might do some good, but I fear that more damage will be done then good. When you have a group of people who think they know what is best for our community without the community input first, things often go wrong, infighting starts.

here is FOCUS youtude video on the matter,