Location and Schedule:
Date: Sunday, April 11, 2010
Starting Location: L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center, 1625 N. Schrader Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028. Click here for map.
Sign-In and Distribution of Protest Signs: 9:30 a.m.
Opening Rally: 10:00 a.m. with special guest, U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer.
Followed by: One-mile march to Social Security building on 1122 Vine St., Los Angeles, CA 90038 for protest demonstration and rock-in. Click here for map.
The march is expected to begin at approximately 10:45 a.m., and the demonstration will occur from approximately 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., including a brief speaking program.
Transportation:
Complimentary parking is available for registered rally participants on a first-come, first-served basis. We encourage you to carpool or take public transportation.
Four Options for FREE Parking:
These lots are located near the starting location, the L.A Gay & Lesbian Center. Approach eastbound on Hollywood Blvd. from Highland Ave. and turn right:
1639 N. Schrader Blvd, Los Angeles 90028
1633 N. Wilcox Ave, Los Angeles 90028
These lots are located near the ending location at the Social Security building protest demonstration. Enter from Homewood Ave:
1341 Vine St, Los Angeles 90028
1313 Vine St, Los Angeles 90028
We will have a shuttle from these lots to the Opening Rally.
Public Transportation
By Bus: The Metro Local Line 217 drops you off at Hollywood and Whitley – just a block from the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center.
By Metro: The Metro Red Line stop is at Hollywood and Highland – only four blocks from the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center. Visit www.metro.net to plan your trip.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is Rock for Equality?
A: Rock for Equality is a national initiative and event to demand equal Social Security benefits for America’s same-sex couples and to secure full recognition of same-sex relationships.
Q: What will we do at the event?
A: We will start with an opening rally in front of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center’s McDonald/Wright Building in Hollywood. Then we will take to the streets with a one-mile march down Hollywood Blvd. to a protest demonstration at the Social Security Administration Building on Vine St.
There we will stage a new kind of civil rights event. Some will sit in rocking chairs; thousands more will rally beside them. Together we will line Vine St. with the first-ever Rally & Rock-In.
Although it is not required, many of us are choosing to raise money as part of our participation in this event. The funds we raise will help wage the most powerful campaign possible and fund the fight the change the law.
Q: What is the problem Rock for Equality is trying to solve?
A: The federal government requires Americans in same-sex relationships to pay into Social Security like everybody else. These people are then denied key benefits that make up a crucial part of the safety net Americans rely on for their economic well-being in their latter years, or upon becoming disabled. In tough economic times, like those gripping the country today, these benefits are all the more critical.
It’s nothing short of outrageous that, having paid into the system fairly and equally – often throughout decades of hard work – lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people are denied the same benefits that all others receive.
Please view our Fact Sheet for more detailed information.
Q: How much money are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Americans losing because of this inequity in Social Security benefits?
A: The Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law has determined that, on average, the lack of eligibility for Social Security Survivors Benefits has cost the surviving partners of same-sex couples $5,700 per year. LGBT Americans are denied other benefits as well. With more than one million Americans living in same-sex couples, and an aging generation of Baby Boomers, hundreds of thousands of taxpayers are cheated by this unfair system every day. This discrimination is estimated to have cost the LGBT community more than $2 billion* in the last decade alone.
*Estimated loss of Social Security benefits since 2000, based on research from the Williams Institute, University of California-Los Angeles School of Law.
Q: What are the effects of Social Security benefits discrimination against LGBT Americans?
A: The effects are harsh and pervasive and have both economic and social consequences. The Social Security system is a central element of our civil society. It is a beacon of our collective concern for one another and of our commitment to guarantee at least a minimum standard of living for America’s elders.
America’s LGBT seniors are being denied vital Social Security benefits afforded to others – the very benefits that can make the difference between a stable retirement and a frighteningly uncertain future.
Social Security discrimination also affects LGBT youth, who are subjected to a climate of rejection by government policies that devalue their partnerships and diminish the security of their futures. LGBT working people are required by law to pay into Social Security like everybody else; they play by the rules, but are left to worry about leaving partners and children behind to a system that frequently shortchanges them.
And it is not only LGBT people who are affected. The relatives of LGBT seniors often have to step in and shoulder extra financial burdens. Further, economic equality, or the lack of it, helps define who we are as a nation. Discrimination embedded in federal policies frays the very fabric of our society—negatively affecting all our citizens.
Q: Why fight for Social Security benefits equality? Why not fight for marriage equality?
A: We say, fight for both! We at the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force are committed to achieving for LGBT Americans equal rights and protection in all matters governed by law in all fifty states — AND ON THIS WE WILL NEVER COMPROMISE.
In the meantime, the well-being of hundreds of thousands of LGBT Americans demands an immediate, imaginative, and powerful response to this outrageous economic discrimination. Rock for Equality will demand that LGBT senior citizens and families be allowed access to the same Social Security safety net that protects the rest of America’s elders — a safety net system which they are required to pay into during a lifetime of employment. In the process of pursuing this issue, we will be highlighting an aspect of discrimination against LGBT people of which the vast majority of Americans are presently unaware and, upon becoming informed, will find reprehensible.
Q: How do we overcome Social Security benefits discrimination? What about the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)?
A: Repealing DOMA would be the preferred route to achieving the elimination of Social Security benefits discrimination. However, as recent events in Massachusetts and throughout the country make clear, achieving marriage equality may require more time and more progress. Social Security benefits equality for LGBT people could be achieved through special legislation prior to the repealing of DOMA. Further, the highlighting of the powerful and empathy-provoking stories of LGBT seniors may help pave the path to success in overcoming the whole range of discriminatory laws and practices to which LGBT Americans are subjected, including the denial of marriage rights.
Q: Do the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center and the Task Force have a record of involvement in LGBT senior services and issues?
A: Yes! The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center’s Seniors Services Department (SSD) enriches the lives of LGBT people 50 years and older. Offering nearly 50 social and cultural events and activities each month, all of them for free or low-cost, the Seniors Services Department helps those who have little connection to their family find a community. Additionally, SSD connects seniors through a wide array of programs including counseling, HIV testing, medical care, legal services, self-enrichment courses, a cyber center, and more.
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force has a decade’s long record of championing the rights of the LGBT community, including ground-breaking research on aging and public policy issues that affect our seniors. The Task Force is a major force in Washington, having forged critical partnerships with our community’s leading advocates in the White House and in Congress.
Q: How do I get involved?
A: First, commit to demonstrate by registering to attend the event. Then, ask everyone you know to do the same and join us on April 11 in L.A.!
Please consider raising money as part of your participation. You can do that online through your personal fundraising Web page. The donations you collect will help us wage the most powerful campaign possible and fund the fight to change the law. Also please sign our Declaration today, and encourage others to do the same. Finally, share the Rock for Equality videos with everyone you know.
Q: Do I have to be in Los Angeles to participate?
A: No! You can register to participate virtually in the events. Select either the L.A. or the virtual participation option when you register. You can also fundraise as part of your virtual participation in Rock for Equality by collecting donations on your personal fundraising Web page.
Q: How do I donate?
A: You can make a contribution online or mail your check, made payable to Rock for Equality, to: Rock for Equality, Post Office Box 933005, Los Angeles, CA 90093-3005.
Please note: If you are sponsoring a friend or a Senior Advocate, clearly include that person’s name on the check or on a separate piece of paper to assure your donation is properly credited.
Q: What else can I do to help end Social Security discrimination against same-sex couples?
A: Learn the facts about Social Security discrimination and host a teach-in or fundraising party. Ask your friends to register to participate at the rally, and ask your out-of-town friends to join our virtual rally. Tell your entire network of friends and family about your involvement in the fight through Facebook or Twitter. If you choose to be a fundraising rally participant, click here for tips to raise money.