Barney Frank is Wrong About the National Equality March. Here are Five Reasons Why.

Rep. Barney Frank may want to consider changing his name to Debbie Downer. Frank has become one of the most vocal critics of today's National Equality March, a gay rights demonstration in the nation's capital bringing thousands of activists around the country to rally for equal rights. For Frank, he'd rather see people stay home and work local connections on LGBT rights, instead of trying to nationalize the debate about LGBT equality.

"The only thing they're going to be putting pressure on is the grass," Frank told the AP in reference to the gay rights activists in D.C. He then challenged gay rights activists to think more like the AARP or the National Rifle Association (NRA).

But Frank misses the entire point of the National Equality March. The march certainly deserves to have its merits debated. I support it; many others do not. But to pre-label the march ineffective and cast doubt on the activism of the thousands of people in DC today is destructive, and frankly, Frank should no better (pun intended).

Here are our five reasons why Barney Frank is wrong about the National Equality March.

1. "It's been so long since the last national LGBT gathering that I wasn't even out of the closet then." That's a generic quote, but it can be attributed to thousands of people, especially younger folks, who weren't out of the closet in 2000 -- the year of the last national LGBT gathering. For these folks, there has never been a nationwide call for activism. Most of the folks that fit in this category just lived through one of the most homophobic presidencies of our time, and many want to see a sea change in gay rights now that the Bush administration has retired to Texas.

2. The point of the National Equality March is to motivate people to be active locally. Barney Frank wants people to stir change in their home communities, lobbying their own legislators on bills like the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) and "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." That's exactly what the National Equality March hopes to achieve to -- bring people together for a weekend, and then send them home to capitalize on the momentum and passion from this weekend. As National Equality March organizer Kip Williams said, "We hear Congressman Frank when he says this is about getting back into your district and doing the work there. [This march] is about building community and building a network who will go back and do that work."

3. The possible extra momentum it might add for gay marriage in D.C. While many argue that the National Equality March takes away from efforts in Maine to fight back against an anti-gay ballot initiative to repeal same-sex marriage, the fact that thousands of activists are gathering in D.C. also has some significance for marriage equality. D.C. could be the next place in the country to recognize same-sex marriage. Having thousands of activists championing marriage equality in the city can only serve to promote that cause, and keep the issue alive and well and in the front pages of the traditional media.

4. Barney Frank is thinking about politics as if this were 1989. No offense to Barney Frank, who is the longest serving LGBT politician in Congress, but his mode of thinking about the National Equality March is out-dated. This march is a vision fueled by the netroots. The bulk of the organizing for this event seemed to take place online, from Facebook to Twitter, and it has engaged a new generation of activists who aren't tuned in to the organizational politics or activism of groups like the Human Rights Campaign or the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. While those groups are critical, so too is the ability to organize young people and activists new to the cause. Join the Impact touched on this in the aftermath of Prop 8's passage, when they stepped up to organize nationwide demonstrations for equal rights, but there really is no nationwide grassroots group that can pour people out into the streets to fight for change. The National Equality March (and the continued work of Join the Impact) takes us closer to having that capability.

5. Obama deserves to hear from us. This may be the most sympathetic President we've ever had toward LGBT rights. But even in his speech last night, Obama challenged the gay rights movement not to let him forget we're out there. Obama said, "I also appreciate that many of you don’t believe that progress has come fast enough. It’s important to be honest among friends." Today's march, if anything, is that nudge to Obama that we're out there, we're watching, and if he thinks we're frustrated with the slow progress of things like "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and repealing the Defense of Marriage Act now, wait until he sees what we're like in six months or twelve months if there's still no action on these things. Barney Frank is right that we need to work our local legislators so that they hear from us. But we also can't forget that Obama needs to hear from us, too.