Last gay rights march was Dec. 5, 2010
A slightly larger gay rights march on the Capitol took place a few months ago. That rally featured a series of speeches promoting gay equality, universal health care and withdrawal from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

University of Wisconsin students and other Madison residents joined people around the country to participate in a Day of Silence to support the LGBT community, which culminated in a march and rally near the Capitol.

Madison Allies, the LGBT Campus Center, Students for a Fair Wisconsin and Gay Straight Alliance for Safe Schools hosted the rally and the march.

Spokesperson for the Madison Allies Caitlin Kuehn said in an e-mail to The Badger Herald she took the vow of silence for the day because she thinks the first step in solving any problem is to raise awareness.

“The silence is representative of the silence faced by those who experience anti-LGBTQI bullying and harassment,” Kuehn said. “As clich? as it sounds, in such a noisy world, sometimes silence is louder than words.”

After staying silent for a day, more than 150 people gathered to march up State Street to the Capitol building to hold a “break the silence” rally.

Rep. Kelda Helen Roys, D-Madison, a longtime ally of the LGBT community, led the march and spoke after the silence was broken.

She spoke about the first organized day of silence in Madison 13 years ago, and she said she had friends who at the time were afraid to come out. She said young people are starting to take the right steps toward equality.

“The most hopeful thing is… young people today get it… we’re moving in the right direction,” Roys said. “We do have a long way to go.”

Member of Madison College Pride Char Hanson also spoke at the rally. Hanson said there are many teachers and other leaders who choose to look away from harassment and allow their LGBT students to “fall through the cracks.”

Hanson added, now that the Day of Silence was over, people can no longer be silent about the problems endured by the LGBT community.

“We must continue to raise our voices, we must not be silent,” Hanson said. “Our demand to be equal and to live our lives is the law.”