When President George W. Bush announced his support of the gay marriage ban on February 24, 2004, something snapped in Dale Duncan and Joe Henderson, a gay couple that has been together for ten years living in Atlanta, Georgia. Both men decided it was time to do something. Henderson jokingly suggested that gays stop doing wedding-related services for a day: no hair styling, no wedding planning, no cake decorating, no bridal gowns. From that suggestion came the idea for an economic boycott. But of what? The suggestion was made that gays, lesbians, questioning, transgendered and all their allies drop out of the economy for one entire day. No purchases of any kind," says Duncan. "No cell phone use. Take a personal or vacation day off from work. If you're a gay or lesbian business-owner, close up shop for the day." That is how the idea of a national Boycott for Equality on October 8th came to be.

"This is a call for a nation-wide boycott in the traditions of Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King. We are asking all GLBT Americans and their Straight Allies to "drop out" of the United States economy for one day to demonstrate that we are vital and important members of our communities with significant economic presence. There are four elements to the boycott: withdraw from work, withdraw from your ATM, withdraw from commerce and withdraw from cell phone communication." The organizers suggest that GLBT identified people and supporters withdraw $80 from their bank accounts on Friday and hold the cash in their pockets to symbolize the symbolic average daily contribution of gay people to the economy. On Saturday, October 9, they suggested, either redeposit the money into your account, OR spend it at a local GLBT friendly business. The Boycott website says that there are an estimated 17 million GLBT citizens with a daily spending power of $1.4 billion, equivalent to $500 billion annually.

A variety of ways to participate: "If a large number of people don't use their cell phones for the day, cell phone companies will report a significant drop in usage the following day," Duncan says. "If a significant number of employees of a major company take the day off, it will be evident in that company's productivity. For people who cannot participate on the day of the boycott, there are other ways to show support. "We suggest having fundraising parties," says Duncan. "People can have cookouts and parties and take donations," to benefit organizing for the Boycott. The website includes a petition where people who are planning to participate in the boycott can sign up, which will help Duncan to know how many people plan to participate, and what the impact of their participation will be.
Criticism of the boycott came from a variety of positions: store owners said that they would have to close shop and lose profits; some saw the idea of a one-day boycott as impractical. Still others pointed out that the boycott did not address or criticize queer people's participation in unsustainable consumerist lifestyles. More about consumption
Gay and Lesbian Consumer Census | Gay Shame | Report from last year's Latino Strike in California | Publish your observations and experiences from the GLBT Boycott to Indybay