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SPEAKER: Anywhere from half a million to a million gay and lesbians and their supporters were together in Washington this weekend. What were your thoughts as you marched with friends down the DC streets?

TIMOTHY ROSE: Well, there was no question in my mind that there were 1 million people there. I really think that this debate about what the numbers were is pretty silly. Because if you stood on the Capitol steps, as I did yesterday afternoon, it was obvious there were a million people.

The mall was absolutely flooded with people. It was incredible sight. Walking with the people from Minnesota, particularly because we had just accomplished our own civil rights bill, the strongest in the nation, we were cheered all the way down Pennsylvania Avenue. And we put in a bit of our own flare.

At one point, people started chanting, hey, hey, ho ho, homophobia has to go. Yeah, sure. You betcha.

And some people were doing, we're here, we're queer, we're fabulous. Get used to it. Oofta. So we had our own little Minnesota flare with it.

SPEAKER: The legislation that you mentioned that was passed here in Saint Paul, was that a big hot topic of conversation at the rally?

TIMOTHY ROSE: A lot of people were coming up to us saying, how did you do it? Are you willing to come and talk to us about how we can do it? The people from It's Time Minnesota, there were many, many people who were active on the It's Time Minnesota campaign, were there. They were really basking in the glory, as they should for the hard work that they have done.

And we also carried a very large banner of people who were not able to attend but were working very hard on the It's Time Minnesota campaign. And they signed the banner. So they were there with us in spirit.

SPEAKER: What other snapshots from the weekend, Timothy, remain with you today as defining moments of the rally in March?

TIMOTHY ROSE: Well, I think from my personal perspective, the one thing I remember was the USA Today had a reception for the National Lesbian Gay Journalist Association, Friday evening in their offices overlooking Washington, probably the best view of Washington in the Gannett Towers. And I just stood there thinking, you know, here's the publisher of USA Today, the managing editor of The Washington Post, folks from The New York Times, The Miami Herald, the Kalamazoo Gazette, and we're all at this really great reception.

And these people are acknowledging us and acknowledging our right to be out in the newsroom. And that was a very, very powerful experience for me. I thought, little Timmy Rose from Minneapolis, Minnesota, has really, really hit the big time.

Senator Wellstone speaking yesterday at the rally with State Senator Allan Spear and Representative Clark was just very moving. And to think that the only US senator that I'm aware of to have a reception for constituents was Senator Wellstone. He had a reception for the Minnesota contingent in his offices yesterday. And the words that he shared with us were very moving.

SPEAKER: We've heard that there were some in the crowd that were quite displeased that President Clinton didn't show up and actually address the crowd. What did you think of that?

TIMOTHY ROSE: I think it's sort of a mixed bag. I think that the man's only been in office for three months. And I think that we need to remember that he's absolutely committed to equal rights. I understand that.

At the same time, I was disappointed. And I also think presidents' schedules tend to be, they happen three or four months in advance. And I'm not sure that the proper channels were gone through to make sure that the president would be there.

And I also think it's very important to remember that at the 1963 March for civil rights, John Kennedy was not there. So I think it wasn't really so much that he was-- that he be there or not, but the fact is that we were there. And we said we're Americans from all over the country and we deserve the same basic rights as everyone else.

SPEAKER: If you're tuning in, we're talking to Timothy Rose. He's with the Gay and Lesbian Community Action Council here in the Twin Cities. And he joins us on the phone from Washington DC where he attended the big rally in March yesterday. There were fears, Timothy, that video of men in drag at the rally would only be used as ammunition by the religious right. Do you think the rally should have been toned down?

TIMOTHY ROSE: Oh, no. I think part of the strength of our movement is the great diversity that we have. And I think it's all really more in a sense of good fun.

I think the people who would try and use it against us have really shown themselves to be hate mongers. And I think they're really showing their true colors across this country. And the kind of videotape, exploitive things that I've seen that they've put out, I really think work against their cause much more than it hurts us.

SPEAKER: Tell us a little bit more about former Minneapolis City Council member Brian Coyle's contribution to this whole event.

TIMOTHY ROSE: Well, in 1990, Brian Coyle at a gay and lesbian elected and appointed officials conference, said that we really needed another march on Washington. There had been one in 1987, and he felt very strongly that there should be one in 1992.

Having known Brian personally, I also knew that Brian wanted to-- he thought he could probably live until 1992. And sadly, that was not the case. So they finally settled on 1993 at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Creating Change Conference, which was held in Minneapolis in November of 1990. And so they really do give Brian full credit for that.

And while it was very painful, actually, quite honestly, to not have him there, yesterday, he was there too. You could tell there were so many people who either were back home in Minnesota or had gone on to hopefully a better world somewhere else that were with us in spirit. You could just feel it.

SPEAKER: We also heard that Karen Thompson and Sharon Kowalski were there. Of course, for people who don't know, Karen Thompson waged quite a fight to be reunited with her partner, Sharon Kowalski, after Sharon was severely injured in a car accident. And it took almost 10 years before Ms. Thompson could gain guardianship of her partner. Both were at the rally. What was the reaction from the crowd?

TIMOTHY ROSE: They were just incredibly supportive. The Thompson-Kowalski case has really become a cause celebre for us. And also they're two extremely strong heroines.

They're facing a whole lot of battles. It's not just homophobia. They also facing ableism, how not just our communities, but the communities at large address people with varying abilities and how it's really better for them to be in their own homes, to be taken care of by people who can give them quality care in their own homes. And actually, I think that's also being proven to be economically more prudent.

SPEAKER: And a final question for you, Timothy. How big was this event for the gay rights movement?

TIMOTHY ROSE: I think it is not an overstatement to say that yesterday was a pivotal turning point for this movement in the United States. And I'm very proud that Minnesota was part of it yet again. I think we will be seeing civil rights legislation at the federal level discussed in the next five years. And Minnesota, typical being on the cutting edge, we've already done it.