Bless God, Bless Ga Ga, Bless the Gays!

“REJOICE and CELEBRATE gay communities and straight all over the world. Our voices are being heard! Loud! SCREAM LOUD AMERICANOS!” This tweet, appearing just moments after Federal Judge Vaughn Walker deemed California’s controversial Proposition 8 unconstitutional came from none other than Lady Gaga.

It’s no coincidence that one of the loudest celebrity voices who fought to repeal Proposition 8 is a Millennial. She, like many of us, came of age in an education system that stressed inclusion and tolerance, a system which has greatly shaped our personal and political ideologies. Regardless of one’s race, class, or religious belief, everyone, our elementary school teachers taught us, was special, and we should embrace them as new friends.

Even the gays.

Homosexuals have had measurable impacts on everything from the arts to media to politics to intellectual thought, but the fact that they still struggle for basic civil rights is one of the great paradoxes of our time. “They say that this country is free, and they say that this country is equal, but it is not equal!” says Gaga.

What’s up with that?

Maybe Lady Gaga is just part of the next generation of “liberal Hollywood” being, well, liberal. Maybe they don’t represent the majority of Americans, and are instead a fringe group of Leftist radicals who are so out of touch with the mainstream America that they cannot possibly be taken seriously

“I am inspired by the masses of all the young people here today. The younger generation – my generation – we are the ones coming up in the world,” Lady Gaga told the crowd of thousands at the October 2009 National March for Equality. “And we must continue to push this movement forward and close the gap. We must demand full equality for all!” Judging from the cheering of thousands of young people, it seems like their “radical” views aren’t very “radical” at all. Rather, they’re becoming mainstream.

Indeed, while celebrities might have the loudest individual voice, the voices of Millennials all over the country have been creating just as much – if not more – of a stir. “Young voters overwhelmingly support same-sex marriage,” which is why they should fight to repeal Prop 8, wrote Jon Wong, a staff reporter for University of California Irvine’s newspaper, The New University. Even Millennials from traditionally more conservative communities have spoken out against Proposition 8. Matt Livers and Ari Ballaban, students who attend Bellarmine University, a small Catholic institution, say their school “is very inclusive of LGBT people,” with many of their friends participating in the National Equality March.

Not only are we a political force due to our sheer numbers (think President Obama’s historic victory), we are also an economic force to be reckoned with. As the largest population demographic since the boomers, we have a lot of bargaining power, and companies all over the world are vying for our business.

As many of my colleagues have pointed out, our brand loyalty comes from having a personal connection with the values and ideals of the company we spend our dough at. This is why powerhouse companies like Google, Apple, and American Appeal publicly opposed Proposition 8.

“With many of our employees and customers identifying as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered, we are a company that is vocal about our support for the protection of gay rights,” says American Apparel’s website. Indeed, with the Millennials being the primary market for American Apparel, it’s only logical to appeal to both their fashion sense and politics – creating a brand image that will transcend Fashion Week.

The Millennials are also leading the movement because of their tech-savvy embrace of social media, which has played a crucial factor in the success of the movement’s grassroots organizing strategy. With the aide of sites like Facebook and Twitter, what can start as a casual brainstorming session between a few close friends can explode into a massive demonstration. And that is just what happened all over the country, with demonstrations everywhere from D.C. to Salt Lake City.

While it is true that not every Millennial believes in civil rights for gay couples, the momentum in its favor is brewing, and our generation is one of the strongest forces pushing it forward. We will not stop until our country gives us the right to legally love whomever we chose.

Our generation, defined by our tolerance, diversity and authenticity, refuses to stay locked in the closet anymore.