Ellen Sturtz, the woman whose now-infamous heckling of Michelle Obama at a Democratic Party fundraiser Tuesday night inspired a swift response from the first lady (plus plenty of commentary from others), has spoken out in a piece for the Washington Post.
In short: She's not sorry. Here's some of how the self-described "gray-haired, 56-year-old lesbian" explained her actions and what she hoped to accomplish.
Some have said that the first lady wasn't a proper target because she is not an elected official. However, time and again, the first lady has come to our community and asked us to "max out" on our contributions to the DNC. In fact, she had just made the same request of several hundred LGBT attendees, days after Senate Democrats had refused to include same-sex binational couples in their immigration reform bill. Despite the Democratic Party happily cashing LGBT checks, I have not seen the Obama administration “max out" on the myriad ways that the government could protect the LGBT community.
All I can say is that in that moment, I could no longer remain silent while standing in front of one of our country's most powerful political figures. I spoke up for the millions of LGBT Americans who have to make small and excruciating choices each day about the extent to which they are able to live safe and honest lives …
My hope is that the first lady sees me as just one of millions who are desperate to participate fully in the American dream — a dream she is helping to build for millions across this country. After being locked out of that dream for so long, I hope President Obama considers the desperation we all feel for equality and signs this executive order.
Read more at the Washington Post.