>> welcome to a special edition of of the journal." a show of strength. thousands of demonstrators amass in cairo to try to force the president to resign. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- they are calling it "day of departure." it looks to be the biggest rally yet in cairo. they are not going to leave until president mubarak does. people have come from all across the country for the protest. the army is out in force as

well, but has not been intervening. the center of the protests resembles a battlefield. people have been camped out for 11 days. many have been in fierce fighting with mubarak supporters. it is not clear who would takeover is mubarak did step down. one person who had been tapped says he will not stand down, that if that is what the people want, that is what he will do. >> on the moslem day of rest, they prayed in thousands. here, as a clerics asked god to grant patients to the faithful who want to block them from achieving their goals. throughout the day, demonstrators amassed in the center of cairo with a clear message. mubarak should go and go now. the army was out to prevent the

violence that marred the past two days. the defense minister addressed the violence. >> we want mubarak to leave now. if he really leaves -- if he really loves the country, he should leave the country. >> tens of thousands filled the streets. the people want an end to the regime, shouted these women, and down it to mubarak. they are all fed up with that the status quo. he has to go and give up power. i have sat at home for years. i have a master's degree, but no job. but the president is staying put, ruling out an immediate resignation. mubarak says if he goes, the

turmoil that has rocked egypt will be even greater. tahrir square continue to be the focal point of the unrest. many demonstrators camped out here to send a signal, even if that means risking life and limb. those wounded are cared for in makeshift hospitals. some 900 people have been injured since wednesday. >> we see paillettes. many people still -- we see bullets. many people still have and bullets in their bodies. >> as dusk approached, shots rang out across central cairo. but the protesters resolve remains intact. >> for the latest, let's go live to our correspondent in the cairo. this was supposed to be the "day of departure" for mubarak, but

he is still there. the protesters are still there. how long can this last? >> there are still many gun many people there. all of them are saying that they are going to stay until mubarak is going to leave. they're also going to come again tomorrow. the mubarak camp is now very silent, but behind the scenes, i think there is lots of movement, trying to find a solution. it is not a question of if mubarak leaves. i think the question now is how he is going to leave. >> is there any sign at this point of the government giving ground soon? >> what we're seeing today is military leadership. for example, the minister of defense showed up at the square today. supposedly to inspect his troops at the square, but of course, he showed some closeness of the military leadership to the

demonstrators for the first time. there were also several high ranking military generals at the square. the secretary general of the arab league went to the square. there are all kinds of people linked to the regime making their first appearances with the demonstrators today. >> there has been less silence today than we saw yesterday. do you think that pro-government agitators' have pulled back? >> they pulled back last night after they created havoc the all day yesterday. they are still around in the alleys around the square, but i think the sheer mass of people showing up at tahrir square, they have a problem to get into direct confrontation with them. >> again and again over the past few days, we have been hearing about the violence against journalists. have you been gathering your information about what is

happening? >> is today was a very problematic day. for me, i was stopped on my way to tahrir square, and people were saying, where are you going? what are you doing? are you a journalist, and so on? i it got out by showing them my id card. today, it was a very different scene. it was no problem to walk around downtown cairo today. >> thank you. here in berlin, the german government is taking steps to increase the pressure on mubarak. they have announced a freeze on arms exports to cairo, while the foreign ministry summoned egypt's ambassador to protest the use of violence against the demonstrators. he took the unusual step of expressing his views in egypt. >> the egyptian people will govern eject. -- govern egypt.

we stand on the side of democracy. we stand on the side of human rights and democratic values. once again, it is a matter of the egyptian people who will govern egypt. >> that was the german foreign minister. in egypt has taken center stage at the eu summit in brussels. the leader of 27 countries condemned the violence in egypt and demanded the start of an orderly transition. catherine ashton is expected to travel to egypt in the coming days. leaders have been criticized for doing too little as the unrest deepens, but they also have a rash of other issues to cover. i spoke to our correspondent there. i asked him to tell us more about what was in the declaration prepared by the eu leaders. >> to be honest, it contained much of what we have heard already this week, demand for orderly transition, democratic reforms, etc.

it was a logger statement than expected, it took more detail -- a longer statement than expected. it took more detail. and it took awhile to agree on the language. is a commitment to support the democratic process in cairo once there is some kind of change, and to give technical expertise for presidential and parliamentary elections. it says that the aspirations of the egyptian citizens must be met by political reform, not repression. as you say, the high representative, the eu foreign policy chief has been mandated to go to egypt. who she will talk to, who will see here to discuss this, we do not know. but first, she must go to the munich security conference. it took some guessing, according to sources close to the meeting. there was a lot of discussion

and arguing before the wording was correct. but to be honest, it does not take us much further forward. it just calls for the democratic process that the west has been calling for about 10 days now. >> if you look at what is happening on the fringes. the eu is a bit divided over this. david cameron is criticizing the violence, but they're less gaudy is saying that mubarak is a wise man in -- but the italian president is saying that mubarak is a wise man. >> if he had his way, his statement would have said what a fine man president mubarak is. yes, what people here are saying is that it is all very well for washington to produce a statement. that is one statement. but here, despite being the foreign policy chief, she can only act as the servant of 27 european leaders. there are 27 years. they're very close, but it is a

matter of getting the wording right. this statement is a compromise. but as everyone said, except the italian president, it moves in the right direction. >> there is a lot more on the agenda in brussels today. >> exactly. one of the main issues the european leaders did agree on was to draw up an energy strategy, to be less dependent on supplies from russia. they're also going to take final measures to shore up their common currency. this comes from an initiative put forth by angela merkel and nicolas sarkozy. >> the plan, presented by france and germany, calls for what they termed a "competitiveness pact." it will aim to create a level playing field between the 17 years own members by harmonizing the retirement age and -- eurozone members by

harmonizing the retirement age and the tax policy. >> we want to enter into a competitiveness pact and demonstrate that we intend to gradually grow closer together. >> there was no sign of previous french claims that germany's massive export surplus was partly responsible for the prices. what paris gets out of the deal is a german concession to its long-held campaign for more joint, economic government. >> we will be working together. germany and france, hand in hand, to support to the europe. >> the pact and the plans for more even governments are still in the proposal stage. they will now flesh out the details. >> back to egypt now, where days of protests and violence have

brought the economy to a near standstill. some economists say it is costing businesses up to 300 million euros per day. banks are still closed, and many cash machines are empty. there are hardly any factories or shops open, and there is a new trading on the stock market for over a week. the tourism industry is all but dried up. egypt could take a long time to recover from the economic damage. crude-oil prices fell on speculation that hose dnieper bark was about to step down -- that president mubarak was about to step down. after falling below the $100 mark, it made up some of those losses. americans are concerned about energy supplies traveling via the suez canal to the west. our correspondent told us more about the week on the frankfurt

stock exchange. >> it was a nerve wracking week for traders. the worries over egypt increased from day to day. for part of the week, that contributed to a paralysis of the trading year. people were very nervous indeed. still, they said that as long as there is still an option for a peaceful resolution, there is not going to be any dramatic consequences for the financial markets. the? actually managed to gain and reach a new high -- the dax actually managed to gain and reached a new high. conditions for businesses are right when you look at the interest rates or when you looked at the corporate results. >> european stocks made some ground on friday with the ftse ending the day higher. the dax climbed to 7216.

the dow jones industrial is also up slightly, at 1275, and the hero is trading at $1.35 -- the euro is trading at $1.35. the latest labor report has only documented 36,000 new jobs. analysts were expecting a lot more. severe snowstorms hit large parts of the nation last month, affecting the transport in history -- transportation industry. for more, we spoke to our correspondent at the new york stock exchange. we asked him for his interpretation of the labor report. >> it is a pretty controversial report. people here on the floor are saying it is more of a weather than a labor report, because of the severe weather we saw in january. less people went out to look for work, and that is why we saw a drop in the unemployment rate.

on the other side, especially in construction and transportation areas, less people got hired to do to weather. that explains why fewer jobs cut created. nobody takes that report too seriously down here on the floor. >> the world's number to track maker, of all though, is back in the black. they posted fourth quarter earnings of two under and 26 million euros. that is still -- 226 million euros. that is still below expectations. abothey were hoping for double- digit growth in the market. the world's largest maker of luxury groboots beat forecasts for 2010 and says that the

outcome remains excellent. the increase was mainly driven by the chinese market where luxury goods are in high demand. lbmh owns several of the top labels as well as couture fashion houses and leather wear. >> algerian security officials say an italian tourist has been kidnapped by a group linked to al-qaeda. the 56-year-old woman and her algerian died and cook were conducted in the desert south of this town on wednesday night. algerian security forces have launched an operation to find the woman. you are watching a special edition of "the journal." we will be right back after a short break.

>> welcome back. hundreds of thousands of protesters are gathered in cairo this friday in the biggest push yet to force mubarak from office. opposition leaders have called on people across the country to travel to the capital to join the rally. the international pressure on the president is also reaching a critical stage. we are hearing stronger words from both the u.s. and the eu, encouraging mubarak to given to a transition of power now. so far, although the army has a strong presence in the square, they have not intervened in the protest. the opposition leader has urged mubarak to hear the voice of the people and leave. the unrest in egypt is also

dominating the annual munich security office. the defense minister urged egypt to except democracy. about 350 guests have been the invited to discuss security issues during the three-day conference. they will discuss the war in afghanistan, internet security, and how budgetary pressures will affect spending. the conference runs through sunday. our chief political correspondent is in munich. we just talked about the defense minister opening a conference. what was his message? >> his message, and it was echoed just now by the foreign minister, both of them stressed that this conference in general and europe in particular need to send a very strong signal of

support for democratic transition in egypt. particularly, the foreign minister just made it clear that that should not involve dictating what government ought to follow mubarak. he said it must be very clear that that is the sovereign decision of the egyptian people, but that europe needs to speak out in support of democracy. both he and the defense minister said that europe had a real contribution to make here. conference organizers said that the european experience with the transition to democracy after the fall of the berlin wall in 1989 gives it very special expertise in this area that it could use in consulting with egypt. both men stressed that it is important that everybody make clear that israel's existence and peace with israel are to be respected, but they're also open for movement on middle east peace with the israelis and

palestinians. the middle east quartet will be meeting here, that is the eu, the middle east, europe -- the u.s. and russia. there is a lot of stress here on a need for a clear signal of support for the demonstrators in egypt. >> would you say that these events are a total game changer when it comes to middle east security policy? >> certainly, that aspect was brought up by the nato secretary general. he said in his opening remarks the conference that what we are witnessing is nothing less than a tectonic shift with very strong implications for global security. he said that this moment in time, a moment in which we are seeing a change in the world order, is not a good moment to be cutting defense spending. his aim there was particularly to speak to european countries. he pointed out that their

percentage of the nato budget has fallen from about half to just a quarter. the u.s. is now bearing three-quarters of all nato spending, and that is not the right division of labor, with all respect for europe's ability to wield soft power on issues like building democratic issues, it is also very important that europe be able to show our power in the security arena. >> are we likely to see some sort of statement come out of this conference towards egypt? >> i think people here, you can see some of them behind me, the conference is on a break right now, but certainly, egypt is the dominant talk both in the corridors and in the meeting places. i think people here are as surprised and overwhelmed by this as everybody else. they are trying to come up with the sense of where this could go and how they can be supportive, but i do not think there will be

any clear statement of -- involving a solution, because there is a sense that this respect for egyptian sovereignty is absolutely preeminent. >> thank you. the former u.s. ambassador to germany spoke to us earlier today. we asked him whether the u.s. has lost credibility of grit policy toward egypt. >> know i do not think we have a credibility problem. i think the united states has actually been pushing egypt quite hard to loosen up and to allow democratic development. i think what we all have, the united states and also europe, is more of a strategic problem. that is, how not to react to these pressures which of come? how best to ensure it that there is a transfer in a into a more democratic government? what to do about mubarak? all of these things are not easy to decide. what may seem to be like in decision is actually, probably,

a very worthwhile sense of stability to see what is the best direction to go whein. >> as we just heard, the new challenges presented by the unrest in the arab world are going to be on the agenda at the munich security conference. a collapse of the government in egypt would also have a serious effect on countries in that region. our next report looks at what kind of influence egypt has had in the area, and what could happen if that influence was gone. >> for decades, egypt was regarded as an actor of stability in an otherwise solid i'll region. -- otherwise volatile region. it was ua force against islamic fundamentalism. it is not the only political heavyweight in the region.

oil-rich saudi arabia has gained more influence over the years. the gulf states have become more prosperous things to their oil revenues, and that has given them more confidence on the international stage. >> countries such as saudi arabia are very important strategically for the u.s. egypt and now has a lot of competitors for influence, and it is a sleeping, stagnating giant. if egypt fade away in the coming years as it goes through a transitional time, other countries, especially saudi arabia, will see their influence increase further. >> iran is another regional giant looking to expand its clout in the middle east. tehran is keeping a close watch on developments in egypt. official media have hailed the event as an islamic uprising against the secular, pro-western regime, but the islamic republic must also know that if real democracy is installed in

egypt, pro-democracy protesters could soon return to the street so iran too. but perhaps the country with the most to fear from the regime change in egypt is its neighbor israel. the israelis already have two militant groups on their borders, hamas is in casa and hezbollah in lebanon. he tipped was able to make peace with israel in 1910 -- egypt was able to make peace with israel in 1979, but that could fall. >> if there is a domino effect, you can imagine the enormous security problems that would pose for israel. besides the state powers in the region, we also have burgeoning non- state players in these countries. >> however events play out in egypt, a popular political process is a foot in the arab world that could bring fundamental change to the arab world.

>> you up and watching a special edition of "to the journal." please stay with us.

>> hinojosa: as the first latino elected to the massachusetts state legislature, he fought for affordable housing, public safety, and environmental justice. today he's taking on the media and its protrayal of gay america. president of the gay and lesbian alliance against defamation jarrett barrios. i'm maria hinojosa. this is one on one. so jarrett barrios, welcome to our show. >> thank you for having me. >> hinojosa: you are the youngest ever and the first latino to head the gay and lesbian alliance against defamation, glaad. >> glaad. >> hinojosa: glaad.

now, a lot of people might know what glaad is, but there might be a lot of people who also don't know. so what is it that glaad does? >> we are an organization that works for the full equality of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender people. we believe in all of us, including gay folks, being accepted, respected, and valued, but understand that there's a lot of discrimination, there's a lot of homophobia out there in politics, but also in culture, in life. and to really move ahead towards full equality, the belief of glaad is that we have to impact the culture, the culture change, change people's hearts and minds. so what we don't do... you won't find us in washington, dc lobbying on a bill. we don't have lawyers in court. what we do do is we work through the media to get the stories of lesbians and gay people out, gay and bisexual and transgender people out, so that the public can see. and we believe with the public seeing the stories, understanding the storylines,

the words, the images, people will conclude that gay folks should be respected and accepted like everybody else-- that we advance our equality by telling our stories. >> well, do you feel that right now in america that... i mean, where are we? in a lot of ways, people feel like everywhere you turn, in your neighborhood, wherever you may be living, there's going to be a gay couple. or maybe a gay single person. you know, you turn on the television, and you see, you know, regular looking folks who are gay. but then you also hear, or maybe you don't hear enough about, the hate attacks, the kind of threat of violence that gay folks live under. so where are we, really, on the spectrum? >> we have... glaad studies justice questions, or where is america going? and we have something called the pulse of equality poll. and we've seen that in the last five years america has... about 20% of americans, one in five voters, have become more

accepting of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. and by accepting i mean some of them may have been very, very anti gay, and now are more fair minded on it, but maybe, you know, not necessarily supportive of equal marriage protections for gay people. but some of them might have been somewhere in the middle, and have come even closer. and the reasons for this are many. the most impactful way to help america understand, as you say, is knowing somebody. you sort of imply, "well, everybody knows somebody." actually, not everybody. about 75% of americans know somebody who's gay or lesbian, bisexual or transgender. however, knowing them, very impactful, but isn't as impactful if the folks who are gay don't actually talk about it. and so being out... being out, and in particular being out and talking about the ways in which you're less equal. about 70% of america thinks it's illegal to fire somebody in the workplace because they're gay, but it's only illegal in 21

states. 29 states you can get fired. if america would understand that... >> hinojosa: so let's just be clear, just so we can make it clear. so that means that, for example, i'm your boss, and in 29 states, i suddenly say, "you know what? i don't like the fact that jarrett made a nice compliment to a fellow coworker who's a man. therefore i can fire jarrett"? >> well, that can be sexual harassment, so let's be clear about that. >> hinojosa: okay. but i don't like the fact that... >> you don't like the fact that i've got a picture of a guy on my desk who happens to be the person i'm in a committed lifetime relationship with, you can say, "i don't like the fact that that's who your husband is. i'm firing you." >> hinojosa: and it's legal? >> and it's legal in 29 states. in 29 states. now, most americans think it's illegal. so when i talk about the importance of people telling their stories, people don't like that. americans are fair minded. they don't like the fact that that's okay. but if they don't know that it's illegal, they don't get moved to support this type of equality. >> hinojosa: well, so what is the point at which... because

you mentioned gay marriage as kind of one of the issues. so are you saying that in order for us as americans to be completely kind of gay and lesbian accepting that everybody has to be on the same page in terms of same sex marriage? >> i don't think americans are on the same page about anything. we're all over the map. but on the issue of providing the same basic protections to gay couples that heterosexual couples have, at the end of the day marriage is about love and respect and commitment. >> but it's also about a lot of paperwork and legal issues and, you know... >> precisely. and that's where the protection piece comes in. it's how people take care of one another. and that's why the legal rights are important. and so when we talk about marriage, at least from my perspective, it's really important to tell the story of why it is folks want to get married. it isn't about some abstract concept.

it's because people who have decided to spend the rest of their lives together, often when there are children involved, need those protections to take care of each other. to honor one another, but also respect and protect each other. >> hinojosa: so do we have any folks... let's say in the media. is there a couple, a gay married couple that we can kind of look and say, "oh, look, they're the ozzie and harriet of gay america," or that just does not exist? >> well, there are openly gay and lesbian people, and this is actually a very important point, and part of glaad's work. we want to promote images of folks who are gay, tell their stories, whether through entertainment, like the television show glee, in that narrative, very important. >> hinojosa: let's stop with glee for a second. from your perspective, as somebody who's watching the media and its treatment of gay and lesbian youth, what's so unique about what glee is doing? >> well, i got into a debate with a newsweek reporter recently about this. he thought that the show was bad

for a gay folks. and he thought because the young man, the boy who likes to sing sometimes, you know, female roles, right, he's a very talented singer, that that was a bad stereotype. i look at that, and i think the interplay between the boy, who has come out as gay on the show... and it started out he hadn't told his family or anybody, and now he has. and the way in which the father kind of deals with it. at first, you know, he was sort of trying to push his son into sports and things, and over time father accepts him. what a wonderful thing for america to see. >> hinojosa: especially because the dad is kind of like a working class dad. i think he's, like, a mechanic or something. >> exactly. >> hinojosa: and you don't expect the dad to say, "son, it's okay, i know you're gay." >> and what is the lesson for america? that families that love each other, that stick together, this is the way you embrace your gay children.

and there are many gay kids who are not. the rate of suicide among gay teenagers is four times the rate of heterosexual teenagers. >> hinojosa: which again... >> very important. and that's about self esteem and acceptance. >> hinojosa: so how can... >> what parents do. >> hinojosa: right. but how can we have these two things going on at the same time, where at the same time you've got ellen degeneres, you know, who's got a show, who's a huge star. >> now a judge on american idol. >> hinojosa: and now a judge on american idol. but you still have got teenagers in america feeling so lonely that they're going to commit suicide because they realize that they're gay, that they're a gay teenager in america. >> we're on a road. we're on a road, maria. the road is towards... it's sort of like that arc that martin luther king mentioned in his speeches, an arc that bends towards justice. justice in this case for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people, that comes out of people understanding who we are, that we have our own aspirations for ourselves and our children. my two sons, i dream about about them going to college, and what happens after college, and them living independently. but there are also challenges,

barriers that we face, right now, quite particularly, the discrimination that is so rampant, and the violence-- bullying in schools, the kind of violence that children face day to day, particularly middle school and high school. what children face, which is what causes these self esteem issues, not just parents, but what peers experience... sort of force them to experience, really, really important issues to address. but we are in a place where it's being talked about. there are role models. there are openly gay people out in the media, in entertainment, in sports, in politics. and those public people living their lives are role models not just for those kids, but for all people. there was a television show that's called so you think you can dance. back in, i guess it was probably the summer... may of '09, they had a dance... a couple... and this is... couples dance and complete, kind of like american idol, what have you. nigel lithgoe, the judge, said something to... the couple

happened to be two men. the first time they had two men dancing. and they were actually not a gay couple. one was a gay man, one was his straight best friend. and after the show, nigel sort of lectured them-- "you two should be dancing with women." and the message that sent to all the gay kids out there was "it's not okay to be who you are." the message it sent to all the straight kids out there was, "you know, these kids who you might know who you think are gay, it's okay to pick on them. it's okay to make fun of them. look what we just saw on television." >> hinojosa: but i'm going to stop you, because somebody might be watching and say, "okay, well, look, jarrett, i'm completely... i support gay rights. but you know, if i'm seeing a couples dance, let's say a waltz, and somebody says, 'you know, i kind of want to see a man dancing with a woman'..." and then suddenly this person is saying, "wow, the fact that i want to see a man dancing with a woman doing a waltz makes me... there's a problem with that?" >> no, it's about the messages that come out of it, the media

messages. and the way that was communicated sent a message that if you happen to be gay, or if you happen to be in a position where you're dancing, that that's not as acceptable, it's not as okay. kids who are coming out and see that take a message from that that isn't accepting. you have your antennae out when you're a young kind and you haven't told your parents, you haven't told your friends, you're living by yourself, wherever you are, boise, idaho, nashville, tennessee, tampa, florida, where i'm from, not new york city, not los angeles, but places where you don't have the kind of support in your community, all you've got is yourself, and your ability to decide whether or not you've got a life in front of you, whether there's a place for you to live where you're going to be accepted, where you can be respected, not discriminated against, safe, safe, physically and emotionally safe, you take cues from everywhere. and so these messages that you get from the media are very, very important. this is why glaad is something of a media watchdog. we want to make sure that the messages aren't exclusionary,

that they embrace all of us. and so if you're sending a message about being gay or not, that it be one that is a positive one, and an inclusive one. sure, it's okay to dance in a straight couple, but there's a way to express that which doesn't say... doesn't have to say that, you know, if you're gay, you stink, right? >> hinojosa: interesting. >> and it's those gay kids that we're so concerned about. and young people are in particular vulnerable, because they don't have networks of support that adult folks who've come out that have their professional relationship, that have their families, do, particulary adults in big cities. >> hinojosa: so let's take on an issue that when you were coming out as a young man was not necessarily front and center in terms of the community, the gay community, and that's transgendered folks. i know that within the community there's been a lot of discussion about this. and certainly america's kind of trying to figure out, what are we doing with this? and we'll go back to popular culture for a minute. a show called america's best dance crew on mtv.

>> great. my kids watch it. >> hinojosa: i know this because of my kids, i'm watching with my kids, which is good, right? because it gives us a prism into what's going on in terms of popular culture for young people. >> it's good to watch television with your kids, maria. >> hinojosa: it's a good thing to watch television. >> good thing to know what they're watching. >> hinojosa: though i tell them all the time, "it's not really reality, sweeties, it's not really reality." but on this show, you had a transgendered kid performing in a... >> a woman, a young transgender woman, yes. >> hinojosa: so he was a... what's the... >> she. she. >> hinojosa: she. but she used to be a he. >> hinojosa: yes. >> and we don't know in what process, then... the reason why i'm bringing this up is because again, there might be really a lot of really well-meaning folks who just say, "i don't know what to do with this." >> what i can tell you is this. that transgender woman who performed... young woman who performed with her openly gay friends in this dance crew, was a good dancer, and they did really well on that show. and... >> hinojosa: she definitely owned it, for sure.

>> she's... that's why they're on that show, not to be judged for something that shouldn't matter. what should matter is how she dances. that's what she's there for. >> hinojosa: so you feel like whenever we look through this stuff that all of us are just too obsessed about the fact that... >> her gender identity is relevant to her, but shouldn't matter to us insamuch as we judge her on a show that she's there to dance about. in the same way that somebody's sexual orientation or their race or their religion or the color of their skin or the color of their eyes shouldn't matter. >> hinojosa: but you feel as a gay activist that essentially you have to be kind of coming down to this ground zero, which is whatever it is, do not discriminate against this person. >> hinojosa: sexual orientation and gender identity are aspects of our lives. but because of the way americans, some americans, make an issue of it, they become barriers to our being able to achieve the same things that everybody else wants. and at a very basic level, you want to be able to live in your neighborhood, have your kids go to school, you want to be able to live your life, you want to

be able to go to work and bring home that paycheck and know that your kids are going to have a better life than you had because you worked hard for them. and that's okay unless and until people intervene in that-- they fire you from your job, they say to you, "you can't have the protections of marriage because that would mean something to us." marriage is a personal decision, and shouldn't be debated in this public way. if two people love each other, they should be able to take care of each other with all the rights and protections that marriage affords them. that's what, i think, most of us want. that's what full equality is. i want to take a... >> hinojosa: i know what story you're going to tell me, because this is exactly the question i was going to ask you. because a lot of times, as you said, you may have a gay neighbor or a friend or a coworker, but it doesn't mean that that person is necessarily telling you everything that's going on in their life as a result of being gay and perhaps discriminated against. you, because of your activism, you talk about this. you ended up dealing with a regular kind of family issue

with your own son, who ends up in the hospital, right? >> right. well, i have a couple of stories like that. yeah, actually, i can tell you... i want to tell you... can i tell you a different story? i want to tell you story... nathaniel, my younger son, 13 now. that was when he was very young. when we was 12 last year, we moved to a new neighborhood, jamaica plain. jamaica plain's a larger latino neighborhood. a lot of domenican kids, and i'm cuban. >> hinojosa: this is in massachusetts, right? >> this is in jamaica plain, massachusetts. and because of that, we have the best little league in the city. no, hispanic kids are the best. to make a perhaps an overgeneralization. but we had the best little league in the city. nathaniel tried out for his baseball team, and made one of the teams. very excited. comes home from practice after his first day talking all about... again, new neighborhood, trying to make new friends, excited with all the teammates. he's going to be center field, he says. comes home the second day, "oh, dad, i think i'm going to be right field." very excited. comes home the third day and he's in tears. i said to myself, "what happened?" so i went to his room, wouldn't talk to me about it, because he

was not supposed to be crying, and he's a big boy. shuts his door, doesn't want to talk about it. so i called the coach. the coach says to me, "i was going to call you later about this, jarrett." apparently there were a couple of kids who had played on the team several years. these kids knew each other very well. nathaniel was at his third day of practice, trying to make new friends. the other two kids were calling each other gay. nathaniel doesn't know that as an epithet, because in our house that's not a bad word. so he offered, "my two dads are both gay." >> hinojosa: oh, my gosh, your son was trying to be helpful here? >> he was trying to make friends. >> hinojosa: oh, my gosh. >> and those kids started making fun of him. >> hinojosa: so he says, "i've got two gay dads, let me help you out"? >> no, no. well, they were like, "oh, you're both gay? yeah, my dad's gay." trying to make friends, start conversation. and they both started making fun of him. and that broke my heart. and it broke my heart because of what it said about them and about us as a society, that all we want... what we want is nothing... i want to be able to go watch my son play baseball. he doesn't want to play baseball anymore because of this.

and yes, it's the kids, but it's not just the kids. it's all of us, because we live in a world where it's okay, where we don't correct kids when they say that, when we don't say to kids, "all of us deserve to be treated fairly." >> hinojosa: but these are parents who have kind of grown up in an america where gayness is out there. i mean, i'm just wondering, what's going on with the parents? do they not hear, or is it that the parents themselves are still in that place where they're... >> this is... so when you asked me the question earlier, what do we have to do as parents, my belief is... not just me, but all of us. it isn't about asking other poeple why they're different. it's about telling our own kids how we, despite all of our differences, we all want the same things. we want to be able to play baseball, go watch our kid play baseball. you know, we want to be able to go to work. we want to be able to do things and be successful as americans based on how hard we work, based on our values, based on things which should matter. not identities, not color of skin, religions, things which shouldn't figure into people's calculus for how we are judged. >> hinojosa: but at the same time, when you're living in a

country where you're getting all of these mixed messages, you know, where, for example, the obama adminstration, let's say, which was very open in terms of gay rights, first time ever that... >> can i ask you a question? i want to ask you a question. what do you mean when you say gay rights? >> hinojosa: you know what? that's a really good question., and i think that's... >> is it a right you don't have, maria, as somebody who's a heterosexual woman with kids? i only want the same thing you want. i just want rights. i want equal rights. >> hinojosa: but that's what i'm saying. if you've got a president who says that he believes.... >> in equality in gay people, the same treatment as everybody else. and by the way, i want the same responsibilities, too. i want the ability to pay my taxes as a married person. >> hinojosa: you also know that the obama administration, by many folks in the community, the gay community, was seen as, "what's up, here? you had made certain statements in your campaign that made it appear like you were going to stand up for equal treatment of gay and lesbians under the law."

>> right. >> hinojosa: has he delivered, and what does it say to you that a president like barack obama maybe hasn't delivered? >> you know, i think that what he feels and what he's been able to get done are two different things. what a president campaigns on and what they can actually accomplish... obviously with health care and a lot of other things going around, it's not quite... perhaps hasn't been quite as easy. we had a big victory, we being not gay people but all of america recently when the hate crimes bill passed after ten years. >> hinojosa: huge. and just put it out there, because i think that some people... unless you're following the issue of hate crimes, you might have seen it and not quite understood. this was a battle that had gone on for ten years to federalize a crime against gays and lesbians. >> or people based on race or religion or any other group. it used to be the case that if you committed a crime on federal

land, or in a federal jurisdiction, you could prosecute somebody for a hate crime, since the '60s, based on race. those were usually voting rights violations in the '60s. late '60s this law was passed. it was... so the law was both expanded to include a hate crime against somebody who's gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. but it was also federalized so that if there's a state... so if you're in, i don't know, alabama, mississippi, puerto rico... there was a recent hate crime in puerto rico, where it doesn't look... didn't look like the district attorney was going to take it up as a hate crime. and what is a hate crime? a hate crime is when you commit a crime against somebody, and you use kind of language, racist language, homophobic language, which is evidence that you didn't just kill the person, or you didn't just rob the person, or you didn't just maim the person to do it, but you did it because of that identity, because of their race, because of their religion, because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. and that if you do that, it's not just a crime against that person.

it's a crime against a whole community. because gay people, or african americans, or latinos, or jewish people, you live in greater fear knowing that that person doing it for that reason might come after somebody else. so that the enhanced penalty, the additional crime, time tacked onto the sentence, is a result of it being not just against the person, but against a community. that's the idea of a hate crime. so what the law did, they federalized it and said, "well, if mississippi, say, doesn't want to prosecute it because they don't see prosecuting a murder of a gay person where there's ample evidence that it was because of their sexual orientation, then the federal government can step in." so the us attorney from mississippi, who reports to the us attorney general, can take that case on and prosecute it. and that was the real impact, saying that the united states isn't going to mess around with politics at the local level, which sometimes is what happens in these prosecutions. people have to get elected as a da, they don't want to prosecute it because, you know, "oh, it looks like they're supportive of gay people." this is about fairness. and finally we have a law that will allow people to protect in

a sort of negative rights way, because it's prosecuting people who have committed crimes, but protect the dignity of a community by making these go forward, these prosecutions go forward. >> hinojosa: so what, in your dream-o-vision, jarrett, when you say you want to reach the hearts and minds of americans, how do you do that? you said, "i want gay neighbors to kind of not just..." >> tell their stories. tell their stories to the neighborhood. you know... >> hinojosa: how about if you're not the gay neighbor, and you're not sure what to ask your neighbor, because you don't know how to... what do you want them to say, "tell me about your life, what's it like?" like, you know... >> this is the power of the media, by the way. why shows like glee are so important. because what you do is you tell that story through the media. people are very comfortable sitting in front of their television watching it through an entertainment venue, whether it's, you know, a reality show or a sitcom. and it doesn't take away the

importance of gay folks coming out and telling their stories and living their lives. and i think you realize that as a gay person. i realized it, amazingly, when we finally had kids. in some ways it's... you know, because there you are, two dads at the pta meeting, right? and, you know, this is who we are. and it wasn't like we weren't a couple before, but you weren't quite as public in places where it sort of stood out. >> hinojosa: and was it easy for you? >> you know, it's sort of like it's easy and it's sort of... you sort of think about it in a way that you didn't before. but it's important. and so even if it's not easy, you've got to embrace it, because it's important to get past that. >> hinojosa: this is your life, right. >> and it's your kids' life. and it's your neighbors' lives, and it's all the other kids and their parents in that classroom's life. and they need to see that, you know, i'm here, i'm in this classroom with my son for the same reasons other parents are. i want my son to succeed at his school. i want him to do his homework. i also want to know, in my case, is he wearing his uniform? what are the uniform rules at a parochial school? what are, sort of, the rules of

the road here, so that i can make sure he's meeting his end of the bargain back at school? that's no different than any other parent. >> hinojosa: all right, we've got one minute left. tell me what your dream is for what happens. what's the place, what's the nirvana, if there is one, where gay and lesbian issues are no longer an issue? >> it's when my son can play baseball and tell his friends that he's got two dads, and nobody bats an eye. that's when we've reached full equality. that's when we live in an america where gay people can live like anybody else. >> hinojosa: so is that ten years from now? >> if i had a crystal ball... it's not yet, that's for sure. and it depends on people telling their stories, gay folks telling their stories and america understanding that we just want acceptance, we want to be respected, we want to be valued for our contributions, and let's put those >> hinojosa: jarrett barrios, thank you so much for joining us, and for your good work.

>> hinojosa: continue the conversation at wgbh.org/oneonone. captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org jj