I have a dream of America, of an America that is united not by our commonality, but by our shared commitment to the freedoms and liberties of every individual. “I have a dream” is a symbol of America’s heart and soul. It represents a time when good people stood up for equality and freedom in the face of violence, hatred and ignorance.

This being a week where many students are participating in the events coordinated for National Coming Out Day (Oct. 11), the message of “I have a dream” is a relevant one.

The fight for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality is the most divisive and compelling civil rights battle of this century. I say this because it has achieved the level of hot topic that abortion held for so long in elections both national and local. Eleven states will have anti-gay marriage amendments on the ballot Nov 2. This certainly doesn’t happen because there is no battle over what role gays should have in society.

Every civil rights battle has its leaders — Abraham Lincoln in the fight to set other men free, Carrie Chapman Catt in the fight for women’s suffrage and Martin Luther King Jr. in the fight to desegregate America. Who will be remembered as the leader or leaders of this civil rights fight? It’s a difficult question, but perhaps this election year reveals some of the politicians who are emerging on a national level for real change in government policy toward gay Americans.

This discussion cannot be made without paying tribute to Howard Dean, who made gay rights a major issue in his run for the Democratic nomination. Though the man who is perhaps more important is the one who clinched the Democratic presidential nomination: John Kerry.

Where exactly does he stand on issues of gay rights? Is he just pandering to gay voters to get our votes with rhetoric that he is not going to follow through on?

To answer this question, just look at Kerry’s record in the Senate, something Bush/Cheney ’04 says is full of flip-flops and votes to weaken defense. Unfortunately, what the Republican strategy doesn’t realize is just how consistent Kerry can be.

One of the first bills Kerry introduced into the Senate during his first year, was a bill to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, following up in 1996 with a vote for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which also failed to pass due to conservative opposition.

In 1996, Kerry was the only senator up for re-election who voted against the Defense of Marriage Act. Although he may have proposed $6 billion in intelligence cuts, he voted against cutting the more vital human resources needed for good intelligence through the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

These positions and votes demonstrate the real core of Kerry’s values. Although he may not be at his most eloquent on issues of gay rights, he did say in an interview with the Advocate that when he is elected president, “We’re going to have a debate about equality and fairness, a debate about what is right and how we respect each other.”

As a gay American, it’s comforting to think of a president who talks like that rather than saying in a State of the Union address “America must defend the sanctity of marriage.”

As an American, does that imply that I should deny myself inheritance and hospital visitation rights for someone I love or, worse, that I’m really not an American if I “attack” marriage by fighting for those rights?

Kerry doesn’t think so, and his record and words convince me that it’s not about pandering for votes but a genuine belief in what is the right side of gay rights issues.

He may not be perfect, but he will fight for every issue that matters in terms of gay rights, save for the semantic term “marriage.”

As a national figure, I believe that history will record Kerry as a significant leader of the gay civil rights movement and as a man who stood for real change in government policy.

This is why John Kerry is the first true civil rights candidate of this century.