Despite attacks from social conservatives and blistering losses in November’s elections, gay rights advocates should not scale back in the push for legal marriage, according to one activist who has had a visible, and possibly controversial, role in the fight.

“The lessons of history are clear — equality cannot wait for a convenient time, society only moves toward equality when challenged to do so,” Cheryl Jacques writes on the Web site she launched after resigning as president of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest gay rights group.

Massachusetts’s first openly gay state senator, Jacques left the post in January 2004 to become president of the Washington, D.C.-based HRC, and led the group during the heat of last year’s battles over federal and state constitutional amendments banning gays from marriage.

But citing “a difference in management philosophy,” HRC announced Jacques’ resignation Nov. 30.

Neither side has been willing to elaborate on the resignation, prompting speculation that other issues may have been involved, including differences over how to fight the marriage amendments. While the federal amendment was defeated in Congress, 13 states, including Georgia, approved constitutional gay marriage bans last year.

Jacques still resides in Washington with her partner, Jennifer Chrisler, executive director of the Family Pride Coalition, and their twin sons, and has continued speaking out frequently on the fight for gay rights, including full legal marriage.

In speeches and interviews, she frequently draws comparisons to the African-American civil rights movement and the women’s rights movement, noting that victories were never quick or easy.

Southern Voice spoke with Jacques as she prepared to address the May 19 meeting of the gay Atlanta Executive Network.

Southern Voice: Why do you say that now isn’t the time to retreat from pushing for full marriage rights?
Jacques: There is no retreating from an achieved moment of equality, and while we could spend hours debating whether the Massachusetts marriage decision came at the right moment in our movement, it is a debate that is a complete waste of time. It’s happened, it’s here, we have tasted full equality, and there is no turning back nor should there be.

SoVo: How do you respond to those who say this is too much, too fast, for most of the country, including Georgia?
Jacques: This isn’t one size fits all. I’m not saying Georgia activists need to run out and put a gay marriage question on the ballot. I’m saying … don’t take away from the progress that is being made in patches throughout this country. Don’t denounce it, don’t belittle it, don’t hide from it, then go into your backyard and start working for whatever is achievable…

SoVo: There are gay people who protested the recent civil unions law in Connecticut, because it fell short of marriage. So while some say we are pushing too hard, what would you say to those who think we aren’t pushing hard enough?
Jacques: It’s a fascinating schism, isn’t it? … The enactment of civil unions in Connecticut without any court mandate is progress no matter how you look at it. … We should embrace [victories like civil unions], support them and applaud the leaders who achieve them, and then we get up the next morning and keep fighting for full marriage and full equality. …

SoVo: Since the fight for equal marriage is likely to be long, especially in red states like Georgia, how can gay groups keep their constituents engaged in the fight?
Jacques: … To encourage people to stay in the fight, I say, just think back 10 years — that’s not that long, and then our GLBT community would never have never dreamed of achieving marriage equality. We would have never dreamed we would be having this fight over did it come too soon.

When I entered the Massachusetts legislature as a senator, domestic partnership was this very controversial concept … and now [we have marriage in Massachusetts and] the majority of Americans say they support some sort of legal recognition for gay couples. That has to inspire people to come out and stay involved.

SoVo: It has been rumored that you left HRC in part because of disagreements over how hard to push for marriage. Is that true?
Jacques: I’m really not at liberty to discuss why I left, but suffice to say it was a parting that occurred, and I am fully supportive of [new HRC President] Joe Solmonese. People ask me all the time if they should be supporting HRC, and I say, absolutely, but hold their feet to the fire. Set the standards and the bars high.

It is very important for HRC to take its $30 million budget, a big chunk of which I grew, and its vast membership, and achieve results. That may or may not be in political arena, it may be in the corporate arena, it may be in the religious community …

Politicians look at polls, they follow public opinion, [but] gay rights organizations cannot mirror the way a politician acts. They can’t be cautious, they can’t be careful, they can’t be trying to keep everybody happy and befriend everybody. …

This is generic advice for all organizations and leaders, including HRC but not exclusively HRC, to be bold and set that bar high and push everyone to get there. Because if we don’t set the bar high, trust me … our so-called politician friends will be more than happy to make concessions on our behalf.

SoVo: What’s next for you? Would you want to helm a national gay organization again, or return to public office?
Jacques: I know this sounds like a cliché, but I haven’t ruled anything in or out. I want to continue to make a difference, I want to continue to be a national leader and a strong voice in this civil rights battle. … I feel like, so far, opportunities have been abundant to continue working in an area I feel so strongly about. I don’t know what tomorrow brings, but today is going pretty great.

Laura Douglas-Brown can be reached at lbrown@sovo.com.