Most of you know that I am a staunch supporter of equal rights for our gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender neighbors. And if you didn’t know before, you do now.
I am a member of Atticus Circle, Soulforce, and the Human Rights Campaign. These are organizations in which I believe with the whole of my being. It is through Atticus Circle and Soulforce that I have planned a peaceful demonstration in Grand Junction.
The statement I submitted to Seven Straight Nights for Equal Rights is worth repeating here. Please read it and consider the difference you’d like to make …
My three children bring me clarity like no other force can. It is through their eyes that I choose to see the world. I imagine I feel like most mothers feel — that our love is powerful, protective, and ever-present. I am confident that my children will forever know this in my love for them, but not all children are as fortunate. I am lucky in that my desire to be a mother has never been threatened or questioned or denied me. But again, not all women are given the same opportunities extended to me.
The United States of America prides itself on being a “free nation.” Our nation’s Declaration of Independence clearly states: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” We have fought other civil rights wars. I was not alive to participate in those battles, but I am present now and I stand to be counted. This is my civil rights war because I am not faced with hatred, discrimination, and inequalities every day, but it is my responsibility as a mother and a member of my community to stand up and demand that the same rights extended to me must be extended to the thousands of GLBT children, teens, and adults facing discrimination every day. It is my duty not only to speak of acceptance, love, equality, and support for our GLBT neighbors, but to work to achieve change in our own community. My hope is that by being a straight ally in our community, my children will participate in a shift in our culture — a shift towards acceptance, love, support, and equality — and live the days following that shift.
It is because I have only a brief amount of time to impart my values upon my three impressionable minds that I have decided to coordinate Grand Junction’s Action. Every person deserves to experience the power of loving as a parent. Every loving couple deserves the opportunity to create their family. Every committed couple deserves to have their commitment recognized by society and our government. Every person deserves to live a life of peace and happiness.
Stand with me, Grand Junction!
This won’t be the last time I bring this up, friends. This is important shit. No kidding.
Stand up. Embrace your neighbors. Write your representatives. Live with love and acceptance.
Be the change.
