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By 3-2 vote the park district board voted to allow the Gay Games to use the lake for a rowing event. Last week the board had voted not to allow the event by a vote of 2-2. When the 5th board member returned from vacation, he requested that the board reopen the vote.
I just got back from the public hearing in Crystal Lake.
It was quite a show. More that 50 members of the public spoke, about half in support and half against. Several hundred people were there, including most of the Chicago media.
Some highlights:
Tracy Baim from the Gay Games made an excellent presentation along with one of the rowing team members.
Jim Madigan from Lambda Legal was on fire and spoke eloquently, telling the board that, by their own rules and the state and federal constitution, the only right thing to do would be to vote to allow the competition. Several people spoke from the heart about the need for inclusion in their home town and their own experiences coming out and asking for acceptance. Several straight people said they were all for celebrating their towns diversity.
On the dark side were the fundamentalists using the usual pseudo-Christian oratory to excuse their bigotry. Of course, Pete Labarbera was stoking the crowd with his tired mix of slander and fear-mongering, repeating disinformation about HIV+ people "invading" the town and rambling on about gay bath houses.
One bigot was at least honest in his hate saying he just didn't want gay people in his town. The interesting thing was (and I am not making this up) he was dressed exactly like Heath Ledger in BBM. The hat, the coat, everything. He stormed out of the room after speaking, followed behind by a sad woman who looked like she had been abused.
Most of the bigots were disingenuous however, speaking of their "love" for homosexuals, but not wanting them to say the word gay in their town or be seen by their kids. Some had various excuses, like saying the lake was too small, despite the fact that larger events are held on it. Some were worried about public "lewdness" despite the fact that other events held there could get quite rowdy (one resident referred to one annual event as "drunkfest"). Their statements invariably went back to claiming the need for "traditional family values" signifying that their other concerns were merely an obfuscation.
Creepiest bigot of the evening was a gentlemen who breathlessly spoke about his fear that the town's children would fall victim to hordes of pedophiles, his voice cracking with emotion. When he was told by the board his comments were over the top, he stomped out and a crashing sound was heard in the foyer. A little later he returned, and stood with his face buried in the wall, occasionally turning around to glare at the crowd. Oddly, If you were trying to cast an actor as the crazed pedophile, this guy would have been the obvious choice. He gave everyone the willies.
Hopefully this will allow the event to go forward. There were some threats of legal action against the board because of the double vote, and the town must still ok the use of infrastructure, however, for now the plans are going forward.
Thanks to all that took the time to contact the town in support of the rowers.
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