Almost everybody stood up

[indigo32]

Almost everybody stood up: A mother's perspective on state's marriage debate


By Nan Corliss

Sometimes I get the impression people think that the proposed anti-gay Minnesota marriage amendment would only affect a small, fringe group of people. I know differently. The extent to which gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people are integral to the social fabric of our communities was brought home vividly to me one Sunday morning a couple of years ago.
I spent that morning at the Wayzata church in suburban Minneapolis where I'd been a member for 25 years. About 120 people gathered in the sanctuary to hear a guest in our pulpit, Martha Juillerat, who has made it part of her life's work to facilitate discussion about sexual orientation and gender identity within Christian congregations. But rather than telling us what to believe, Juillerat simply asked us questions:
How many of you are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender and feel comfortable enough to stand? I looked around. A handful of people stood.
"How brave you are to let us know who you are," I thought. I noted a range of ages from a teen to a retired couple, two women teachers who had raised adopted children from India. I applauded them because I knew firsthand that "coming out" often requires courage. I remembered the letter from Asia that my husband and I had received a decade earlier. In the letter, our daughter told us that she is a lesbian. Giving us the news when she was halfway around the world seemed strategic on her part: she was giving us plenty of time to digest the information and grow comfortable with it before we saw her again in person.
How many of you have a family member who is gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender? More people stood, including me. It felt good to publicly stand with others in support of our family members. I'm not so sure, though, that when we first received the letter from our daughter that I would have stood because my guard was still up about whom I shared this information with.
How many of you have co-workers who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender? Many more stood up. I felt grateful that employees in Minnesota workplaces have legal protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. But still, I wondered if those who stood felt their coworkers truly received equal treatment, especially when it comes to employee and domestic partner benefits.

http://www.morrissuntribune.com/article.cfm?Article_ID=4742




I think this is a beautiful illustration. If people stopped more often to think about the ramifications of what they are saying and doing the world would be a better place.

[calmblueocean]

1. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that MN isn't bigoted in its heart

My fondest wish would be that if the proposed anti-gay marriage/anti-gay civil union amendment ever makes it to the ballot, that Minnesotans stand up and say no to bigotry, and shame the Republicans who tried to impose this in front of the whole nation.

[loveable liberal]

2. Bachmann is a bigot.

A fruitcup and a freak. Trying to mold the message as being pro marriage is cheap. It proves her faith is weak too, because rather than trust in God, she needs a law to divide and harm.