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Letters to the Editor

Published Thursday, 05-Aug-2004 in issue 867

Dear Editor:

To my fellow LGBT community and our allies. I would urge you to consider the following steps to take during this important year. Our freedom & justice are at stake.

1. Boycott sleeping with any LOG Cabin Republicans until they renounce their evil deeds and make amends for any past support of President Bush.

2. Educate our own community more on the clear differences on this and other issues between the Republicans and the other parties.

3. Reach out more to the mainstream and conservative churches to spread the word that love is good, that relationships are good and supportive of a stable, healthy society.

4. Remind the conservatives that 25 years ago they were yelling at us gay men (pre-AIDS) to quit being so promiscuous and if we'd just settle down and be more like straights we would gain their respect & equality.

5. Emphasize their old slogan they loved to use, "Equal rights yes, special privileges no!" Yet they are clearly hypocritical and want special privileges for straights.

6. Emphasize to conservatives that they can't keep calling for less government intervention into citizens' lives and less federal regulation and more States rights, and then flip-flop on this very issue when it comes to our lives.

7. Write letters to the editor/opinion pieces and include small town rural papers. You may change a mind and save some lives.

8. Donate money to such causes as the ACLU, Lambda Legal, National Gay Rights Advocates, the Human Rights Campaign, and The Center. What you may spend in one night at a bar or a trip to Palm Springs could do miracles for some of these organizations.

9. Mentor our LGBT youth. They should never lose track of who Phyllis Lyon, Del Martin, Harry Hay, and Harvey Milk are and were, amongst many others in our history.

10. Vote!

Paul Harris

Dear Editor:

As the Pride celebration kicks off, let us reflect on our pride and what it means to be truly prideful. As the parade passes by in all of its pageantry and splendor, let us not forget the important issues we, as gay people, struggle for in this country.

Enter: The GLBT Banner

Correction: We, as GLBT people. Adding bisexuals who truly have a choice and the trans-genders who make a surgical choice does add a sense of all inclusiveness as a reminder that respect is to be given all people. GLBT people demand this respect in our communities and ask for our leaders to represent us, and any other group tagging on to our banner, where necessary in legislation. We truly are deserving and are willing to show America what we have to offer society.

Enter: Topless Dykes on bikes

We also demand hate crimes laws protecting us from those who call us derogatory names, and seek to do us harm verbally, emotionally and physically. Fag, queer, and a host of other ugly names used should be banned forever from the lips of those who would attempt to silence us.

Enter: Queer Nation contingency

We are your neighbors, we are your friends and we are your church members. We are leaders, we are hard workers and we are caregivers. We are mother and fathers and we are no different from anyone else when it comes to marriage rights and the protections they offer our families. We are no threat to the future of the families in America.

Enter: S.D. Leather Society

We are represented by some of the brightest minds, legal and political. They have earned our respect and we look forward to supporting their efforts on our behalf.

Enter: G-string clad go-go boys gyrating to loud music

We respect traditional values, churches, schools and family. We are no different from anyone else in this regard. Why is it we are not taken seriously in our daily lives by these institutions?

Enter: The Sister’s of Perpetual Indulgence

As the parade closes and the TV news cameras go back to their studios, remember that this was truly a day of Pride! That is, until the evening news.

Bill Lullo

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