"Equal Rights in Anchorage - A Small Step on a Long Road" - The Mudflats

[Blue_In_AK]

The Anchorage Assembly is attempting for the third time since 1975 to get an equal rights ordinance passed for the benefit of GLBT folks here. The history of this ordinance is set out here: http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/anchorage/city_election/assembly/story/822111.html . We are fighting the battle again this time with the same conservative megachurch, the Anchorage Baptist Temple, and their Falwell wannabe, Jerry Prevo.

Here is Mudflats' report of the spirited assembly meeting last night:

http://www.themudflats.net/2009/06/10/equal-rights-in-anchorage-a-small-step-on-a-long-road/

Last night was the Anchorage Assembly meeting in which the public was invited to give testimony about ordinance #64, which ensures non-discrimination in housing, education and employment for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered persons.

Pastor Jerry Prevo of the Anchorage mega-church the Anchorage Baptist Temple was the one organizing those in opposition to the passage of the ordinance. We all knew it was going to be a dramatic evening.

As I was heading out the door, I remembered that I’d gotten something from Equality Works in an email saying to wear blue. So, I quickly ran upstairs and changed into a blue shirt.

I arrived at the Loussac Library a little late. As I drove down 36th Ave., I was reminded of a sunny day last fall when 1500 people had gathered here with Obama signs, speaking out and telling the world as best they could about why they were not supporting Sarah Palin for VP, even though they lived in Alaska.

As I approached, I saw a group of teens all wearing red. Some were holding signs that had a stick figure of a man and then a plus sign, and then a stick figure of a woman. There was a little blonde girl, about 7, who had a sign that said “Love the Sinner, Hate the Sin.” I wondered what conversation her parents had with her about what she’d be doing this evening, and about what her sign meant. I wondered what part of “love” meant denying employment, education and housing.

On the opposite corner was another group of red teens, standing right next to a group of blue teens with letters spelling out E Q U A L I T Y. Dueling ideologies between teenagers who, under different circumstances, could have been friends. It all seemed very strange already.

<snip>

A guy with a sign started walking back and forth on the street, leading a group of children and young adults in a chant. “Go straight! Straight is great! Go straight! Straight is great!” I stood there, and they passed by and several people made eye contact with me while they were yelling, as I stood there in my blue shirt. My inner voice yelled back, “I AM straight. You do not have to be gay to recognize injustice.” But I knew they were not in the mood to listen.

I wondered if any of the testimony I’d heard inside helped people to understand anything. Maybe there were a few people in the audience that all of a sudden realized that LGBT people are…. people.

I saw a sign that said:

We must live together like brothers, or perish together as fools.

- Martin Luther King Jr.

That was a good note on which to leave. The Assembly will meet again next Tuesday to hear more testimony. More hours made up of three minutes.

<snip>

More here http://progressivealaska.blogspot.com/2009/06/at-anchorage-assembly-meeting-on-civil.html

here: http://www.henkimaa.com/

and here: http://theimmoralminority.blogspot.com/

[Duncan Grant]

1. This is an important read -- worth every minute. Recommended!

I heard an African-American man who said to the gay community “don’t mix up your civil liberties with my civil rights.” He said that the LGBT community had no idea what real discrimination was like. I didn’t know it was a contest. Later I found out that a father of a gay son told that man that he had marched on Washington twice to fight for that man’s rights, and now he had to watch this man speak out against the rights of his son.

I regret that I didn't see this post earlier today. I love to read first person accounts like this one. It's beautifully written and the photos of the "red shirts" are chilling.

Thanks for posting! I hope more people at DU have an opportunity to read this. :thumbsup:

[Blue_In_AK]

2. Thank you.

I thought it was important, too, and I was kind of sorry that people didn't seem to be reading it. Maybe I should post it in GD?

There is a real struggle going on here in our town, and I imagine we are no different than communities all around the country. I don't understand why our "friends" on the right are so fearful of equal rights for ALL law-abiding citizens -- and I surely don't understand that "special rights" thing they go on about. They seem to think their religious rights trump the civil rights of everyone else, and I'm really tired of them bullying everyone else around.

I've been living in Anchorage since 1975 and I love this town and its people, but there's that certain hard-right religious element that has been holding us back ever since I've been here. Jerry Prevo is like a cult leader -- he has his church, his K-12 school, two radio stations, a TV station. Even the Democrats feel compelled to show up at his "temple" before elections for his "meet the candidates" events, as if their being there would ever garner a vote from that crowd. He's managed to get tax-exampt status for not only his home but also for the homes of his many employees. ... He is totally, 100% involved in our city politics, and yet he pays no taxes. It's just not right.

I am heartened by the show of support from so many people, and I'm looking forward to more public comments next Tuesday.

[Duncan Grant]

3. :kick:

:kick:

[GodlessBiker]

4. +1