Get your rainbow flag out!

Yesterday I had lunch with my good friend Doreen Oakley. Doreen directed Spelling Bee, so we have become good friends over the last couple of months. Doreen is going to school at LCCC and has to give a speech for her government class, so she decided to give it on marriage equality. After watching my highs and lows over the last few months and following my facebook posts she wanted to interview me and get my thoughts on the subject, hear my personal story, and talk about WY Equality.

We had a great conversation and talked for over an hour and half. We both agreed that brighter days are ahead and new polling numbers are exciting in that they show a majority of Americans are now either in favor of marriage equality or don’t care about the issue one way or another.

I’ve always said this issue should be viewed as wrong vs. right, not Republican vs. Democrat, and Doreen agreed. She is a republican, and believes in smaller government and also believes in government staying out of the private lives of citizens. I love visiting with people, Republican or Democrat, that seem to get it! We don’t think of black civil rights as one party vs. another party, we view it as the right thing to do!

One thing I want to make clear to our more conservative friends, just because you support marriage equality doesn’t mean we expect you to be at the next gay pride festival waving a rainbow flag. Support it because it’s the right thing to do! We need to get over this fear that standing up for equal rights, for gay rights, for human rights, is somehow going to make your friends, colleagues, constituents, or family members view you as Mr. or Mrs. Gay Pride America.

WyWatch has training videos on their website on how to speak against the talking points of marriage equality. One thing they want their followers to say is, “if we allow this, my kids are going to have to learn about it someday.” Obviously if marriage equality comes about, and is mentioned in history text books all the children reading about it will automatically turn into raging homosexuals. Just like reading about the holocaust automatically turns everyone into Nazi’s.  The logic they are using just doesn’t make sense!

I think we need to make training videos that go over speaking points of marriage equality, just like our opponents are doing. Friends we are on the correct side of this and we will win this battle! I hope its sooner rather than later, but in the meantime we need to continue talking about this. We need to educate our friends, colleagues, family members and legislators and we must hold those accountable that spew hateful rhetoric and stand in opposition to equality.

Gay rights are human rights!

Jeran

Are you in the wrong room?

David Zinczenco is the editor of Men’s Health Magazine and recently threw this question out to his readers. He asked, “Are you the smartest person in the room?”  “If you are, you’re in the wrong room!” He went on to talk about how we should surround ourselves with bright people that constantly challenge us intellectually. Luckily for me this never seems to be much of an issue!

Last night I went to the Laramie County Democratic Party meeting, and if you want to talk about a room full of bright people, that was it! We invited the Laramie County Legislators to speak about their experiences over the last legislative session, and it seems we are all on the same page about what did and didn’t come out of this last session.

Obviously there were a couple of big disappointments when it came down to the health care amendment and losing the federal funds for unemployment, but overall the general feeling was, we dodged a bullet! I think everyone, Republican and Democrat, can agree we have some whackadoodles sitting in the Wyoming Legislature right now! We need to make sure we call some of these people out on their voting records along with what they said in committee meetings, on the floor, to the press, and to their colleagues and lobbyists. We have some very bright people working on this very thing right now and talking points will be coming your way shortly.

We have some great Republican Legislators in Wyoming right now, people that are willing to reach across the table and actually work on legislation that helps Wyoming citizens. Moderates who are trying to impact their constituents lives for the better, and I think we need to keep them in place and continue to thank them for standing up for the best interests of Wyoming.

The flip side, now it is time to hold the wackadoodles accountable for their actions. We need good people, bright people, people willing to serve and stand up to these extreme views and say, “This is not ok, and this is not what Wyoming is about!” We need good solid candidates to run against these folks. We need to unite our causes and organizations that were negatively impacted by the last legislative session and make sure we don’t end up in this mess again!

Last night we had a very nice crowd at the meeting, but we need to build on the momentum that is rolling our way. We need to get so many people involved that we will hopefully be searching for a bigger meeting facility very soon. I want us to fill rooms across this state with bright, caring, hardworking and motivated individuals that want to make a difference. 

I’m going to work hard for Wyoming, Laramie County, and Cheyenne! Being from Wheatland I want to encourage my friends in Platte County to get involved!  Please follow the Platte County Democratic Party page on Facebook and get out to the meetings. You will be working with some wonderful people! To my Natrona County friends, I don’t care if you’re a Republican or a Democrat you have some real issues with you elected legislators! Watching KK, Gay, Jennings, Perkins and Brechtel in action should alarm anyone with half a brain. You need to send them a message that they don’t represent you or Wyoming and send them home in the next election!

Let’s make a difference!

Jeran

Why shouldn't we be miserable!

  

One of my favorite quotes on gay marriage came from Dolly Parton. I was watching her being interviewed on a TV show and the interviewer asked her what she thought about gay marriage. She sat back in her chair and a few seconds later responded, “Hell, I don’t see any reason why they shouldn’t be allowed to be miserable just like the rest of us!”

Earlier this week I blogged about the love, commitment, special, and sappy aspects of marriage, but today I want to talk about the “other” side of marriage because I think we can make good valid arguments on both sides of the coin. When I was testifying up at the capital I would ask, “Why are you fighting so hard to protect the institution of marriage?”

A while back Men’s Health Magazine ran a story entitled, “The worst cities in America for a guy to get hitched.” They looked at divorce rates, how many certified marriage counselors existed per capita, the percentage of men who had ever been divorced, and the stringency of divorce laws. Guess which city came in as number one? Number one being the worst, you guessed it Cheyenne! The article went on to say apparently there are more than buffalo roaming in Cheyenne.

http://www.menshealth.com/mhlists/metrogrades-divorce/metrogrades-divorce-cheyenne.php#slidetop

Speaking of divorces, celebrities seem to have done a fantastic job of making a joke out of the institution of marriage. Britney Spears had a 55 hour marriage to her childhood friend Jason Alexander.  Renee Zellweger married Kenny Chesney for four months then filed for divorce citing “fraud” as the reason. Zsa Zsa Gabor has been married nine times, Mickey Rooney has been married eight times, Larry King has been married eight times.. I could go on and on.

The world lost a treasure today in Elizabeth Taylor. I’ve always thought she was one of the most beautiful women in the world, inside and out. She was an activist in the fight against HIV/AIDS. In 2006 she attended a celebration in her wheelchair over the legalization of gay marriage in California. She herself had been married eight times.

Possible presidential candidate and bigot Donald Trump has said he doesn’t support gay marriage, and went on to say he also doesn’t think same sex couples should be allowed civil benefits afforded straight couples. Trump, currently involved in marriage number three obviously enjoys his marriage rights, but wants to deny these benefits to the LGTB community.

Bottom line, I should be allowed to enter into a marriage for any or all of the same reasons straight people can enter into a marriage. Would gay couples make the same mess of the marriage institution that straight people have? Who knows, and frankly who cares! In November of 2010 Pew Research Center and Time Magazine conducted a survey and found 40% of young Americans think marriage is obsolete anyway.  To all of my WyWatch, Focus on the Family, Wyoming Family Coalition, and Alliance Defense Fund friends who say we need to keep this holy, sacred, and honored tradition between a man and a woman, I say give me a friggin break!!

Jeran

Most "I do's" aren't about "rights!"

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend. We had opening weekend of Putnam County Spelling Bee. I would say it was a great success. Such a fun show to do, and I especially love working with so many talented people. If you get a chance come see us next weekend, I promise we will make you laugh.

I took the weekend off from blogging as I wanted to put all my energy into the play.  So it was interesting to look at the news this morning and see what had developed in Japan, Libya, and of course see if there were any new headlines in the gay community.

As I scanned the countries newspapers I found an interesting editorial in a Maryland newspaper.  Maryland came so close to legalizing same sex marriage this year, and the state is still aflutter with political buzz on the issue. The letter was written by two progressive’s who had some interesting ideas on how the LGTB community was going around asking for marriage equality.  I think they brought up a couple of good points.

They asked, how many wedding ceremonies have you been to where the vows included mentioning some or all of the 1,138 federal rights that are afforded to married people? How many times have you heard the best man give a toast to the fact that now the newlyweds had access to social security benefits, survivor pension options, tax breaks, spousal health care?  Anyway, you get the idea. Marriage is about love, commitment, trust, family, for better or worse, and a whole bunch of other sappy stuff.

They actually gave kudos the LGTB community for starting to shift the focus of the marriage equality debate to the sappier side of things rather than just standing up and screaming, “Give us equal rights, and give ‘em to us now!”  This group had done some independent polling and found that when most people were confronted with the whole argument of give us rights, benefits, equality and fairness, the overwhelming response was… fine, give ‘em civil unions and then maybe they’ll shut up about it! But when asked about being allowed to marry for love, most people said they had no problem with two people getting married for love even if they were a same sex couple.

I heard from many of our Wyoming Legislators on why they had voted against the hate legislation this last session, and many said it was because of personal stories; and actually seeing that this legislation was going to have a negative impact on a handful of their constituents. The same thing is being said in Maryland. Even though same sex marriage didn’t pass this session it may in the next, and those legislators also said the personal stories had a huge impact on how they voted.

I was thrilled to see a new ABC/Washington Post Poll that shows 53% of Americans now support gay marriage. This is big news and a giant step in the right direction.

Please keep telling your stories! I will tell mine over and over again. God bless all of our straight allies who also listen to our stories time and time again and stand up for us by sending emails, making phone calls, attending rallies, and lending us a shoulder to cry on when we need it most.

I’m not saying we need to stop talking about equal rights, but we need to make sure we continue to make this discussion deeply personal!!

Jeran

Unlike idiots we ideate.

I wanted to blog about yesterday’s opinion piece in the Wyoming Tribune Eagle from Chaplain L. Dale Johnston of North Christian Church in Cheyenne. Again, please understand I’m not commenting as a biblical expert or as some religious scholar. What I can do as human being with half a brain is look at the facts and then base my ideas, beliefs, and opinions on the conclusions I draw.

First thing that struck me about Chaplain Johnston’s article was that he wrote, “The King James translation can be trusted to be God’s revelation of truth to mankind.”   Hmmm.. interesting! Here are a couple of bullet points I found on the King James translation of the Bible

·        The King James Bible was first published in 1611. Other English Bibles existed, but King James didn’t like the most popular translation, the Geneva Bible, because he felt that some of the marginal notes encouraged disobedience to kings.

·        King James appointed 54 men, all revered as experts/scholars at the time to rewrite and translate the bible.

·        This process took approximately seven years.

·        Over 30,000 changes were made from the original Greek and Hebrew writings.

·        Many of the translators themselves published comments and voiced concerns about what they were doing.

·        King James laid down 15 rules as far as what could and couldn’t be done over the course of the translation.

Definitely sounds like divine inspiration to me! There are so many more talking points about translating the bible. How does one accurately pass down stories from generation to generation and maintain complete integrity? How, over the course of thousands of years can accurate copies of copies be made time and time again? I just don’t understand how one man can proclaim the King James Bible to be the one and only divine authority on Christianity.

Chaplain Johnston also writes in his opinion piece, “We had better take god’s word literally because there are no contradictions or errors in it.”  Ok great, so here we go back to my some of my favorite bible verses.

o   If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them: Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear. – Deuteronomy 21:18-21

o   He that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death. –Exodus 21:15

o   He that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death. – Exodus 21:17

o   I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. --1 Timothy 2:12

o   The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death. – Leviticus 20:10

So if we must take the bible literally, my questions to Chaplain Johnston would be; when do the next rounds of stonings begin? Do any women teach Sunday School at your church? Has anyone in your congregation ever committed adultery and if so are they alive to talk about it?

 And as far as the bible not containing any contradictions, what’s up with these verses?

·        For I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger forever.-- Jeremiah 3:12

·        Ye have kindled a fire in mine anger, which shall burn forever.-- Jeremiah 17:4

·        If I testify about myself, my testimony is not valid. --John 5:31

·        Jesus answered: Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid. --John 8:14

·        And Jesus coming, spoke to them, saying: All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. --Matthew 28:18

·        The whole world is under control of the evil one. --1 John 5:19

·        And Jesus said, For judgement I have come into this world. John --9:39

·        I came not to judge the world --John 12:47

Finally, the good chaplain called my friend Rodger McDaniel blasphemous! I don’t know if you’ve ever been at a church service and a heard a really good sermon delivered by someone who was well educated, understood the facts behind what they were talking about, and set the stage as far as what was going on at the time; but I find these kinds of sermons are wonderfully entertaining, inspiring, motivational, as well as extremely educational.

While I’ve never heard one of Rodger’s sermons, I’ve read his blog, I’ve heard him speak publically on social issues, I’ve had personal conversations with him and he is anything but a blasphemer! 

Jeran

Fighting the war on ignorance and stupid!

I hope everyone got to read the letters to the editor and opinion page in the Cheyenne paper today.  Seems to be perfect timing to continue our discussion on what the bible does and does not say about certain things.

Before we delve into that, there was another letter from Tom Lindsey. This is the gentleman who has written repeatedly to the paper about how horrible, evil, and wrong homosexuals are; and his letter today certainly didn’t disappoint.

He called homosexuals perverts four separate times, and said the legislators allowed us to get our feet in the door so that we could demand further concessions down the road. He went on to say how our behavior violates the laws of nature.

I’m tired of people saying that I’m not natural, and only relationships between a man and a woman are sacred. You know what? I tried to be with a woman, and for me that’s not natural!! I can’t explain it any simpler than that. My brain, my DNA, my heart and soul are wired in such a way that the only time I do actually feel natural is to be with another man. For me it’s comfortable, it’s right, and it’s beautiful! And I don’t want to change or repent from my “evil” ways!

He also talks about the fact that perverted homosexuals lack the ability to produce future citizens. I’ve heard many people who oppose gay marriage and civil unions talk about this. I wonder if they think the only reason a man and a woman should get married is to procreate? We need to be asking these folks; what we should then do with straight people who are infertile or sterile? What do we do with folks who get married and are too old to have children? What do we do with straight people who simple don't want to get married?  I submit to you that all of us are not placed on this earth for the sole purpose of procreation.

Tomorrow I want to blog about chaplain L. Dale Johnston’s opinion article that was also included in today’s Wyoming Tribune Eagle. If you get a chance, read it. I hope it gets you as fired up as it did me. In his letter he calls my friend, Reverend Rodger McDaniel blasphemous. He also says, “We had better take God’s word literally because there are no contradictions or errors in it.” Finally, he says, “the King James translation (of the bible) can be trusted to be God’s revelation of truth to mankind.”

I can’t wait to talk about all those things tomorrow; and I’d love to hear your thoughts as well.

Jeran

You know what the bible says about that?........ It's against it!

That is one of my favorite lines from the movie "King Pin." Woody Harrelson is recruiting a professional bowler in an Amish community, and when he is questioned about his "ethics" he responds by saying, "you know what the bible says about that, it's against it!" He obviously has no idea what the bible says about anything.

I wonder how many people go around quoting scripture and saying homosexuality is a sin "because the bible's against it," who don’t actually know what the bible really does say about it. And what does the bible actually say about other social issues? I think we should look at a handful of very interesting bible verses. The next blog posts will be devoted to talking points, I think we should use, when our ultra conservative bible thumping friends show up and say.... "The bibles against it!"

But today let’s looks at one of my favorite bible verses that I like to throw out to some of my opponents who often quote scripture when talking about the sin of homosexuality. Please understand I’m not posting as an expert on religion or as a biblical scholar; rather as someone who thinks we should bring a good healthy dose of common sense into the argument about what the bible says and doesn’t say about certain things.

Here’s one of my favorites; 1Timothy 2:12 - -“I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet.”  Hmmmm….that doesn’t seem very hard to understand. Simple and straightforward!  I was debating an old friend in Wheatland last year when the Platte County School Board made a decision to take down the “No Place for Hate,” banners due to the fact that one of the sponsors had ties to a pro LGTB group.

This particular conversation/debate was with one of my female friends, she home schools her children, two of them are boys. She is the praise team leader at her church, and she argued that the banners needed to come down because they encouraged homosexual behavior and we could never have that because….” The Bibles Against It!!”  So I asked her what she thought about 1Timothy, chapter 2, verse 12……

Anyone who has debated before knows what a wonderful feeling it is when your opponents jaw drops, their eyes open wide and nothing comes out of their mouths’ because they are speechless.

What about two very vocal lobbyists this last legislative session; Lynn Hutchins of the Wyoming Family Coalition and Becky Vanderberghe of WyWatch? These two women represent two ultra conservative, bible touting groups, and both were sent to testify at multiple committee meetings about what the bible says about homosexuals, abortion, and preserving the sanctity of marriage. On Wyoming Family Coalitions website is says their mission is to lobby elected officials about Godly principals. If they’re so godly why did they send a woman to do it?

Bottom line I’m not a male chauvinist, but I can’t stand people that pick and choose what parts of the bible they want to talk about, simply to make a point and remain silent on the rest. More to come in the following days.. I’d love to hear some of your thoughts on bible verses you think are a little out of touch, misquoted, or just plain crazy.

Jeran

My minority status trumps your minortiy status!

Who is the most important minority group? Who deserves the most attention? What minority group has been impacted the most negatively in American Politics?  Do minority groups get along with other minority groups? These seem like silly question to ask!

Friday the House of Representatives in Maryland failed to approve a gay marriage bill that appeared to be all but a done deal a few weeks ago. The bill cleared the more conservative Senate and the Governor said, “Bring it to my desk and I’ll sign it.” And then the bottom fell out in the Maryland House.

Why? This shocked me.  Apparently the reason the bill failed is that Democrats, yes Democrats, changed their minds in the last minutes and the Speaker of the House decided to send it back to committee effectively postponing the vote until next year. I was outraged! How could a Democrat do this!!!

Who were these Democrats? I wanted blood!   Turns out they were African American Democrats that said they had an overwhelming response from their constituents to kill this bill! This blows my mind! How could the African American population in these Representatives districts support inequality? If any group should understand the equality struggle surely it would be them, wouldn’t it?

I wasn’t aware of this disconnect between the LGTB community and the African American community until I had a conversation with a friend about a month ago.  He said he grew up in a town down south with a very vocal black population that frequently spoke out against the entire LGTB community.  

While I was lobbying the Wyoming Legislature an African American lady testified at the same committee meetings I would testify at. She always told the legislators black civil rights were off limits as far as the marriage equality debate was concerned. She said she couldn’t help the color of her skin, and that she was born that way.  She would also go on to talk about how her people had been beaten and kidnapped. She said gay people make a choice to be gay and if they want to get married they need to stop choosing to be gay and enter into a heterosexual relationship and then they could get married! I was actually approached multiple times and told about “conversion” programs that helped us gays turn away from our evil homosexual ways.

I don’t expect the entire African American population to be waving a rainbow flag at the next gay pride rally coming down mainstreet.  And I don’t expect the entire LGTB population to be at the next Martin Luther King Jr. Rally. But I do think we should all be standing together for equality in all aspects of society not just when it suits our particular situation.

I hope I live to see the day where people are not viewed as black, white, brown, straight, gay, bi, or anything else that puts labels on people. I hope we are all viewed as human beings one day. 

Jeran

It’s Saturday just a little after 5pm. I have been cleaning my house all afternoon. I hate house cleaning day; but my house is going to get cleaned once every 6 months whether it needs it or not. J That’s a joke!

Today everything felt so different. As I was scrubbing my bathroom floor cursing the copious amounts of hairspray I use every day, (leaves a sticky film all over everything) it occurred to me just how lucky I actually was to have a house to clean.

The last two days I’ve watched the tsunami pictures on TV in disbelief. How could that actually happen? A wave so huge and destructive that it can sweep away homes, buildings, and cars like they are weightless. I also can’t imagine the fear of living near a nuclear power plant that is so unstable, at any given minute a giant cloud of radioactive steam might come rolling down my street.

Those poor people! I hope and pray none of us ever have to experience what it feels like to lose everything in the blink of an eye.  

I will continue to advocate and fight for what I believe in, but today I will reflect on how blessed my life truly is. I have a roof over my head. I have electricity, warm water, plenty of food in the kitchen, and all my loved ones are accounted for.

I just poured myself a glass of wine and put my feet up. Liz is hanging out with her friends upstairs listening to music that I actually like. Landon will be coming home from work shortly and I will be able to greet him with a hug and a kiss.  Later we will be hanging out with some of our dear friends smiling, laughing, eating good food and drinking good wine!  Wow, I am truly blessed!  Today I don’t feel like complaining about anything!

Time to take names and kick butt!

Becky Vandeberghe of WyWatch, (the group that lobbied against us on HB74 and SJ5) said basically, they are planning on taking names and kicking butt in the next election. She viewed the legislative session as a success by means of gathering more votes for their agenda than they have ever gathered before. She said they now have a clear voting record for current house and senate members and will turn these into major talking points for the next election.

We need to do the same! We need to regroup, strategize, raise money, and also try and influence the next election.  We need to remember this fire and passion that we have in our hearts right now! We as Americans have very short term and forgiving memories.

Everyone knows I’m a board member of Wyoming Equality. We had a legislative reception at Suite 1901 in February. We were chuckling as we set it up wondering if all the legislators were talking among themselves about who was and wasn’t going to come to the “gay thing” that night. We didn’t have as many show as we would have liked but we had some key people that I think ultimately helped us win!

Two of my favorite legislators Joe Barbuto and Stan Blake both came. What a great couple of guys!! Both are strong supporters of equal rights and both spoke at our equality rally in front of the Capital. One of my favorite things Rep. Barbuto said was, “people asked me what I was going to do about jobs and energy, but not one person asked me what I was going to do about taking away someone’s rights.”

Senator Cale Case was there. He has spoken against these bills on the senate floor and was recently featured on the Rachel Maddow show, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/41918532#41918532;  Representatives Mary Throne and Cathy Connolly were there. These two remarkable ladies also spoke in opposition to these bills multiple times on the house floor.

I have to wonder if we would have gotten the same results without this reception; as it allowed us to spend an entire evening with these remarkable people going over the LGTB issues that are near and dear to our hearts.

Obviously this takes money. We also printed flyers, went to lobbyist training, attended workshops, and we plan on doing all these things again but hopefully on a much grander scale. So…. Drum roll please… if you can help us keep fighting we would so much appreciate it!!!

 Wyoming Equality’s mission statement is; Wyoming Equality seeks to enhance the lives of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people in the Equality State by providing: Education, Information, Activities, Support, a Networking System, and an Advocacy System for people impacted by gender and sexual orientation issues.

Donations are tax deductible.  Wyoming Equality / UGLW, Inc. is a non-profit organization recognized under section 501(c)3 of the IRS code. Donations to UGLW, Inc. are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. Federal tax #: 83-0287834.

If you can help contact me or send your donation by mail to;

Wyoming Equality

PO Box 2531 

Cheyenne, Wyoming 82003-2531

No amount is too small, and if you can’t help financially we always need volunteers. Thank you for reading this and making a difference.

Jeran

Does America need a short history lesson?

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.

Why is that so hard to understand? Obviously this is from the Declaration of Independence. The writing is not complex and I’m just baffled as to why so many people don’t seem to understand what this means.

And why is this so hard to understand?

From Wikipedia;

The concept of separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state. The term is an offshoot of the phrase, "wall of separation between church and state," as written in Thomas Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury Baptists Association in 1802. The original text reads: "...I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church & State." The phrase was quoted by the United States Supreme Court first in 1878, and then in a series of cases starting in 1947. Like many other governing principles, the phrase "separation of church and state" itself does not appear verbatim in the U.S. Constitution. The First Amendment to the Constitution states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

I just don’t get it?  Why aren’t the Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Rastafaris, Wiccans, Druids, Atheists, and on and on, lobbying for what their religion teaches about marriage? Why is it only certain Christian groups seem to want to force their religion down everyone’s throat when it comes to gay marriage?

Every day I Google “same sex marriage” and I read about what’s going on in other states.

Some states are facing the exact same thing that just happened in Wyoming,

http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2011/03/new-hampshire-lawmakers-delay-anti-gay-marriage-bills-until-2012/

 Some states are getting closer to civil unions,

 http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/03/08/colorado-republican-casts-key-vote-in-favor-of-civil-unions/ 

Some states are close to getting same sex marriage, http://voices.washingtonpost.com/annapolis/2011/03/gay_maryland_delegates_make_ap.html

One thing I find in common with all these states is the for/against arguments are almost identical to what was being said in Wyoming throughout our legislative session.  And it is Christian groups (or supposed Christian groups,) that say “Don’t give the LGTB community anything!” And the only argument they seem to have is, “This is what the bible says!”

I remember telling the House Judiciary Committee to please keep in mind that they were legislators not clergy; and to please set aside personal religious beliefs when it came to passing laws.  WyWatch would like them to legislate based on their view of the bible.

Can anyone please give me a reason as to why gay people should not be allowed to get married, that in some way, shape, or form doesn’t involve a religious argument???

Jeran

Weigh in on civil unions.

I want to know what you think about civil unions?? I continue to have many legislators tell me they would support a civil union’s bill. (They had a chance this last session and it didn’t make it out of committee… but I already talked about that!)

I’ve had some very interesting discussions with my gay friends on civil unions. Some think it would be great, some think it would be a good ‘temporary’ compromise, some would not be happy until we have full marriage equality and nothing less.

One of my friends told me the issue is so contentious in the gay community, that it would drive a wedge of disagreement for years to come into our cities and towns. What?? Gay people arguing about what to do? Gay people being extremely opinionated?  My friends certainly aren’t like that!

I joke, but I could see this debate turning rather ugly within the gay community and our opponents would have a field day with this. Our opponents said this is a slippery slope and is nothing more than gay marriage in sheep’s clothing. They said civil unions are a stepping stone to legalizing gay marriage and every other state that has gotten civil unions ultimately ended up with same sex marriage on the books. (I fact checked this and its wrong!)  Of all the committee meetings I sat through this last legislative session, the civil unions meeting was by far the ugliest!

One of the things everyone agrees on, same sex marriage is not going to happen in Wyoming any time soon. My legislative friends have said they want it, and some day we will get it, but right now it is a battle we can’t win.  One of my concerns about a civil union’s bill is that it would probably come right alongside another HB74 or SJ5.

Hawaii just passed a civil union’s bill. Here is an excellent Q and A about what it does and doesn’t do from Lambda Legal.  http://data.lambdalegal.org/publications/downloads/fs_hawaiis-2011-civil-unions-bills-faqs.pdf

So I want to know what you think. I want to hear from the LGTB community and I want to hear from our straight friends.  Would you ask your legislators to support a civil union’s bill?

Jeran

How many hearts have to break?

I just got off the phone with my ex-wife Maya, many of you know her. She is a remarkable woman. She wrestles with internal demons, just like we all do, but she is vibrant sole whom I spent 16 years of my life with.

She had been reading my Facebook posts and wanted me to explain what all had been going on in the WY Legislature.  She has never been much for politics or how the process works. So I was telling her about HB74 and SJ5.  I jokingly said, "So I guess I've become Mr. Gay Pride Wyoming." To which she responded "Yeah, I see that. It is really embarrassing to me!" The phone was silent and I could hear her start to cry.

You see I grew up in a small church in Wheatland. My mom made sure my brother and I never missed a Sunday. There were a handful of really good people there. Good Christians that didn't judge and truly loved the human race unconditionally.  And.. There were a handful of people at church that were just like the WyWatch folks that have been lobbying hate and intolerance up at the Capital.

These are the people that try and force their views onto everyone else. People that say being gay is a sin and homosexuals will spend eternity in hell. People that say being gay is a choice. People who pass judgment onto everyone else that looks, acts, or believes differently than they do. They constantly lecture on how everyone else should be living their lives; and even lobby lawmakers to pass laws that would impose these beliefs onto all of society.

These kinds of churches, people, and laws (HB74 and SJ5,) are the exact things that keep people like me from being who we are truly meant to be, or worse yet make people feel that they can’t even bear to live. These are the elements that force us into the closet and keep us there through fear of what others and God might think about us or do to us.

I'm not straight, I'm not bi, I'm not confused, I'm 100% gay! And I've known this forever. It was never a choice for me; this is how I was born.

But... I was terrified of my internal feelings, and I suppressed them and fought them for the first 36 years of my life. People talked, pointed fingers, gossiped, some say they knew all along; I really don't care what people thought, I knew I had to stop living a lie.

I'm living a very happy life right now, and I have an amazing daughter as a result of my straight marriage, but when I came out three years ago I broke Maya's heart. I hope I can forgive myself someday for putting her through everything. I hurt her badly and she has shed countless tears. She told me to keep fighting and standing up for gay people. She says if this can keep other hearts from breaking and keep other people from being forced into living a lie, it is so worth it!

I don't usually share my personal situation, but this is important and I see a day ahead when people will be able to live their entire life with pride. Until that day comes I will continue to tell my story in hopes that it will make a difference for someone who is struggling.

In the meantime; all of us that get it, all of us who understand, all of us who are strong, must speak out and stand up for equality! We can make a difference! I’ve seen it!

Jeran

The Next Steps.

The first thing we need to do is send thank you emails. Please take time over the weekend and drop all these folks an email and thank them for standing up for equality. Many had expressed concern to me about a backlash from their constituents.  We need to let them know standing for equality is always the right thing to do!

Here are the house members we need to thank;

Barbuto -- jbarbuto@wyoming.com

Berger –  rberger@wyoming.com

Blake -- sblake@wyoming.com

Bonner -- dbonner@wyoming.com

Brown -- kermitbrown@wyoming.com

Byrd -- jbyrd@wyoming.com

Childers -- childers@wyoming.com

Connolly -- cconnolly@wyoming.com

Craft -- bcraft@wyoming.com

Esquibel, Ken -- kesquibel@wyoming.com

Freeman -- freeman@wyoming.com

Gingery -- kgingery@wyoming.com

Goggles --  pgoggles@wyoming.com

Greene -- mgreene@wyoming.com

Illoway -- pete_chloeilloway3@msn.com

Kasperik -- nkasperik@wyoming.com

McOmie -- dwmcomie@bresnan.net

Moniz -- gmoniz@bresnan.net

Nicholas B, -- bnicholas@wyoming.com

Patton -- johnpatton@wyoming.com

Petroff -- rpetroff@wyoming.com

Roscoe -- jim@roscoeco.com

Steward -- jebsteward@union-tel.com

Throne -- mthrone@wyoming.com 

Vranish, -- vranish@wyoming.com

Wallis -- sue.wallis52@gmail.com

Zwonitzer, Dan -- dzwonitzer@wyoming.com

Zwonitzer, Dave -- davezwonitzer@wyoming.com

And here are the Senators we need to thank; 

  

Sen. Burns -- bburns@dbburns.com

Sen. Case -- ccase@wyoming.com

Sen. Leland Christensen -- lchristensen@wyoming.com

 Sen. Hank Coe -- hcoe@wyoming.com

 Sen.Ogden Driskill -- senatedriskill@rtconnect.net

Sen. Fred Emerich -- femerich@wyoming.com

Sen. Esquibel – fesquibel@wyoming.com

Sen. Hastert -- jhastert2@wyoming.com

Sen. John Hines -- jhines@wyoming.com

Sen. Bill Landen -- blanden@bresnan.net  

Sen. Martin -- mmartin@wyoming.com

Sen. Phil Nicholas -- nicholas@wyolegal.com

Sen. Rothfuss -- rothfuss@wyoming.com    
Sen. John Schiffer -- jschiffe@wyoming.com   

Sen. Charles Scott -- charlesscott@wyoming.com

Sen. Michael Von Flatern -- mvonflatern@wyoming.com

Now we need to work hard to make sure we don’t end up in this mess again! Many of us that worked so hard on this have decided to have an Equality Summit. We are going to meet in early April and the summit will be held in Casper.  If any of you would like to participate please let me know and I’ll get you the details. The idea is to brainstorm, strategize, and share ideas on how to avoid this same situation next year, and hopefully have a major influence in the next election.

As I send my thank you notes this weekend I will also be asking these Legislators to share their thoughts’  on how they see the next session playing out.  The next session is a budget session and they will only be meeting for 20 days. Time will be short and I don’t know if this will be the time to try and push pro LGTB bills. I don’t want to blow a good opportunity.

After the vote came of HB74 Wednesday, I was lucky enough to have a very good conversation with Governor Mead.   He said “you’ll probably disagree with me, but I think marriage is between a man and a woman.  However, if we don’t offer marriage to our gay friends, we need to provide an alternate option.”  He thought civil unions would be a fair compromise.  While I will personally keep fighting until we have marriage equality, I think this is probably a step in the right direction.

Governor Mead told me he didn’t want to send a message of intolerance from Wyoming.  He said with all the potential businesses looking at Wyoming, “we want the best and the brightest.” I told him I have actually found our friends in the LGTB community to be a bit of a catch. He agreed completely!  He encouraged me to find Legislators that would support a civil union bill.

So…. That’s the plan.  Will you help?

Jeran