LGBT at the DNC

Whoa! That's a ton of letters! So what was it like to be a gay man at the DNC? Nothing short of phenomenal!

First this convention was historic.  There were 486 openly gay delegates in attendance or roughly 8% of the entire delegation.  Every state in the union had at least one LGBT delegate. (Wyoming had three.)  As Jerame Davis of National Stonewall Democrats said "We've been an underrepresented demographic in politics for a long time.  Finally seeing us appropriately represented is just a thrill."

This is me and Ana with Colorado Governor Hickenlooper.  I told him that I live in WY and my partner lived in CO and we were both crushed when the civil unions bill died in CO this year.  He grabbed my hand, looked me in the eye and said, "Oh don't you worry! I promise we will get that taken care of next year!"  Wow!! What a moment!

One of the biggest highlights for me was the LGBT caucuses.  These were meetings/strategy sessions/ motivational type get togethers that were held on Tuesday and Thursday from 12-2 p.m. So who did they get to address this group you ask?  Well here are a handful of the fine politicians that spoke to us;

Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius.  Talked about how the OFA will impact the LGBT community with no lifetime caps of coverage, no pre-existing condition clauses, premiums going to actual health care rather than insurance company profits, and many other benefits.

Wisconsin Senate Candidate Tammy Baldwin.  Who if elected will be the first openly gay United States Senator

 Newark, New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker.  Who said all the politicians should be in the audience and the audience should be on stage teaching the politicians.  Kit and I had a chance to visit with him at the arena where he thanked us for all we do and encouraged us to be louder, stronger, and more persistent than ever before.

 Sorry for the blurry picture but this is Dr. Jill Biden as in the Second Lady.  Who also talked about education in the LGBT community and passing anti-bullying laws to protect students.

Minnesota Senator Al Franken. Who spent most of his time talking about the repeal of Don't Ask Dont Tell and reminisced about his days as an entertainer. Traveling the Middle East back when people could be kicked out the military for something as trivial as their sexual orientation.

Massachusetts Senator Barney Frank who said, even though the tide is turning and we are seeing victories, we must not give up. "The time to step up the attack is when the enemy is weak."  Let me tell you this is one intense, serious, smart, and grouchy dude!

 Senior Advisor to President Obama Valerie Jarrett talked about how much Obama has done for the LGBT community including repealing DADT, refusal to defend DOMA, expanding hate crimes laws to include sexual orientation and gender, and came out in support of marriage equality.







So this is just a handful of the celebrity power we had at our caucus! I went through the full gamut of emotions. I laughed, I cried, I was angry, I was proud. My main take away.... don't stop fighting!! These fine politicians have our back but the real work is done on the grass roots level!

And the icing on the cake?? Wednesday I went to an HRC / Victory Fund luncheon and the key note speech was delivered by.... wait for it.... Michelle Obama!!

She is an amazing, caring, kind, compassionate woman who laid out what was at stake in this election.  "If you don't live in a battle ground state... get to one!" She pointed out how a Romeny/Ryan ticket would roll the clock back at least 20 years on the progress that has been made over the last four years.

DADT will be back, DOMA will once again be defended in federal courts, and marriage equality.. forget about it!  (that's me paraphrasing but you get the idea.) She very effectively conveyed the importance of this election!

This is me with HRC President Chad Griffin

Overall I couldn't be happier with the results of this convention, and what it means to me as a gay man to have The President and First Lady mention multiple times in their keynote speeches how they firmly stand behind people being allowed to "marry who they love!"  The Democratic Platform is now complete with a full marriage equality plank and I have never been more FIRED UP and READY TO ROLL than I am right now!!

Jeran

The DNC... Oh the DNC!

I've just returned for Charlotte, NC where I was fortunate enough to represent Wyoming as a delegate for the 2012 Democratic National Convention.

So what was it like? What were my takeaways? Did I learn anything? How was the LGBT community represented? Highlights? Concerns?  Over this next week I will post a series of blog posts covering all of these experiences.

First, I will let you know that I am fired up!! Wow! This was truly a life changing experience. I expected to have fun. I knew I would be busy but I didn't know what an impact it would have on my life and drive home just how important this election is.

So here's how the convention worked. Events started at 8 a.m. most days and wrapped up at 2 a.m. That's a long day! I found I was averaging four or five hours of sleep per night. We were given a welcome/gift bag when we arrived. One of the gifts was a pedometer. I wore mine Wednesday and took a little over 30,000 steps. That equates to walking almost 15 miles!

The events and meetings were held all over the metro are of Charlotte. Most receptions were at uptown restaurants, pubs, or hotels. The caucuses and workshops were held at the convention center and the main platform stage, where all the big speeches were given, was at the AOL Time Warner Arena.

We arrived on Sunday and I thought this was going to a quiet night to relax, plan, and gear up for the convention. Wrong! Upon arrival we were whisked of to a reception at the Renaissance Hotel for a pre-convention reception with a handful of other states.  The highlight.... I got this picture

This is me and WY delegates Kate Wright and Kit Young with the Chair of the National Democratic Party, Debbie Wasserman Schultz.  She is an amazing woman! She can frequently be seen making the rounds on the Sunday morning political shows; pleading the Democrats case on most issues with smart, articulate, and actual fact based opinions on how to move this country forward.

I think Charlotte knocked the cover off the ball. Their city is beautiful! Their airport is clean, bright, efficient, and cheerful. The uptown area is clean, plush, and full off beautiful flowers, trees, and shrubs. I would not hesitate to visit Charlotte again as a tourist.

I could not have attended this convention with a better group of folks that was the Wyoming delegation. They were a blast!! Such a smart and diverse group! I'm proud to have been part of a delegation that included African Americans, Latino Americans, Gay Americans, and equal representation between men and women! I was honored to be included with such a fine group of Wyoming citizens!

Tomorrow we'll dig into the convention. I want to talk about what it meant to be a gay man at this historic convention.

Jeran

Britstol Palin's expertise on morality.

Just when I think I've about seen it all, Bristol Palin comes out in her blog and criticizes Obama for having a conversation with his daughters about same sex couples???

Are you serious? Of all people to give moral advice about what's right and wrong... Wow... just Wow!

When people like Bristol Palin and Rush Limbaugh (Rush has been married four times btw) talk about the war on marriage, I have to call them out on their incredible hypocrisy!

Do they really think we're stupid? Are these the best faces the bigots can put forward?

Jeran

Playing politics....

So, yesterday I was blogging about having a rough day and of course the day ended up being not only good, but great! You might even say super duper amazing!

You probably weren't on this planet if you missed the president's announcement that he has evolved into fully supporting marriage equality. This is wonderful news and the timing couldn't have been better.

What really amazes me is how many people are trying to spin this negatively! I've had comments on my FB page saying, "he's just trying to buy votes," and "what a politician, he should have done this his first term," Fox news called him a "flip flopper!"

Wow.... really? Folks, this is progress!!! Of course many of us wanted this much sooner, but now calling him names?? Why do we have to play politics with this?

I think we all know where this is headed and I truly believe we will see marriage equality in all 50 states within our lifetime! To win this war we need Republican and Democrats to come together.  When I lobby I have to check my own political beliefs at the door because we have Republican and Democratic supporters and friends.

Can we please stop calling this a partisan issue and view it as RIGHT VS. WRONG!!

I don't care if you like or dislike Obama, he is correct is his stance on marriage equality and Mitt Romney is wrong!  Where will you stand?  History is being rewritten even as we speak!  Will you be apologizing to your grand kids some day??

Jeran

Rough day!

Waking up to a bunch of negative headlines in the fight for equality is not fun!

North Carolina passes a constitutional amendment not only banning gay marriage, but also banning the future passage or possibility of civil unions; and it looks like the speaker of the house in Colorado has decided not to introduce the civil unions bill on the floor thus ensuring it's demise in this legislative session.

I would imagine the bigots, haters, WyWatcher's, religious freaks, and many Tea Party members are having a field day with this!

Well let me tell you what this does for me; I get fired up more than ever! I want my voice to be louder than ever! I want to make phone calls, recruit progressive candidates, support ally legislators, and share my personal story with more people than ever before!

My love for my partner Mike, is not superficial! It's not unholy! It's not dirty or perverse! It is beautiful, healthy, and natural! I have pride in myself and love for my partner that no one can take away or diminish.... NO MATTER WHAT!! We don't want special rights, we want equal rights!

What I've seen this morning is friends, that have never been political before, posting things like "time to get involved!"  and "we're not going to be silent any more and trust that the system will look out for us!"

As I always say, We may have lost a battle but we will win the war!

The time is now for the LGTB community and our allies to speak up! Share your stories, tell your friends what's going on, don't sit by expect your government to have your best interests in mind! Ask your legislators where they stand on this issue; and if they don't support us, get rid of em!  Back the states, countries, and companies that are supportive of Equality!

Let your voice, your dollar, and your vote speak louder than ever before!

Jeran

Exciting news!!

I'm very excited to announce that Wyoming Equality is partnering with Zach Wahls (watch his video here) and his new program "Out to Dinner."

I just got the email from Zach stating we are okay to start talking about the event; so here is the introduction and much much more to follow;

Out to Dinner Statement

            This week marks the soft launch of the Out to Dinner project, an initiative aiming to bridge the gap between LGBT Americans and those still on the fence when it comes to matters of LGBT rights by bringing them together to share a meal.

            “There’s a lot of misunderstanding about what it means to be a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender person or to have an LGBT parent or parents,” said Zach Wahls, the twenty-year-old son of an Iowa lesbian couple and founder of the project. “By bringing people together to just break bread and get to know each other, I think we can dispel some misconceptions.”

            Out to Dinner asks straight ally couples all across the country to host a dinner on the evening of Friday, June 22 to which the ally/host couple will invite a same-sex couple and some folks who are still conflicted when it comes to LGBT rights. In a break with previous “house party” initiatives, though, Out to Dinner does not ask participants to have “the talk,” so to speak, instead encouraging guests to simply get to know each other and avoiding the topics of politics or religion altogether.

            Further, organizers hope by taking a focus on couples and families, LGBT people will be able to highlight the similarities that their families share with “straight” families.

            “The Family Equality Council is proud to support the Out to Dinner initiative because it speaks to our core mission of creating a world where all families feel valued for their commitment to each other,” said Jennifer Chrisler, Executive Director of the Family Equality Council, a family-focused LGBT advocacy group.

“As an organization that supports and represents the 1 million LGBT families in this country, this initiative represents a unique opportunity for us to demonstrate that we want the same things for our children that all parents do - respect, protection and a bright future,” said Chrisler.  

            "We know that nothing is more important in helping non-gay people get to a place of understanding, and ultimately support, for the freedom to marry than building relationships and having honest conversations about our families and our lives. Through that experience, gay and non-gay people alike come to recognize that their similarities are much greater than their differences,” said Evan Wolfson, founder and President of Freedom to Marry. “Freedom to Marry is very pleased to be partnering in this effort.”

            A coalition of state and national groups has coalesced around the project, which counts Freedom to Marry, the Family Equality Council, the Human Rights Campaign, Lambda Legal GLAAD, the Equality Federation, Marriage Equality USA and among its major partners, in addition to numerous groups at the state level.

            “We know that nothing is a more powerful influence on opinion of equality issues than familiarity with LGBT people,” said Joe Solmonese, President of the Human Rights Campaign. “This night is an opportunity for us as a movement to all work together and foster more of these positive relationships.” The Human Rights Campaign is the largest LGBT advocacy group and lobbying organization in the United States.

             A more formal announcement is expected in early May. Wahls says that plans are in the works to involve celebrity chefs, high-profile ally couples and even more national, state and local groups ahead of the project’s June date. 

This is very exciting!!

Jeran

Mental Growing Pains

I have to admit when I was in high school, "Growing Pains" was one of my favorite TV shows. Namely because of Kirk Cameron. I had quite the crush on him!

It's funny how the minute some people open their mouths they become extremely unattractive and undesirable. This is what has happened to Kirk Cameron for me.

Check out the comments this wonderful, loving, caring Christian has made on the Piers Morgan Show. Did you catch the part where he called us homosexuals "unnatural, detrimental, and destructive?"  Again, probably something you would hear Jesus saying had he been sitting in the same seat as Cameron. Right??

Who do you think you are to tell the rest of civilization what's "natural?"  For me being with another man feels natural, healthy, and right. I've been in a heterosexual marriage and for me it felt extremely unnatural, unhealthy, and was painfully uncomfortable. I can't summarize it in any other way!

So you don't believe in gay marriage.. THEN DON'T GET ONE!  But you need to accept the fact that my brain and DNA are wired completely differently than yours! It's called diversity and it makes this planet unique! I'm grateful to live in a place where not everyone has to believe and act in one particular way.

I'm extremely happy! I have a wonderful relationship with a man that makes me smile every time I think about him. So don't you dare tell me that this relationship is not natural! I'm flourishing, my daughter is flourishing, and I can't speak for my boyfriend, but he seems quite happy as well! None of my friends would consider our relationship destructive or detrimental to anyone or anything.

Mr. Cameron your rhetoric is detrimental and destructive to those of us who know better, and especially to those who have not yet found their courage or voice to live a life that feels healthy and natural!