Legislator shopping

A great crowd of about 50 concerned citizens came out last night to the Unitarian Church of Harrisburg for a screening of The ACLU Freedom Files: Gay & Lesbian Rights. We were also fortunate to be joined by community activist Kathleen Daugherty and Dan Miller of Harrisburg City Council. Big city folk can kick around little ol' Harrisburg, if they wish, but how many PA towns would elect an openly gay man?.

The crowd was clearly energized and concerned about where we are heading on the debate over g&l rights. Me, I'm an eternal optimist. A majority of Americans support civil unions, opposition to gay marriage continues to drop, and the younger generations are very accepting of homosexuality.

But it's easy for me to be an optimist because I don't have to live with the discrimination and second-class citizenry every day. I can appreciate the anxiety of our LGBT amigos.

There were a few stories about meetings with legislators. Perhaps the most absurd was the story of the legislator who told a gay couple that they should go "state shopping" to find a gay-friendly state. A response from the crowd was that we should go "legislator shopping."

We'll keep pushing the ball forward, knowing that we're on the right side of history.

Andy in the HBG