History in New York
Dear friends and colleagues,
I have been truly blessed having had the opportunity to meet all of you over the course of my lifetime and throughout my professional career. So many of you have contributed to my ability to live the American dream allowing me to achieve the success I have with little discrimination in both my personal and professional life.
The discomforts I have experienced have been overshadowed by the constant support and encouragement of people like you. I never felt my life was different than anyone in the United States until Bob, my partner of 23 years, and I file taxes or experience challenges attempting to visit each other in the hospital or obtain medical information in an emergency situation, or when we attend so many of our friends beautiful weddings—only to realize this is only for them and not us.
Actually, there are approximately 1,200 laws in our country that discriminate against the LGBT community. These are the times when I realize my friends treat me with equality but my life is not considered equal in the eyes of many and the laws of our country.
This is why I am so proud and excited to the co-chair of the National LGBT Leadership Council and a member of the National Finance Committee/Advisory Board to President Obama's re-elect campaign. President Obama has moved forward our laws to protect the safety of all our citizens and has moved us closer to equality in the past two years than all presidents combined in the history of our country. I am confident that with Obama, we will continue to move closer to the full equality under the law that every U.S. citizen deserves.
For the first time in U.S. history President Obama will address LGBT Americans, straight allies, celebrities, friends and other political dignitaries at the LGBT Obama 2012 Gala in New York. (It will take place Thursday, June 23.) It will be an amazing event hosted by Neil Patrick Harris and include entertainment from world-renowned artists and speakers. I would like to extend a personal invitation for you to consider attending this event and support full equality for all Americans.
I know many of my friends and colleagues have personal and philosophical reasons to support other parties and or candidates. This is what makes our country great, our ability to share differences of opinions but still hold on to our respect for each other. I would hope that even if you are not a supporter of President Obama that you would consider sending this invitation to any of your friends in the LGBT community or supporters that you know would be interested in this opportunity to spend the evening with the president.
I hope that I will have a chance to see all of you in the near future and please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or concerns.
Warm regards,
Wally Brewster
Chicago
Looking at Catholic Charities
Dear Editor:
Should Catholic Charities be able to discriminate against LGBT couples?
If they can do that without receiving public monies they certainly have a right in our society, under freedom of religion. However, Catholic Charities also supports one of the Church's most ancient moral teachings: "From the apostles to the present, the magisterium of the church has insisted that those in power are morally obliged to preference the needs of the poor." We live in a complex world.
It would be easy to paint Catholic Charities with the broad brush stroke of homophobia, but would that tell the whole story? As a Catholic I am opposed to any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation. That leaves me with one option: to find another path that may speak to compromise.
Is it possible I wonder to seek some form of common ground so that Catholic Charities can continue its good work on the adoption front, while at the same time not discriminating against same-sex couples?
I am asking for people of good will on both sides of the divide to engage in a form of dialogue that respectfully challenges the other without cutting off dialogue. Currently, the Illinois Catholic Conference seems incapable of such a form of dialogue, as does some of our gay politicians.
Joe Murray
Rainbow Sash Movement
Stevie Nicks disconnect
Dear Editor:
I feel disappointed that Stevie Nicks blew at least four opportunities to demonstrate she's capable of reflecting on why gays connect with her music and what it means in a larger context [in an interview in the May 25 issue of Windy City Times]. Instead, her answers became a self-indulgent digressions and ruminations on her fairy-tale world. To each his own, but I like a diva who knows how to ride a unicorn and think on her feet.
Eugene Skala
Chicago
