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Our New BFFs

Mary Meeks 23/11/2009 19:01:00

My partner and I were standing next to U.S. Congressman at Equality ‘s Orlando Gala last month when the Congressman was introduced to the parents of Ryan Skipper. Grayson expressed his sympathy to Ryan‘s parents and told them that he had just voted for the House version of the Matthew Shepard Act and he wanted them to know that a White House signing of the Act would be imminent. Wow.

This was a revelatory moment for me that I want to share. So come along with me on a strenuous mental exercise. Let‘s close our eyes and imagine the former congressman that Grayson defeated, Rick Keller, in attendance at an Equality Florida Gala, speaking enthusiastically about hate crime legislation while offering sympathy to the parents of a murdered gay man. (I told you this was a strenuous mental exercise.)

Now let‘s replace imaginary Rick Keller with imaginary Tom Feeney, or imaginary . Whew, are you exhausted? Okay, let‘s rest our very tired brains and enjoy the sweet wind of change.

Because, when Ryan‘s murder occurred, not a single member of Central Florida‘s Congressional delegation (or our Governor) deigned to even acknowledge Ryan Skipper‘s hate-motivated murder despite repeated pleas for assistance from Ryan‘s family and LGBT community leaders.

My point is, have you noticed recently that a lot of the politicos here in Central Florida are suddenly very gay-friendly? No less than three Orange County Commissioners served as Host Committee members at the Equality Florida Orlando Gala last month. Linda Stewart, Mildred Fernandez and Bill Segal all graciously agreed to be publicly identified as official Hosts of the Gala. Can you imagine Rich Crotty, the Orange County Mayor they all aspire to be, willfully associating with actual gay people? In public? Promoting LGBT equality?

And there‘s more. Linda Stewart has appeared at recent MBA- and HRC-sponsored events sponsored, she has her own gay-themed campaign button and she sponsored a float in this year's Come Out with Pride parade. Mildred Fernandez soundly rebuked Kissimmee Commissioner Art Otero when he made homophobic remarks published in the Orlando Sentinel. Grayson has announced that he will be holding upcoming events in Central Florida featuring out U.S. Representatives Jared Polis and Barney Frank. OMG, they all want to be our BFFs! It seems like we have hit the gay-lovin' mother lode!

Now back to Mother Earth, my fellow gaylings. Let's hit the pause button for just a minute. Yes, we are thrilled to have real, live, public officials who are not afraid to be seen palling around with us and who

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say all the right things about supporting equality for all.

We thank them and commend them for their support and for their courage and we feel inclined to give them our full-fledged support in return. But before we hand our new BFFs the keys to the car, let‘s make sure we know where they‘re driving.

Let's ask Stewart and Fernandez and Segal if they, as the next Orange County Mayor, will support the creation of an Orange County Domestic Partner Registry, like the registries that already exist in numerous counties around the state. Will the mayor wannabes commit?

Grayson is certainly a breath of fresh air in the U.S. Congress and is on record as a supporter of some important gay-rights measures, which is much appreciated. But there are questions to ask him too.

Why isn‘t he a co-sponsor of the Respect for Marriage Act (the pending legislation to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act)? And why isn‘t he a co-sponsor of the Uniting American Families Act (the pending legislation to allow LGBT citizens to sponsor their foreign spouses and partners for U.S. citizenship as married heterosexuals are allowed to do)? Based on Grayson‘s eloquence concerning equality for LGBT people, I have no doubt that he‘s a friend of our community. But if he wants to be our BFF and receive our complete and undying love and support (and money) forever and ever, then I want the same in return. Will the —Congressman With Guts“ commit?

A savvy politician these days has good reason to court the over one million LGBT citizens living in Florida. We are a potent political force. We tend to write campaign checks, we tend to phone bank and canvass and we tend to vote on Election Day.

So my final point is this: We have power as a community. The politicians know it and they are in full campaign mode. They all want to be our BFFs right now and that's great. We need all the BFFs we can get. But let‘s effectively use our power and make sure that these aspiring BFFs understand we expect them to support the full package of civil rights we deserve.

They have shown that they can talk the talk to us; we need to know if they will walk the walk with us. We need to ask them the tough questions; they need to give us the real answers.

That‘s what BFFs do.

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