Articles From Our November, 2007 Newsletter

Our speaker this month is one of our own board members! Paul DiGeorge just got back from PFLAG's National Conference in Virginia and is very excited to fill us in on the various workshops he attended and to share what he's learned about chapters in other parts of the country etc. This conference only comes along every three years, so it's a pretty big deal!!

Come and join us on November 11th at 3 pm with questions and share the fun! There will be food and fellowship and always lots of important information.

We will meet as always on the third floor of Village Presbyterian Church, 6641 Mission Road, Prairie Village, KS., Room 307.

“Be encouraged”…to quote a famous Bob Dylan song.. “for the times they are a-changin’”.

I have the opportunity to speak again at Park University to a class entitled “Issues in Diversity”. The same professor asks me back each year because she knows that I am always willing to gush about PFLAG and the work we do—at the national and local levels. There is always a time for questions at the end of the presentation and with each passing year the new students seem more open….and more informed. And why shouldn’t they be—we have mainstream movies that portray LGBT folks in leading roles—sports figures and actors that are coming out—articles in every weekly news magazine about the struggles that gays face in our society—a political front jammed with discussions about equal rights for everyone--the History Channel covers transgender issues on their show entitled “taboo”….and then there is Oprah. Is there anything bigger than Oprah? Really? She has this incredibly vast audience that transcends culture, color, religion, gender, age, political, and economic lines. In the span of one hour, she can do what most of us can only dream about. She can bring enlightenment to the masses. Today’s topic was about gays around the world and what that looks like. Her guests spoke with dignity and grace about their life experiences which will likely cause countless in her viewing audience to rethink some of their misconceptions.

I was telling my husband Richard how great I think these programs (and Oprah in particular) are for our cause and he reminded me that even though we can’t do what she does…neither can she do what we do. Seeing a show of this magnitude might give some parent the gumption to seek help once their child has come out, but we still need to be the arms they run to. When we come out as the parents, family or friend of an LGBT loved one, it means something to them. And it means that our neighbors, our co-workers, our gym buddies etc. know where to come when they have breaking news in their own families. I love Oprah, but I don’t think she’ll be the one they run to…they’ll run to you.

Jamie

Did you know that 1 in 4 of all LGBT relationships are affected by domestic violence right now?

Did you know that most any LGBT person can apply for an order of protection in MO and a protection from abuse or protection from stalking order in Kansas?

Did you know that KCAVP is the only organization in western Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska that provides assistance to LGBT victims of domestic violence?

Beth Savitzky and Lindsey Moore were chosen to present at the Missouri Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence annual conference November 7-9 in Columbia, MO. The presentation is entitled "The T of LGBT and Community Living Issues" and will train domestic violence and sexual assault advocates from across Missouri about issues with transgender people and domestic violence shelter housing.

On September 27, the U.S. Senate passed the Matthew Shepard Act that is inclusive of federal hate crimes legislation. The legislation is formally entitled, the Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (S. 1105). It was offered as a bipartisan amendment by Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR) to the Department of Defense authorization bill currently before the U.S. Senate.

The virtually identical House version of the bill passed overwhelmingly on May 3rd, 2007 with a bipartisan vote of 237 to 180 as an appropriate and measured response to the unrelenting and under-addressed problem of hate crimes against individuals based on sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and disability.

PFLAG SUPPORTS REAL FAMILY VALUES