PFLAG Baltimore County Believes The Time Has Come

President Barack Obama metaphorically indicated in his speech on Oct 10th (before the Human Rights Campaign dinner in Washington DC) that the time has come to stop debating whether or not Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender people are equal. (See Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong’s A Manifesto! The Time Has Come

A greater degree of inclusion can be reached if the following measures are passed by congress and signed into law by the President. He has indicated he supports these measures.

• Matthew Sheppard Hate Crimes bill
o This bill adds language to an already existing law which if passed will include the protection on people based on their Sexual Orientation and Sexual Identity.
• ENDA (the Employment Non Discrimination Act)
o This bill will add protections in employment and housing if passed for people based on their Sexual Orientation and Sexual Identity.
• DADT (Don’t Ask, Don’t)
o This legislation will reverse the current practice of ejecting soldiers from the armed services based on their Sexual Orientation.
• DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act)
o This law was implemented during the administration before Barack Obama and is the most hateful legislation in recent American history. This law makes it illegal for dedicated and loving same-sex partners from defining their own relationship. Additionally DOMA prevents these dedicated couple from more than 1100 automatic legal protection that opposite-sex couple enjoys when they get married. Essentially, DOMA does not defend anything, as other laws which are now overturned; it only prevents the inclusion of people who are different from the majority. This law should be over turned for one simple reason – The 14th Amendment of the Constitution of the U.S. clearly states: “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.”

Please join me in encouraging others to call and write to their congressional representative and Senators to support these four pieces of legislation. No one is free in this country if we are not all free.

To see Barack Obama's speech click on the links below.
Barack Obama Speaking to HRC Part 1
Barack Obama Speaking to HRC part 2
Barack Obama Speaking to HRC part 3


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PFLAG Goes to The National Equality March

National Equality March October 11, 2009

PFLAG Baltimore County formed earlier this year in January when several people decided to work together to develop a Baltimore Area chapter. We held our first meeting in a Towson bookstore over coffee. The second and subsequent meetings have met at Towson Unitarian Universalist Church. The group of parents and supportive allies has grown in size from three people at that first meeting to twenty-five people in September when Darryl Hunter spoke about Bullying in Baltimore County Schools.

At the September meeting it was announced that the chapter had decided to sponsor a bus to the National Equality March in Washington DC on October 11, 2009. During the next six weeks all the seats on the first bus were sold. Early in the week before the March & Rally requests for tickets were still pouring in. A second bus was ordered and ticket sales continued up to the moment the bus departed for Washington DC on Sunday.

We were happy to include two groups of students along for the ride. One group was from Baltimore City College, and another group from Notre Dame College. Donations were made by several members of PFLAG and several others by friends in our allied community. A very generous donation was made by PFLAG Columbia/Howard County. This donation enabled us to subsidize the high school student seats. We are still working to develop fund raising plans and to gather donations to reimburse one college student who paid for fifteen seats for her fellow students. This was a gracious gesture on her part. But, we as a grateful community should respond with individual donations to assure she is repaid for her dedicated effort.

Please click on the "Donate" button at the top right of the page if you are able to help.


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