Dear Friends,
I am writing you informally as friends, as one individual to other individuals, with no reference to any organization.
A mutual friend of ours, Carolyn Wagner, of Fayetteville, Arkansas, is facing an extremely difficult time. Her husband, Bill, who is an optometrist at their local Walmart, has had a severe and debilitating heart attack. He continues in the coronary care unit of the Fayetteville Medical Center, where his prognosis is guarded and uncertain.
He has been the source of their family's support, since Carolyn is officially disabled and unable to be employed. Instead, she has worked tirelessly for human rights and for gay equality causes in her school, community, state, region and nation. She is a volunteer regional director for a national support group I am involved with for gays and their families.
You may remember the Wagners from news articles, or from a reception which was held in their honor following the PFLAG Annual Meeting in San Francisco on Sept. 12. They were recognized because of their courageous actions.
After their gay son, Willi, was harassed for several years in school and no relief was provided by teachers, administrators or the school district, they sued the Fayetteville School District. After heavy legal expenses, extensive litigation and long work with the U. S. Dept. of Education and U. S. Attorney General's office, a court found in their favor, requiring a safe school environment be provided for gay students under U. S. Title IX provisions. The case favorably affects lesbian, gay and bisexual students in every public school district in America.
For this monumental success, the Wagners paid a high price. They mortgaged their home and spent all available resources on legal fees and related costs. We are all beneficiaries of their immense sacrifice.
This is a time of need for the Wagners and an opportunity for us. With no income and virtually no resources remaining, they have still been too proud to ask for assistance. But we have discovered they need our immediate help, and need it badly.
I invite you to join Betty and me, Nancy and Joe McDonald, Kirsten and John Kingdon, and other friends, in sending to the Wagners whatever assistance you may be able to offer. I know of few more faithful allies or more worthy persons.
Sincerely yours,
Paul & Betty Beeman
Olympia, Washington
To receive the address to which you can send support, please contact John Lindner, PFLAG-Talk webmaster at johng@garlic.com.