Lead editorial--placement above the fold, running down the left-hand side of the left page and jumping uncut onto the third op-ed page. It's in response to a Will Perkins guest column last week, which I just posted as well.
My editorial refers to a Denver Post item and another column which ran alongside Perkins' in the Courier last week. If I have time to get these typed in, I will post them, too. (If only I had money for a scanner--I'd buy a guitar with it, actually!) In seeking a promise of publication, I came out to the editor of the Courier, whom I have known since I moved up to the mountains five years ago. He's been very supportive of our PFLAG chapter, and editorialized against Amendment 2 when it was on the ballot and while it went through the courts. I've had many letters and guest editorials published in the *Courier* (the editor once wrote of me: "What Mike Royko is to Chicago politics, Sisneros is to *Courier* letter-writing"!) I only wish I were brave enough to have this printed under my own name. But I'm not sure my church and my students are ready for that.
[withheld]
PS: about midway there's a paragraph about a Jefferson County judge's history of granting custody and adoptive parenthood to gays and lesbians. This, of course, is the judge who gave me custody of my abused and neglected nephew. People who know me may recognize my hand in the editorial by this, if the style isn't enough of a clue!
PPS: the Channel 12 [PBS affiliate] documentary mentioned toward the end is available through PFLAG Denver. It is *excellent*! The copy I borrowed has a $32.14 price tag, which I presume includes tax. I will pass along your requests to PFLAG Denver if you e-mail me privately.
****************************** by PFLAG members
Will Perkins' anti-gay screed, published as a guest column in last week's Courier, was a topic of conversation at that night's meeting of Evergreen/Mountain Area chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.
We thank Greg Dobbs for pointing out in his parallel column that Perkins is a "whiner," but we fear the issues go further than that. Perkins' parting shot is that Amendment 2 "was unconstitutionally struck down, along with our voting rights."
Courier readers needn't exert themselves too much to discover that the role of the Supreme Court in the judicial review of laws of every kind is, in fact, Constitutionally mandated. Go to any encyclopedia, large dictionary, history text, library, or online service to find a copy of the Constitution. Start with Article III. The Court, as Dobbs reiterates, did precisely what it was instituted to do by the founders of our democratic republic.
So why does Perkins persist in thrusting the myth of illegality into this debate? In last Friday's Denver Post, Perkins was again mythologizing. The Colorado Court of Appeals had rejected an effort by two Jefferson County lesbian mothers to adopt one another's children.
Says Perkins, "Common sense tells you the heterosexual nuclear family is the ideal." He goes on to ask, "What's best for the children? That is the primary question. You want to start out with the best environment you can, and the best environment is a man and a woman." Whatever Perkins' "common sense" may tell him, this has nothing to do with the court's decision. Jefferson County District Court Judge Michael C. Villano said simply that there is no power given the court by state and local laws to grant co-adoption to domestic partners who are not married, and the appeals court agreed. The women were not even eligible to present evidence concerning what is best for their children.
Quite contrary to the spin put on this by Perkins, appellate Judge Ed Ruland's concurring opinion questions the rationale of legislation which does not allow "the best interests of the child" to be considered. Ruland concludes that "good parents who are willing and able to undertake the substantial responsibility and nurturing required in child rearing should receive legal recognition without regard to whether a marriage is involved." The women do of course have legal options available to them, including guardian and conservatorships, powers-of-attorney, beneficiary status, and so on -- and they have used them already. These, too, would no doubt violate Perkins' "common sense" prescription for the "ideal" family environment.
On the other hand, Judge Villano's own common sense has led him over the years to grant custodial and adoptive parenthood to a number of Jefferson County lesbians and gays -- some single householders, others in same-sex domestic relationships. A few of these children live right here in Evergreen. In many cases, they were rescued from a life of abuse and neglect in two-parent, heterosexual families.
Perkins' column begins with a rant against Rabbi Steven Foster and the Civil Rights Commission, who waited only "three short days" before asking Governor Romer to present legislation which would include sexual orientation in Colorado anti-discrimination laws. Apparently Perkins wants a respectable period of mourning after the demise Amendment 2.
Well, we at PFLAG have news for him: we'd been in mourning for nearly three and a half years -- mourning for our gay and lesbian members, friends, daughters and sons, brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers. But our mourning did not take the form of sackcloth and ashes, of sighing and acquiescence. We were not moping resignedly in our closets. We were searching our souls for strength, supporting our gay and lesbian loved ones, welcoming new members, building coalitions, marching and carrying banners.
Other organizations, in Colorado and across the nation, were doing the same. Rabbi Foster didn't have to spend three days convincing the Civil Rights Commission to support new anti-discrimination language in our state laws. No, Perkins: You and your organization did it that fateful November day three and a half years ago.
Moreover, according to Perkins, Rabbi Foster spoke "to an assembled crowd of homosexual celebrants" at the Capitol Hill rally the day of the Supreme Court decision. Here's more news: Many in that crowd were not homosexual. Many who worked tirelessly to defeat Amendment 2 were not homosexual. And, yes, most of the Coloradans who voted against Amendment 2 were not homosexual.
Evergreen was represented at the rally by gay and straight community members, many of whom were holding the Evergreen/Mountain Area PFLAG banner. And at our meeting last Wednesday, we watched a Channel 12 documentary, "Inner Journeys, Public Stands: Heterosexual Allies Take a Stand for Gay Rights." We heard Rabbi Foster speak for himself about the intense religious and historical impetus for his work on behalf of gay rights, although he and his family members are not gay. In the video, his beliefs are echoed in the witness and activism of many other straight Coloradans who dedicated themselves to defeating Amendment 2.
But Perkins persistently insinuates that anyone who disagrees with him must be homosexual. Combine that with his vilification of gays and lesbians and his ominous claims about the so-called "homosexual agenda" and the intent is clear: Perkins wants you to be afraid to speak up for your gay family members, neighbors and friends. He wants you to fear being labeled if you should take action to ensure equality for all.
This is why we believe our membership in PFLAG is so important. We will continue to advocate for those who are too fearful to speak for themselves or their loved ones. We will continue to educate ourselves and our community about gay and lesbian issues. And, as always, we will continue to support those who come to us with questions and uncertainties about themselves and their gay loved ones. We welcome you to join us, too -- as openly or as anonymously as you wish. Our meetings are the second Wednesday evening of each month. The Courier always publishes the meeting announcement in the Happenings section.