From: Nancy Lamkin Olson
Date: Wed, 24 Apr 1996 21:47:57 -0400
To: pflag-talk@casti.com
Subject: Testimony--delete if you want--it's long:-)
thanks to all of you who privately emailed me to offer me advice. rhea, jan, marie and wendy in particular were most supportive and extremely helpful. unfortunately i learned at practically the last minute that my testimony had to be drastically cut to less than the two minutes i thought i had.
i just walked in the door from my day in springfield and i have such a riot of mixed emotions i don't know where to begin. suffice it to say, i felt as if i was pissing in the wind as i knew, as did everyone else that the bill would make it out of committee and ultimately will pass. however, having said that, i worked until 2 in the morning on my testimony including almost everything wendy and my friend rand harris wrote, waking up at 4:00 am and driving to springfield. after arriving i was informed by the attorneys from the a.c.l.u. that i would have *less* than two minutes and that the committee chair would terminate me midsentence. kurt and i went up to the table to testify. believe it or not, i went up not even realizing that they only wanted one person to speak in opposition to this bill and that was kurt! i shouldn't have even walked up there. but miraculously kurt asked if i could be heard and the request was granted. in retrospect i wish i had been more inclusionary and had spoken less about my son, but i was advised to make it as personal as possible. i felt i had to include the facts about my republican father because i was speaking to a majority of republicans. this is what i said:
I am the mother of a gay son. I have three sons who are 26, 27, and 28. Thee two older boys are unmarried and straight and the youngest, Christian is gay and in a committed relationship for the past five years with his partner, Tom.
I know that it might be difficult for you to believe but the fact is, I knew Christian was gay practically from the day he was born. call it a mother's "instinct" or a gut reaction. I believe that Christian was indeed born a homosexual. that it was definitely not something that at the age of 21 he decided to become or to choose. It was who he was as a child and who he is as a man.
My late father is Bob Lamkin from Satson, Illinois. Some of you may have heard of him or may have even known him. in 1972 he ran for the United States Congress from the 22nd district as a Republican. He was a Republican to his very core. his campaign was even run by a very young, jim brady, president reagan's press secretary. I know in my heart that he would be appalled, if he were alive today, that his gay grandson was the object of such blatant homophobic rhetoric from the radical religious right. That simply in order to get votes and money, he and other gay men and women are demonized as some sort of pervert all in the name of the Bible and Jesus. My Father's grandson works hard and lives by the rules. He and Tom have just purchased a home in Chicago and have begun to put down roots. They are not atypical. there are thousands of gay men and women in beautiful relationships that many of us heterosexuals would do well to emulate.
I urge you to think carefully about this hateful bill. the Christian Coalition ought not to be able to speak for everyone. I did not elect the Christian Coalition to represent me or my family. And when they perpetuate their decidedly anti-gay agenda Iam reminded of a quote Irecently read giving the definition of gay bashing. It said that gay bashing is violence against men who love men by men who FEAR they love men. Ithink that should also apply to those who are so obsessed with what my son and his partner do in the privacy of their own bedroom. It is called homophobia and it is wrong. dead wrong. Thank you for your time and your attention.
now i know it isn't much, but as i started to speak, in a very clear and passionate tone, i grew more assured. kurt even put his hand on my arm to let me know that he was with me. i tried to look each and every person on the committee in the eye and connect. keep in mind that i had to eliminate a great deal of my speil at almost the last minute. but the passion grew and the intensity in my voice grew and i think everyone in the room knew that i meant every word i spoke because it got pretty quiet. afterwards the members from the "family values coalition" or whatever the hell they call themselves got up to speak and basically said that homosexuality is an abomination and of course they are not "born," but could and should put themselves in their hands and be cured. it was the tried and true "if they (those homosexuals) win, it will be the end of civilization as we know it."
i was shocked to hear someone actually espouse this anti-gay bullshit in person. it was almost as if he was responding to me, but of course, he hadn't the intelligence nor the wisdom to answer my points that quickly. that was his "agenda" from the beginning. i was unprepared, however for the response that i got from the media that was present--several people ran up to me after the vote to get my name spelled right, several wanted to interview me on the spot and i got a tv interview in the hall from the abc affiliate in springfield and it will be on the local news tonight. the woman from the a.c.l.u said i was "amazing"--go figure, and that everyone in the room was mesmerized. so, in the long run, i feel as if i did nothing, but a part of me says that at least i made an attempt and the first time is always the hardest. i think you know me well enough by now that i do speak about things that i care very deeply about with more than a little "forcefulness"--perhaps rightly or wrongly, i'm not sure. maybe i should be less passionate, but i rather imagine we tigresses are nothing if not passionate:-)
thanks to each and every one of you who wished me well. it certainly was an experience.
zzzzzzzB @ @ @ @ @ Bzzzzzzz
~|~ ~|~ ~|~ ~|~ ~|~
w\|/w\|/w\|/w\|/w\|/w
nancy lamkin olson
an ode to spring from
someone with waaaay too
much time on her
little, bitty
hands
:-)
v