This is the last update for my second term with AmeriCorps. This term will end at the end of August and I will no longer be eligible to be an AmeriCorps member. The work I have been doing for Western Equality has been extremely rewarding to me. I hope that it has meant something to you as well. I have dedicated my AmeriCorps hours to having our voice heard in the community of Grand Junction. Showing the documentary “Journey To A Hate Free Millennium” has introduced me to many young people in this area. I have heard many of them express their acceptance of us. I have heard them express derogatory remarks about us. I have seen young people gay and straight who support us. I have heard them say that there is no hope for an end to hate and violence. I don’t agree with them but I understand how the circumstances in their lives bring them to this belief. I have seen them profoundly affected by the stories presented in “Journey”. The adults who work with these young people have told me that they have seen some changed behavior and beliefs. I have heard many adults speak about how this documentary should be shown to every young person in the Valley. I believe that every adult should see it also...more than once. The director of AmeriCorps has stated that she wants this video along with anti-violence work to continue here. Western Equality has the vision.
The focus of my AmeriCorps work is on youth. Although I have not done much direct service work with youth, I believe that the time and energy I spend on the mission of Western Equality will directly benefit youth. My involvement with the Suicide Prevention Coalition has been with a focus on GLBTQ youth. No one else speaks with our voice for them. There are members of the coalition who have thanked me for bringing awareness of the high rate of suicide that exits in our community. They are supportive but they are not going to initiate the conversations and actions necessary to lower that death rate. We need to do that. We need to be involved in the Safe:Teen program which should be expanding to more students with the coming school year. As the Tree House and the new Homeless Youth Shelter go about their work, we need to be there for the GLBTQ youth. We need to educate the foster care programs about the youth that they work with.
Most recently, the attention I have been able to pay to the Marriage Equality work has benefits for all of us. Yes, even those of us who want no part of marriage will benefit each time that we are granted the rights that others have.
My two years as a service representative for AmeriCorps, working in the Western Equality office, have allowed Western Equality to have a presence and a voice in this community. Western Equality has made a conscious step forward in its vision and mission. WE is breaking down the negative stereotypes of GLBT people and presenting us as people with values and concerns for the welfare of the community. I am grateful and proud to have been able to be here for these two active and productive years. Will you continue this work?
On one final note, I will be leaving Grand Junction. My partner has resigned her position here and accepted a position at a church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I’m not sure when I will actually be leaving. I am hoping to be able to help with the election ballot issues and maybe even help train a replacement. You are all part of the GLBTA community. Although I do not know many of you, I have represented you and have learned how important this work is. I hope that you continue and move our communty even further in our quest for equal rights.
--Gloria Perez
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Considering the struggle for equal rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) citizens of Colorado is far from over, we have some choices to make that can definitely move us in the right direction, or set us back, coming our way in November.
Out of four possible ballot initiatives this election, only one is already on the ballot as enough valid signatures of registered voters were gathered and submitted to the Secretary of States office for verification. That is the Domestic Partnership referendum that will be known as Referendum H. This ballot initiative came from the Colorado legislature and bypassed Governor Owens veto so voters can decide what is fair. While domestic partnerships are a far-cry from equal rights of marriage, they would provide immediate and needed legal protections for same-gender couples in committed relationships, and be an incremental step towards equality. The "Vote Yes on Domestic Partnerships" campaign is being run by Coloradans for Fairness and Equality. The Western Equality board of directors has officially endorsed the Domestic Partnership ballot initiative.
The domestic partnership initiative mentioned in the previous paragraph is a proactive effort in response to another ballot initiative which has not become official yet, but there is no doubt that it will. This is the Gay Marriage Ban sponsored by Focus on the Family. They want to enshrine discrimination permanently into our Constitution by defining marriage as between one man and one woman, which is already state law. Our Constitution is to expand rights for citizens, and to limit government intrusion into our lives, not limit rights, so Western Equality hopes to see Focus on the Family and their Gay Marriage Ban soundly beaten at the polls in November.
Because Focus on the Family wants to appear as nice people with no mean-spirited attacks on civil rights for GLBT, the third possible ballot initiative was registered with the Secretary of State that is the truly mean-spirited attack on civil rights. The original backers of the un-Constitutional and discriminatory Amendment 2 (1992), Will Perkins and Kevin Lundberg, are back with their initiative that would not only ban gay marriage, but also ban domestic partnerships, civil unions, common-law marriages and any other relationship similar to or imitating marriage. They are known as Coloradans for Marriage and Western Equality definitely wants to see the sheets pulled off of these folks and expose them for the extremists they are and see them defeated at the polls should they succeed in gathering enough signatures.
The fourth possible ballot initiative that signatures are being gathered for is also being run by our friends, Coloradans for Fairness and Equality. This initiative would define domestic partnerships as NOT marriage, as they are not the same thing. Domestic partnerships would be basic legal protections for same-gender couples in Colorado, while marriage is all rights and responsibilities in all fifty states. Considering the attacks we are experiencing today in Colorado on GLBT civil rights, it is critical that voters understand the differences between domestic partnerships and marriage and get these distinctions into law since GLBT people cannot get married in Colorado, but perhaps in November with Domestic Partnerships we will have a small step towards respect, recognition and protection of our long-term committed same-gender relationships.
For more information contact the Western Equality office, and visit the Coloradans for Fairness and Equality website, www.fairequal.org. Coloradans for Fairness and Equality will be opening a campaign office in downtown Grand Junction and hiring several paid staff positions. Keep your eyes and ears open as the campaign heats up!!
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Taboo. We GLBT folks know something about taboo. Yet, even considering the current political atmosphere in this country and our own state, we have made great strides in ending the taboo around talking about GLBT issues. We need to address another taboo that deeply affects us all. That taboo is the subject of suicide. How many of us have had to struggle with thoughts of suicide in our own lives or in the life of someone we care about? How many of us have made suicide attempts or lost someone we care about to suicide? The state of Colorado has one of the highest rates of suicide in the nation and Mesa County has one of the highest rates in the state. The Suicide Prevention Coalition is working hard to change those statistics. Our voice has been heard regarding GLBT teen suicide. Now, we have an opportunity to bring a fuller voice to this issue as it affects each one of us by participating in a community wide event sponsored by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and our local Suicide Prevention Coalition.
Out of the Darkness is 3.5 mile walk to raise funds and awareness so that the suicide rate in Western Colorado can be reduced. This event will take place on Saturday, August 26, 2006 at Connected Lakes in Grand Junction. You can participate in several ways: recruit a team a team; join a team; volunteer to help; make a donation; spread the word. Call the office 242-8949 for more information and to offer your help. Our efforts in conjunction with the efforts of others committed to lowering the suicide rate will save lives. We need each other! Let’s form a Western Equality team and participate!
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To meet our $3500 challenge grant from the Gill Foundation, Western Equality is conducting a membership drive throughout July. We need your help! We’re asking you to encourage friends and family to become a new paid member so that Western Equality can continue its vital work as the preeminent organization providing advocacy, education, referrals, and support for and to the GLBT community in western Colorado. (Learn more about our work below.)
If you’re already a member of Western Equality…
- If you haven’t yet, please renew your membership for 2006. If you’re not sure when your membership is due or when you last paid, please call the office at 970-242-8949 or email us at info@westernequality.org.
- If you already renewed and/or sent an additional, tax-deductible donation THANK YOU for your continued support! You rock!
- Recruit two new members during July and we’ll give you free admission to OutFest 2006 “New Wave at Two Rivers” --August 25th at Two Rivers Convention Center in downtown Grand Junction! Just have your friends or family complete a membership form (please note your name on the form), mail them to us or drop them off at the office, and we’ll supply you with a free ticket! Plus, the folks you get to join will receive complimentary OutFest tickets as well!
If you’re not yet a member, now’s the time to join!
- Complete the membership form, mail or drop it off and you’ll get free admission to OutFest! It’s that simple.
- WE serve as an advocate for gay/lesbian/bi/trans people on the Suicide Prevention Task Force, the Human Services Council, and with local businesses and service providers. Plus,WE have compiled a resource directory of gay friendly churches, doctors, lawyers, and mental health providers and it’s available to you.
- WE facilitated hate-crimes training for the Mesa County Sheriff’s Department
- WE have formed a Marriage Equality Council that’s working to educate our community about the value of all committed relationships; plus WE continue to work with Coloradans for Fairness and Equality to defeat a ban on gay marriage and support a domestic partnership referendum this November
- WE continue to present the award-winning program Journey to a Hate Free Millennium across western Colorado and as far as Leadville and Salida. So far over 1200 people in 45 different community locations have viewed this important film thanks to your support.
- WE produce a monthly radio show “Family, Friends, and Neighbors” on KAFM 88.1. Tune in – it airs the third Monday of each month at noon.
- WE collaborated with PFLAG and Mesa State PRIDE club to bring the hilarious and poignant comedian Peterson Toscano to Grand Junction.
- WE continue to produce events like OutFest and have recently begun developing new, smaller events like small dances, a book club, dinner nights, and more.
- WE are bringing the photo exhibit “Loves Makes a Family” to the Grand Valley in August – stay tuned for details!
- WE are the organization the local media turns to for information about our families and the issues affecting our lives
- WE continue to work with GLAAD to advocate for fair and inclusive coverage in the local media.
All this and much more is made possible by folks like you, joining with our funders like the Gill Foundation, to help us continue to do what WE do. Thank you! [return to table of contents]
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