Prop 81 aftermath inspires sweeping solidarity
News reports estimated the crowd at about 150 protesters in front of Spokane City Hall last Saturday morning. My family and I hung toward the back, didn’t carry any signs and didn’t chant. But it felt good to be visible, to be united with so many others who dared to come out.
The rally was one of dozens held simultaneously around the country as a show of protest for the passage of Proposition 8 in California, a law that revokes a court decision to legalize gay marriage.
My favorite homemade sign: “Can I vote on your marriage now?”
Compared to the thousands who turned out in Seattle, our rally was small potatoes. Small, but strong. And cheerful. On a chilly morning, even for those who clearly had just rolled out of bed, the crowd was all smiles. It wasn’t a protest born of anger, but of unity.
There are some things about the Inland Northwest that make it scary for those in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community to join a public event, but, frankly, that’s true everywhere. Which is exactly why the solidarity sweeping the country as a result of the California vote is so inspiring.
Families with kids, retirees, college students, people of all colors are turning out to support gay rights. At Saturday’s rally, I saw both friends and dozens of folks who I’d never seen about town.
In my role as columnist for three and a half years, I’ve had the privilege of meeting all kinds of people in our region, gay and straight, those who have enjoyed my perspective and those who think I represent “filth.”
There are always more folks to know, as Saturday reaffirmed, and there is always room to rethink positions. I have often used this weekly forum to sort out my thoughts and feelings about issues confronting the gay community and for that reason, I will sorely miss the column.
As many of you already know, this is the final issue of 7 . But it is by no means the end of my relationship with the community or my curiosity about our evolving culture.
You may occasionally find me covering the people and events of our town in the pages of The Spokesman-Review. Or you may find me starting a blog of my own, a place to continue the writing I’ve so enjoyed these several years.
Readers often comment that they are amazed that a conservative town like Spokane, and a supposedly right-leaning paper like the S-R, would run a column focused on the LGBT community.
But it is precisely those readers who inspired the coverage. You all represent an interested citizenry that deserves to be informed about every facet of our region. Thank you for your loyalty; thank you for making me think and rethink.
What 7 started, and to my great honor let me join, was a conversation. Just because the print publication is being shelved doesn’t mean the hashing out of differences and the celebrations of progress have to end.
You can still find me out on the town and out on the Web at outonthetown7@yahoo.com. Let’s keep talking.