Question for all of you here....

[demgurl]

I am new to this particular forum. I am a hetero but I want to fight to get you folks everything I have. One of my plans is to talk to other heteros to take away some of the misconceptions they may have. So here is my question, when I talk to other heteros what are the most important things you would like them to know?

I do not think I should even have to do this because I truly believe it is just BS. But I do have to do it and as such I am ready to dig in my heels.

So what are the important things you want them to know. How can I best serve your interests? Thanks.

[ruggerson]

1. Tell them

that virtually everything the religious right says about gay people is a flat out lie.

[rawtribe]

2. Check out the PFLAG site.

http://www.pflag.org/Advocacy___Issues.103.0.html

Thanks!

[demgurl]

6. I wanted to check in before I went to bed.

This looks like a great link. I will look into it in great detail tomorrow. Better to do so with a fresh mind and retain information. Thank you very much for the link.

[nofurylike]

8. that is a great suggestion, rawtribe. "friends of" should have

many interested from DU.


peace!

[demgurl]

11. rawtribe....

Thanks for that link. Do you know they actually have a chapter in my city? The link just gives me so much information. You are great. :)

[William769]

3. I would start with, we both bleed red.

[Tyo]

4. First of all, thanks for doing this

If people are against gay marriage because of strongly held religious conviction I don't think that any amount of talking to them will help. But for folks who may just not be comfortable with the idea, you might point out that marriage is first and foremost a civil contract. People get married at the courthouse every day without a minister or a priest in sight. No one is asking for church people to bless or sanctify anything that they are not comfortable with. What we are asking for is the right to the same protections and obligations under the law that straight people have.

[northofdenali]

5. Agreed that PFLAG is a terrific source of information.

What a terrific idea, demgurl. I'm flagging this post to read all the answers. In my very, very red and religious right state, I can use all the ideas available!

Although the cops did bust a RR bunch of teenagers who tried to run their bus (literally) into a PFLAG parade/rally. From our local Bible Baptist Church (the teens, not the PFLAG members...)

[mitchtv]

7. tell them we pay our taxes

and deserve fairness(Or a lower tax schedule)

[nofurylike]

9. this is great, what you are doing, and the example you are

setting, dg.
yes. what they said: parents and friends of lesbians and gays...
i'd say maybe join it and invite those you speak with to do so too, should they want to understand. and they have much excellent info to offer people.

thank you for your grasp of it all. and for teaching it.


peace and solidarity!

[foreigncorrespondent]

10. Oh that is a wide open question. LOL

Were does one begin? ;)

I want them to know that it really isn't a choice we make. We can't help who we fall in love with because we have no control over our heart like that.

And yes it has a lot to do with love, because not everything is about sex. And feel free to use Sapph and me as an example. We have been in our relationship for 6 years (7 next March), have spent most of that 6 years living in separate countries, haven't seen each other this year at all, so that proves it has to be something other than sex which keeps us together. :)

On top of that teaching them about the discrimination with in the immigration department would be great. So many countless couples are torn apart because the American half cannot sponsor the foreign half for immigration. The immigration department refuses to recognize the validity of same sex relationships for immigration purposes. A good help with this would be to let them know about the Uniting American Families Act the bill (stalled in both houses) which would reunite countless couples.

On top of that marriage equality would resolve all our problems. And that it isn't about us forcing their churches to marry us (we have our own churches which would do that), it is about us having the right to make the same commitment to the person we love, as what they do.

Must leave this there sadly, because I have to get ready for work very shortly, but I hope this helps to give you some sort of idea.

Thanks for doing this demgurl. :)

[cboy4]

12. Foreigncorrespondent stole my "it's not a choice" comment, and

if I can be honest, it's disappointing she'd steal anything considering she's in law enforcement....:rofl:

But okay, there's another subject that bothers/confuses me, and it's this friggen ban on gay people being allowed to serve in the military!!

I'd like to know why truthfully a majority of the United States military command and legislative branch is opposed to us serving!!

One reason I hear often is: "...well, we have to shower together and that creates an uncomfortable situation..."

Hmmm, well it doesn't seem to be a major issue for the governments and personnel in:

▪ Argentina
▪ Australia
▪ Austria
▪ The Bahamas
▪ Belgium
▪ Canada
▪ Colombia
▪ Czech Republic
▪ Denmark
▪ Estonia
▪ Finland
▪ France
▪ Germany
▪ Hungary
▪ Ireland
▪ Israel
▪ Lithuania
▪ The Netherlands
▪ New Zealand
▪ Norway
▪ Poland
▪ Romania
▪ Slovenia
▪ South Africa
▪ Spain
▪ Sweden
▪ Switzerland
▪ Taiwan
▪ Thailand
▪ United Kingdom

Source: Wikipedia

Are we really not listed? :wtf:


I want to know why....especially since I've asked my straight athlete guy friends about this....and they ALL say EVERY, if not 99.999999% of guys (just like at the urinal) looks initially to see how they, uh, compare, and then after awhile, it's no big deal.

As my straight friend Brandon told me, "After you see so and so, or any guy naked a zillion times, there's nothing left to see or care about.

Now true, gay guys peak a little longer than straight guys, but who cares? I'd like to know straight soldiers really worry that gay soldiers are going to make a move on them in the goddam shower. :eyes:

This is turning into an epic post but, but here's the bottom line to my question:

Are soldiers more afraid of being seen naked in the shower than patrolling streets littered with land mines and with snipers hiding on roof tops prepared to shoot them dead? :eyes:

Anyway, thanks demgurl. We just love you for going to bat for us! And I sincerely mean that. You're the best. :pals:

[lettre de cachet]

14. Vietnam draft

I've heard from vets that people would show up at the registration (or whatever it's called) in dresses and act femme trying to get out of it. They got sent anyway. If the government really thought we're a threat to morale and thus performance in war, then why did they take a chance of sending gay guys and drag queens to Vietnam?

[dye]

13. please gently tell them

That we won't stop ***being*** gay just because they make us second-class citizens through biblically-based legislation. What is compassionate about making gay people's lives difficult when what we do has no bearing at all on other people's lives? If gay people were any other minority group at all, would it be ok to vote on their civil rights as citizens of this country? Um, no.

That there are >1000 state and federal benefits, privileges, and responsibilities we cannot have because of who we love. If I die, my partner cannot afford to pay the taxes on the house we share, but I own, because she cannot inherit like a heterosexual legal or common-law spouse. Is it really good for anyone that a person (a woman, in particular) is put out of her home?

That the economy doesn't care that we are gay - green money in "pink" hands is still legal tender. We work, we save, we pay taxes, we spend, we invest, we give, we tithe. We typically make better whatever we are involved in - look at overall property values in the new up and coming neighborhoods that have all those nice colorful flags and beautiful gardens...

That it is really about *****love*****. Ask them if seeing, for example, a very old couple holding hands doesn't make them smile. It makes me smile, too. Love does that. Any two people can figure out how their genitals and other sensory organs work, but the love is the most important part. It is a gift to be able to fall in love with someone regardless of their physical characteristics, including their gender.

That they really do know gay people, even if they think they don't.

Thank you for doing this. Everyone needs allies.
May the powers that be or might be smile on you!