Joys and Sorrows

As with any lead-in period to a holiday, it seems that time speeds up, and there's no chance to slow down and do such important things as post on one's blog! :-)

Yesterday was definitely one of those whirlwind days.   Fortunately for me, my schedule was totally clear which meant I could go here, there, and everywhere, without much trouble.  My day started with the morning realization that our new state legislature would be sworn in that morning.  Normally, I would thank God for deliverance from having to be there as a reporter.  But this day was different.  Because, on this day, Florida would finally have two openly-gay state representatives seated in the House chamber.   I got out my some of my best clothes, and trudged up the hill to the state Capitol building, quietly humming an antiphon we sing at Easter:

"On this day, the Lord has acted.  Let us rejoice and be glad in it."

And I was!  I was smiling.  I was laughing.  And I was enjoying myself in a way that I never have in all the years that I have entered that ugly structure where sausage is made at the expense of real lives.  On the way in, I met the parents of a newly-elected legislator who unseated one of the rising stars of the Tea Party-infused state Republican party. 

"Oh, thank you for having a son, and congratulations!" I said.  They laughed.

There are advantages to having once been a member of the Fourth Estate.  Namely, nobody questioned me when I fell in with the reporter pack to gain access to the House floor.  I found one of our two new gay boys, State Representative Joe Saunders and his partner Donald, and snapped a quick picture of them.  I gave Joe a big, long hug, and promised him that the community was there to help him however he needed it.

Such an amazing accomplishment as having out-and-proud members of the Florida House is a sign that "the times they-are-a-changin'."  

In stark contrast, the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance is the reminder that we have not fully realized equality here in the United States or certainly around the world.   After stopping in briefly at a church function happening at the home of our associate rector, I headed out to the local LGBT community center to listen to speakers and bear witness to the candle lighting ceremony.  With each votive candle, we heard the names, ages, and circumstances surrounding the death of a trans individual, killed in the past year.  There were 38 names in all, and those are just of the ones we know.  Many of the people had been mutilated in some way, almost as if the killers were so appalled by the person's outward appearance that they felt the need to destroy it.  As people placed their candles around the heart, I repeated in silence my own private prayers for each of these souls snuffed out by transphobia violence.   I thought about the resurgence of the "kill the gays" bill in Uganda.  I thought of trans friends I have made in Tallahassee, and the educational Voices of Witness documentary, "Out of the Box" about the transgender people of faith in the Episcopal Church.  And I thought how much further we still need to go if we are going to live into the vows of our baptismal covenant to "strive for justice and peace and respect the dignity of every human being."

So many have died and, are still dying, for the right to live and love in peace.  As we celebrate the accomplishment of LGBT people finding a place at the table of state politics, we must also continue our commitment to raise up all people and refuse to make peace with attempts to put us in an early grave.  We must stay on the battlefield, and we must have the voices of others joining us in this race after God's promise that all will be included in the kingdom and have eternal life.

The Balm of a Psalm

We are back to doing daily Morning Prayer at St. John's, and not a moment too soon. The timing of Lent falling completely within the 60-day legislative session when things seem to be in a free-fall of madness in the city is perfect. Today, as we gathered as a community in prayer, I had the images of Tuesday on my mind, along with what I saw playing out in Wisconsin on Wednesday.
Here enter Psalm 37. Just a portion of it read:

The wicked plot against the righteous
and gnash at them with their teeth.
The Lord laughs at the wicked,
because he sees that their day will come.
The wicked draw their sword and bend their bow
to strike down the poor and needy,
to slaughter those who are upright in their ways.
Their sword shall go through their own heart,
and their bow shall be broken.

It has often been the case that the psalm assigned for the morning has a way of tapping into the reality of either what I'm feeling personally or what I'm observing. Today, it was both. I've listened to my friends and my clients as they unload their fears of what they are seeing happening all around them in the state agencies. People joke about whether this state department or that one will be in existence by the end of the 60 days. They're joking... sort of... because with a state legislature that is seriously contemplating putting golf courses in the state parks... nothing is beyond the realm of the possible. As I listen, I can feel the grief. And all I can do is be an empathetic ear. Yes, I will go hold a sign on a busy street corner, decrying the works of "the wicked." That's the least I can do. But I also know that this is not the time to hardened my heart, and for every moment that I stand with union organizers, teachers, students... I know that I also need to sit with the person who feels the weight of the situation as a jabbing pain between the shoulder blades.
The psalms provide me with "the message" and the words of wisdom that I need to both act as a protester and a peaceful listener. Because what is going on in the world is beyond me, and in the hands of God. And this is where I have to place my hope and my trust.

The little that the righteous has
is better than great riches of the wicked.
For the power of the wicked shall be broken,
but the LORD upholds the righteous.

I pray for the patience to stay with the trust that God has all of us in hand and is moving in-between the poles of our debates.

Pancakes and a Protest

pancakes brokencountry.com

I've been jamming this morning to Wardell and His Slammin' Big Band, JB's Zydeco Zoo and a little Celia Cruz. It's Mardi Gras Day. Time to enjoy the party of life before we recognize all good parties come to an end with Ash Wednesday.



Yes, I will be eating pancakes for dinner. This is a must in the ritual of the day. All good Episcopalians know that for Shrove Tuesday, you eat something sweet and fattening like pancakes. And for those who plan to give up some vice or another for Lent, be it chocolate or alcohol: better get in that last one before tomorrow. :)



With my pancakes this year, I will be engaging in a protest. You might say this is my act of standing up to the man who believes himself to be a new Roman emperor, namely our Governor. I've been hearing too many tales from clients and friends about the way this administration is randomly off-ing people and whole bureaus. Folks who are serving in federally-mandated jobs are being told to pack up the things in their offices: their services will no longer be necessary because apparently Governor Lord Voldemort doesn't care what the muggles in Washington, DC say. Well, clearly he doesn't since he also told the Obama administration that Florida has no need of the billion+ dollars prior Governors and lawmakers worked to obtain to build a high-speed rail in this state. The New York Times reports that the Dark Lord is at odds with the Death Eaters in the legislature. Wonder if any of them will cross ideological party lines and join our protest? Doubtful, but one can always hope that they might do it in a more meaningful way by not simply doing as the Governor wants. Trouble is in Florida, when you start looking to the Florida legislature to be the saving grace... you're in biiiiggg trouble.



My spiritual director and I were talking about the state of affairs in Florida and elsewhere. I agree that God is holding all of this in a way that God can contain the crazies, the cunning, and the champions in the same stewpot. Because of this, the trust can't be placed in the hands of the rulers, but in the hands (heart, head, mercy) of God that "all will be well."



In the meantime, today is the day that I must figuratively unsheathe the sword and stand with my fellow Tallahasseeans who are in fear and feeling more demoralized than I have seen them before. And I plan to do it with the party spirit of Mardi Gras because no governor, no state legislature, no state supreme court can rob me of the joy of life. That's truly a God-given gift and it's mine to share.



So pile on the pancakes and make me fat for a fight. Tomorrow I will repent and remember that in the end, I'm just dust.

Inauguration Day: The Dark Lord Cometh

The second verse of Psalm 146 says: Put not your trust in rulers nor in any child of the earth, for their is no help in them.

I certainly think that's true of Florida as we prepare for the inauguration of Rick Scott as our 45th Governor. Besides the fame he gained in winning the campaign by spending millions of his own money, our new Governor has the special distinction of pleading the fifth 75 times in his scheme where he defrauded the federal government out of one-point-seven billion dollars. Makes you wonder what he means when he says, "Let's Get to Work!"

The new Governor, who has managed to remain unscathed, is planning a big blow-out party for his inauguration, the likes of which have not been seen in the capital city for quite some time. They have temporarily renamed major down town streets in honor of Scott and the now all-Republican cabinet. Candlelight dinners for donors, and a 3-million dollar inaugural ball for his supporters. According to a report in the New York Times, the governor, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Lord Voldemort of the Harry Potter series, plans a black tie dinner which is not open to the public. It will have a catered menu of Oysters Rockefeller and fried calamari served in martini glasses for the 2,100 invited guests. "Real classy," says the caterer. Really out-of-touch, I say.

Days before Christmas, Scott gave many state workers a pink slip. There are likely more to come. That's often the case when there's a change in administration, but in this economy where jobs are scarce, it is the type of thing that sends a chill not just down the spine of the fired, but throughout our fair city. A number of my clients are employed by the state. And they are scared. Republicans have not been friendly toward state workers and continue to slice and dice agencies in ways that don't make them function any better. The scuttlebutt in the city is that Scott is talking about merging the Department of Transportation with the Departments of Environmental Protection and Department of Community Affairs. His newly-named DEP chief is from the business community, a guy who is a lawyer and an executive with the Jacksonville Shipyard. I suppose if he becomes the head of a new massive Department of Growth Management the goal would be to pave paradise and put up a parking lot. Or at least a dock!

Furthermore, one of the major contributors to Rick Scott's campaign coffers were the two private prison companies hoping to score some contracts with the new administration. Scott stumped on a message of wanting to bring the Arizona anti-immigrant law to Florida. Amazingly, in a state with few people who can call themselves native, such a message took root. And there are bills already filed by the legislature to get the ball rolling. Who benefits from laws such as the one in Arizona? Prisons, especially private prisons. Because we have to put the arrested somewhere. It makes me sick.

The billboard from the Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce reads in the corner "Let's Work Together". I think that's a nice twist on Rick Scott's mantra. Unfortunately, I spent too many years up close and personal with our state leaders to believe that they will want to work with us. The Governor and legislature seem to be poised to work "on" us.

O God, forget not your city of Tallahassee and all who live here. And make haste to help us!

The Big Voice of a Child

While I was still a public radio reporter, I had a dream in which I was at a retreat of some kind and there were Republican members of the state Senate in the room. One of them shared about a tragedy that had occured in her life with her mother. As she walked past me, I reached out and stopped her.

"Senator," I said with tears welling up in my eyes, "I don't normally do this, but I think it's appropriate." And I gave her a hug. Another Republican, an older conservative man, walked up behind me.

"You know it's sincere when there are tears in the eye of a child," he said.

And I woke up. It was, unfortunately, only a dream.

This week there are advocates for LGBT equality roaming the halls of the Florida Capitol building, asking lawmakers to make it illegal to fire somebody because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. They are hopeful that a bill to end Florida's ban on allowing same-sex couples to adopt children will get overturned. They are looking for resolutions to call on Congress to repeal the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, and to condemn the Anti-Homosexuality legislation in Uganda.

We, the adults who have managed to make it this far, ask our elected leaders to hear us. We try to put a human face on the often demonized "other" that our opposition puts out there. We tell our stories, show pictures of our families. We plead.

We have not seen positive change at the state level. In fact, at the state level, things only seem to get worse.

Perhaps it is easy for those with the power today to ignore me and others of my age group. But I see a new light dawning in the generations that are coming behind me.

You'll hear our opponents say they are against civil rights for the LGBT community and against allowing us to adopt because they are looking out for the interests of the children. So, I present a child... an Arkansas boy... who did NOT stand for the pledge of allegiance because he understands there are some who do not enjoy "liberty and justice" in this country. There are no tears in Will Phillips' eyes. But his yet still-small voice is much bigger than its timbre. And if we are going to be "all about the children", then let's listen to Will.

What's Wrong With This Picture?

Answer: NOTHING!

There is absolutely, positively nothing wrong with the sight of these two happy lesbians toasting the opportunity to now say, "I do" and really be married. In Portugal.

Portugal? Yes, the socialists in charge of parliament in the European nation voted to allow same-sex marriages. This is in keeping with a constitutional measure passed in the early 2000s where equal rights were extended to ALL people. For the government, that meant marriage rights equality, too. This in a country that is reportedly 94-percent Roman Catholic, the RC Church being one of the leading opponents of marriage equality.

Meanwhile, in New Jersey, the state Senate couldn't muster up enough courage to approve a marriage equality bill. New Jersey has a civil unions law, but those laws are never completely equal in the rights they grant a couple. According to a Gallup Poll from 2004, New Jersey is 46-percent Roman Catholic. Lambda Legal Defense Fund, which has been working many of these marriage laws across the country, has vowed to take the issue to the New Jersey Supreme Court. Opponents say they're ready to fight back.

So, again, I am posing the question: What is wrong with the above picture?

A Voice Cries in the Wilderness

Over at CHANGING ATTITUDE, there are a series of posts from a blog written by a Uganda gay man who uses the name "Gug". We don't see his face, but when you read his words, you can sense the level of anger and betrayal he feels, and his humanity. Imagine living in a country that, up to a few years ago, was content with pretending you didn't exist. And then, at the encouragement of "christian" leaders, began a campaign of fear and hatred against this supposedly "invisible" enemy called the "Gay Ugandan". On the one hand, these officials refused to accept that there is such a person (absurd, yes; but there you have it). But then, with the encouragement of western homophobes especially the schismatics of the Episcopal Church and fired-up evangelical preachers, they wanted a pogrom to purge themselves of homosexuality in Uganda.

Caught in the cross-fire of all this are the real people like Gug. THINKING ANGLICANS has quick links to Gug's posts. But I particularly wanted to share this one because it shows the damage done by a church that purports to uphold the ethics of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And while Gug's story is about being a Ugandan Anglican, it gives insight into why LGBT people in this country are so hostile to Christianity. The level of spiritual violence experienced by Gug mirrors what some in the United States have experienced in their own lives and places of worship. And it behooves ALL bishops, priests, and other ministers whom we pray for each week to answer those prayers by working toward ending the hypocrisy of preaching "Love God and thy neighbor"... and then supporting rules and laws in the church and state that create inequality for LGBT people.

To Archbishop Orombi, I say it is high time for you to repent of your wickedness. Gug's story tells me one thing about you: there is a millstone around your neck that only grows heavier the more you and others of your ilk continue to persecute queer Christians, and drive them away from a God who wants nothing more than for them to come home and eat at the banquet of eternal life.

Prayers ascending for Gug and his fellow brothers and sisters in Uganda.

I Ask Your Prayers For...

Today in Maine, and in Washington state and Kalamazoo, Michigan, there will be votes that directly affect the LGBT community. Maine has received the most focus because, like California last year, it is a state where the political leadership has approved same-sex marriage... and there is a referendum to try to undo the will of the politcians... the ones voted into office to, presumably, represent the interests of their constituents.

In Washington state, there is a challenge on the ballot to the state's domestic partnership law... which also covers straight couples over the age of 62. And in Kalamazoo, the city is trying to keep an ordinance banning discrimination against the LGBT community in housing and the workplace.

These are all very important votes not just for the LGBT people living in these areas, but for all of us who are queer in the United States. It was about this time last year that voters turned out in record numbers to cast ballots for President Barack Obama. At the same time, voters in California, Florida, Arizona and Arkansas, responded to their fears or their inability to decipher the intent of ballot measures that slammed our community hard.

One year later, and after much education, I am hoping to see a different result. Let's pray for that with this collect based upon the Collect for an Election:

Almighty God, to whom we must account for all our powers and privileges: Guide the people of the many communities in the United States in the election of officials and representatives, and grant them discerning hearts and minds as they weigh ballot issues; that, by faithful administration and wise laws, the rights of all may be protected and our nation be enabled to fulfill your purposes; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. --BCP, pg. 822

"We are the Shepherds of Change"

Well, we had a lovely protest! The music was great, the coffins were striking, and the motorists... many of whom were people in town for FSU and FAMU's graduation ceremonies... honked in agreement that the future of our state is, indeed, in peril thanks to a punitive legislature.

Lawmakers were still debating... and destroying... bills as we eulogized the state of Florida last night... the end of the 60th day of a 60-day legislative session. But legislators, who were locked in political posturing, back-biting, hair-pulling, fights over the budget were not able to vote on the state spending plan; thus, they'll be back next week to complete their work. Little reported fact: it seems the House Appropriations Committee had co-chairs... both Cuban-American Republicans... who are vying for the same Senate seat next year. Hmmmm... wonder why they weren't able to get anything done??

Yours truly delivered one eulogy; Desmond Seymour delivered the message of hope... and then we danced to "When the Saints Go Marching In". Below is the text of our messages:

Dear friends,
We gather this evening to remember our beloved Florida. Florida had the potential to be a great state, to show the way toward justice for minorities… and be a leader in environmental stewardship. Instead, we must once again bear witness to the death of her dreams of better days in the face of a state legislature that lacks the ability to lead.
She had a good life, once upon a time. But the sunshine is fading behind the failures to hear critical legislation:

Her legislature failed to act on behalf of children in foster care. House Bill 413 and Senate Bill 500 would have removed the ban that prevents gay and lesbian people from adopting these kids and providing them with permanent and loving homes. Instead, the legislature prefers to use Florida’s financial resources to maintain an overstretched foster care system. Senator Ronda Storms calls gay and lesbian families “at risk”. But truly what remains at-risk is the future of Florida when her children can not be placed in a permanent home.

They failed to review the effectiveness of sex education in Florida… preferring to leave our children believing falsehoods such as Mountain Dew can prevent pregnancy… and not teaching them the facts on safe sex practices. And don’t even bother mentioning same-sex attraction! Such a narrow approach only leaves children in the dark… instead of being enlightened about the facts and choices they face.

Florida’s legislature could find no time to debate a bill to expand her civil rights law to cover those oppressed for their sexual orientation or gender identity. Yet, there was time wasted on yet more license plates… and how to make it harder for people to vote in our democracy.

And Florida Forever… designed to save her delicate environment which is the very life-blood of all life in her… is asterisked for oblivion… and asphalt!

Once again, those proPHets—with a PH—for progress and hope are ignored in favor of the profits with an “F”. And Florida is lowered into the grave of greed… to be signed… sealed… and paved over forever.

Dear friends, the cost of such short-sightedness of Florida’s future is too great! Our children need homes, our seniors need adequate staffing in assisted living facilities, and our environment can not be despoiled by development… and fossil fuels.

We have heard it was “all about the budget” this year, but there are economic costs to social and environmental injustice. Companies… who could hire a large number of our unemployed and skilled laborers… will not locate to a state that shows such lack of vision on LGBT rights. Why move a company here when they could locate to the northeast… or Iowa? And what are we really doing to create “Green Jobs” when an army of lobbyists are dispatched to push for oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, and refuse to say who is really footing the bill?

And Florida, your legislature was not even able to accomplish its supposed “chief priority” on time… resulting in a glaring Incomplete on the 60th day. I ask, “Who are the lard bricks now?”
Where are the leaders? Where is our future? How many times must we bury Florida? Who will resurrect our state?

Take it away, Desmond....

As we deliver the works of this past session into the earth and as the sun sets, like the clauses laced within our legislation, I would like to speak to the nature of progressive change. To the shores of our great state, which are both slated for drilling and poised for greatness. The tide is rising, the progressive ideas that move the many minorities within our state to action is driving upon the sprawling mangroves and golden coasts of our state.

The word Florida comes from the Spanish language, meaning feast of flowers. We must be very clear. In order to have flowers there must be seeds, the seeds of progressive work, the desire to unite, a sustainable budget for future leaders to maintain, and a desire to pollinate the minds of rising seedlings everyday. Our soil must be healthy, not poisoned by the tilling of hands drenched in interests other than that of the people whom this legislature serves. Frederick Douglas said “if there is no struggle, there is no progress”. Grassroots organizations have been struggling for long enough in our state. The overwhelming swell of support is not for progressive issues; but for the right issues.

As we lay our legislators forgotten progressive promises into the ground this day, know that tomorrow brings a new horizon, new issues, and new support. The needs of tomorrow must not be inundated by the stagnation of today; and they won’t. We will be here in the days to come, we will not blow gently into the unchanging winds of inefficiency, and we will not be washed away by the flash floods of reckless government.

The tide is rising. The sweeping change that is set rise from the depths of our collective interests will deliver unto the shores of this great state the true will of the people. As we give this session to the earth we know it is forever a part of our nature, the nature of progressive change. We are here as the Shepards of that change.

We Aren't Going Away Quietly

The Florida legislature has done it once again. They have managed to shirk taking any responsible action to improve the lives of the queer population of this state while making sure that they take down environmental protections... all in the name of "meeting the needs of the people of Florida".

Trouble is, they don't really meet the people's needs when they allow a conservation program like Florida Forever to be asterisked into oblivion. And they certainly aren't meeting the needs of the thousands of foster care children who await placement in a permanent home when they allow prejudical hold-overs from the Anita Bryant homophobe days to remain in the state statutes.

Several citizens are sick of seeing progress left behind in the name of profits for a few. And so, Impact Tallahassee, members of the Green Party, and other groups will be holding a New Orleans-style Jazz Funeral to mourn the death of Florida, again, at the hands of a murderous generation of state lawmakers. We'll be meeting at the Old State Capitol building at 6pm, with several caskets, and walking them around the House side of the Capitol complex... led by a "Grim Speaker"... into the Capitol courtyard where we will eulogize our beloved state.

It's street theatre.... to make a point: we're not going away quietly, and we will be back to demand that attention, attention must be paid to such issues!

Tell your friends! It should be a hoot!

Lobbying for My Right to Love

It's an odd idea that one would have to go to the state legislature and lobby for the right to love. But that's what me, my partner, and countless other people of the LGBT community and our straight allies had to do this week. We had to go to our lawmakers and tell them our stories of denied promotions, of fear of losing our children, of our inability to secure our futures with our partners.

All because of who we love.

Many legislators were busy in committees and not able to speak to us. Some were rushing to get to their meetings and wanted the pitch in 15-seconds or less. At least one that I met with, Rep. Faye Culp, had succumbed to the Tallahassee "crud" which is only exacerbated by the pollen blanketing my fair city at the moment. To her credit, she still gave a group of us non-constituent lobbyists the time to say hello to her, and thank her for her co-sponsorship on the bill to end Florida's ban on letting gays be adoptive parents.

Oh, yeah: Faye Culp is a Republican. And her eyes sparkled with emotion when I thanked her for her efforts as a Republican to stand up for our rights, noting that I grew up in a Republican family... and my mother (still a registered Republican) loves me very much. The statement seem to make an impression on her, and I encouraged her to help educate her colleagues and maybe bring a few more along with her on the ride.

For me, this was an odd experience. To start with, I loathe the Capitol Building. It is a place that holds many memories for me as a reporter for Florida Public Radio. Twelve years of chasing politicians, listening to debates on matters of true life and death and realizing that many of the people doing the debating couldn't care less for the real human consequences of their actions, and having to stifle my own outrage at the whole mess because I had to remain "objective"... I am surprised I was willing to go back in to talk to anybody. But November's election results with gay people getting our clocks cleaned across the country told me I could not remain silent any more. Now that I don't have to report on the legislature, I am free to petition my government and demand that it do justly by me and my people.

But I was scared. Not sweaty-palmed scared. But a type of scared that comes with knowing the place too well, and the potential of people being rude in their dealings with me. And wondering how they would react to seeing me again, but this time unarmed with the microphone that served as my "weapon of mass media instruction." I kept tucked in my pocket the Episcopal church's insert from Sunday's service. And, just as a means of giving myself a booster shot as we moved to the next office visit, I pulled it out and read the last line from the passage taken from First Corinthians:

For God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom,
and God's weakness is stronger than human strength.

This helped me to keep everything in perspective, and reminded me again of what my mother used to always tell us during political campaigns: "Politicians are people just like you. They put their pants on one leg at a time."

I ran into many politicians who recognized me by my distinctive flat top hairstyle. And this helped because it gave me the "in" to start discussing the talking points on Equality Florida's legislative agenda. In Senator Tony Hill's office, his legislative assistant made it clear that she had already talked to Equality Florida volunteer lobbyists twice this week, and there were other people waiting to see the Senator. I still gave her my card and the talking points sheet, and added the important factoid about me: I was a reporter staring at him on the other side of a window on a winter's night in 2000 when he and then-Senator Kendrick Meek sat down in the Lt. Governor's office and refused to leave to protest King Jeb!'s assault on affirmative action. I got his story and his grievance out to a statewide... hell, a national audience. The implied message: I have done right by him. Now I want him to do right by me. Her eyes indicated that there was a glimmer of understanding.

So, with the actual strolling the halls behind me, the next thing to do is wait. And watch. And send follow up notes.

And if the state legislature fails to act on the bills this session... it's time to turn up the heat another notch on the pot. Because I'm not going away. And neither is my love.

Losing One's Life

I really do hope that you have taken a moment to go read the Mad Priest's sermon at "Of Course, I Could Be Wrong." It is powerful and relevant and thought-provoking in light of yesterday's gospel reading from Mark where Jesus utters the most difficult directive to "Take up your cross, and follow me." This is one of those passages that is liable to put a lump in your throat because the image of "bearing one's cross" calls up the march to a crucifixion on Calvary. Yikes!

But waking up this morning, what was rolling around in my head were the last three lines from the Mark gospel:

"For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."--Mark 8: 35-38

As I prepare for next Monday's march and rally at the Capitol for my rights as a lesbian in Florida, I am hearing the words of Christ as a clarion call because I am not just rallying for myself alone. And I'm not just showing up as a gay person. I am showing up as a Christian and as one who can not take standing by and watching this "adulterous and sinful generation" continue to oppress people. Monday the 16th it will be about gay rights... but there are rallies happening almost every day here in Tallahassee: today it's farm workers, another group that suffers dearly from exploitation. And Thursday, it's another protest about the cuts to education which are costing local school districts millions of dollars; thus guaranteeing a generation of children lacking in the basic building blocks that will help them to get jobs and compete in the global marketplace.

For too long, the state legislature has been deaf to the needs of the population, preferring to look only at the constituencies that throw them the big welcome party the night before session starts (Yes, I am talking about Associated Industries of Florida!).

I can not sit back and be silent. None of us can sit back and be silent. We must speak truth to power... even if it means losing your life, if not a literal sense, in a figurative sense.

Take up your cross
let not its weight
fill your weak spirit with alarm;
his strength shall bear your spirit up,
and brace your heart and nerve your arm

Take up your cross,
and follow Christ,
nor think till death to lay it down;
for only those who bear the cross
may hope to wear the glorious crown.

Hymn 675, 1982 Hymnal

Do Justice

He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God.
--Micah 6:8

I can find no better lines from Scripture for the start of the Florida legislative session. I only wish that I’d had them with me all those years that I was a public radio reporter running up and down the stairs from the 5th to the 4th floor of the Capitol in the flurry of “doing my job”. It would have made for a nice way to frame my questions to those in power who, with the push of a green or red button, had control over the lives of thousands of people at their fingertips.

“Senator, do you believe that “Yes” vote which slashes funding for children’s programs shows that you are doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with your God?”

Probably a good thing I didn’t do that. I was already considered a pest for asking them any questions at all!

But today, coming from a place of LGBT activism, I am really curious to know who among the 160 members of the state legislature is hearing the words of the prophet to “do justice… love kindness… and walk humbly with God”?

I can name some: Senators Rich, Sobel, Deutch, Bennett, Smith and Gelber. In the House, Representatives Bradenburg, Abruzzo, Brise, Culp, Heller, Jenne, Kriseman, Pafford, Randolph, Skidmore, Steinberg, Schwartz, Waldman, Chestnut, Kiar, Nehr, Rehwinkle Vasilinda, Rousar, Rader, Sachs, Bullard, Fitzgerald, Garcia, Long, and Porth.

These 31 people have agreed to be sponsors of four bills this session aimed at doing justice for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered citizens of this state. These men and women are hoping to end the anti-gay adoption ban; create statewide domestic partnership benefits; include “sexual orientation and gender identity” in the state’s civil rights laws; and introduce the “Florida Healthy Teens Act”… thus updating sex education from the 1950s ‘abstinence-only’ model. Agreeing to speak out on these issues, these members have already raised the ire of anti-gay lobbying groups in the state, and put their political lives on the line for the likes of me. And not only are we “others” thankful, we are planning to show up and stand up for ourselves.

On Monday, March 16th, fair-minded Floridians, both gay and straight, are rallying at noon in front of the Old State Capitol building and calling on our leaders to show us kindness and mercy under the law.

Today in Florida, it is still legal to discriminate against someone because they are gay. We are allowed to be foster parents, but not adoptive parents because we are gay. And we all know that not only were we statutorily prohibited from getting married here… or elsewhere while residing here, now, by virtue of a popular vote, it is unconstitutional for us to share in the joys and benefits that protect the bonds of relationship that are given to straight couples.

I ask, “Is this how we want to ‘do justice’ in Florida”? How will a state that has intentionally made the LGBT community into second-class citizens be judged?

Join with the thousands that are gathering at the gate on March 16th and demand that our leaders listen to the voices of those who have been shunned long enough.

The time for change is now.