A Letter From The President
Bob Dorr, PFLAG Omaha
Posted on October 24, 2004
From the President . . .
On a warm August afternoon, six Omaha PFLAG members sat down with Rep. Lee Terry in his Omaha office and urged him to vote against the Federal Marriage Amendment, which would write a same-sex marriage ban into the U.S. Constitution.
Our arguments were to no avail. Terry, a Republican, told us he would probably vote for the prohibition. In fact, he did vote for it. Terry’s Democratic opponent, Nancy Thompson, has said she would not support a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and/or civil unions. She stated that position in the Citizens for Equal Protection Voter’s Guide.
Thankfully the Federal Marriage Amendment failed to advance. It didn’t win the needed two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives. The Senate also has declined to approve the measure. Hopefully this proposed writing of anti-gay discrimination into the Constitution will stay dead for a while.
A reminder: President George W. Bush endorsed the effort to pass the FMA. His Democratic opponent, Sen. John Kerry, opposes the FMA even though he doesn’t favor same-sex marriage.
During the Terry meeting, our group of PFLAGers—Dave and Kathy England, Barbara Johnson, Hap Rohwer and Roy Wright in addition to me--got a chance to tell the Second District congressman a little bit about our lives and our own experiences with anti-gay bias. Anytime we can do that, our time hasn’t been wasted.
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At PFLAG’s Nov. 11 meeting, we will hear from Omaha Police Sgt. Michele Bang, one of the brave officers who raised the issue of labor-contract fairness for same-sex domestic partners a few months ago. She belongs to the group, Law Enforcement Against Discrimination (LEAD).
Sgt. Bang and a few fellow officers sought changes in the Police Union’s contract with the City of Omaha. The changes would have extended to same-sex couples two small benefits that married officers receive—family sick leave and funeral leave, which are zero-cost items. After that request became public, Police Union leaders declined to press for the changes. Sgt. Bang will talk about the history of LEAD, the group’s current activities and its plans.
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Thanks to all who attended the Oct. 1 Pride Players benefit. The 20 high school students who performed the skits and told their own stories gave passionate performances that reflected their own painful experiences or the experiences of close friends.
