A Letter From The President

 Bob Dorr, PFLAG Omaha

 Posted on May 27, 2004

The Historic Day has come and gone. In Massachusetts, same-sex marriages are a fact of life for at least two or three years and hopefully forever.

For many people, May 17 was a day of joy. A Boston Globe editorial writer put it this way: “The question of gay marriage has always been, simply and fundamentally, about people—their dreams, their rights and their love.”

Same-sex couples in Nebraska love each other and have dreams, too. They would like the right to get married here, and for Nebraska to legally recognize their marriages. On May 17, coinciding with the start of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts, six same-sex couples applied for marriage licenses at the Douglas County Clerk’s office. The couples were led by Revs. Barbara Sagat and Sharon Stover of the Metropolitan Community Church. The Clerk’s office turned them down—no surprise.

In getting rejected, they drew attention to Nebraska’s constitutional prohibition against same-sex marriages and all other close, same-sex relationships. Observers on both sides say a court challenge now underway has a good chance of overturning that discriminatory prohibition.

Betty and I, along with three other Omaha PFLAG members--Judy Hancock, Gary George and Jim Cox—accompanied the six couples to give them our support.

How will Americans react to the scenes of same-sex marriages in Massachusetts? Supporters of the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment , which would constitutionally define marriage as between a man and a woman, are counting on tens of millions of Americans rising up in support of the amendment. So far that hasn’t happened even though opinion polls show that a majority of Americans still oppose same-sex marriage. Anti-gay organizations are surprised and disappointed.

“Our side is basically asleep right now,” Matt Daniels, founder of the Alliance for Marriage, which helped draft the proposed amendment, told the New York Times recently. Most of the groups supporting the proposed federal constitutional amendment concede that it appears all but dead in Congress for this election year, the Times reported.

A widespread outcry against same-sex marriage still could develop. My view is that it won’t. Gays and lesbians—and to a lesser extent, bisexuals and transgenders—have become much more visible over the last decade. And—surprise, surprise—the two lesbians living next door turn out to be nice people. They go to work every day. They wonder why their taxes keep going up. Their young son draws admiring comments from neighbors. It’s hard to get outraged about same-sex marriage if you know and like some of the people that want the legal benefits and obligations of marriage.

For years Omaha PFLAG has done its bit to get the people and the message of our wonderful movement out in front of the general public. PFLAG members join with members of GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network) to speak in public, mostly to college classes, many of them classes of future teachers. We present our Safe Schools message, and we tell our individual stories.

Another way of becoming visible is to march in the Pride Parade. Again this year, Omaha PFLAG members will march. The Nebraska Pride Parade and Festival will take place on Saturday, June 19. The parade will begin at 11 a.m. Please join us. Come to the 10th and Pacific Streets area about 10 a.m. to find us and line up. Look for our large, gray banner.

The parade will head north on 10th Street and turn west onto Jackson Street, moving to 16th Street where it will disband.

The festival will feature exhibits and entertainment on 15th Street from Leavenworth to Jackson Streets. It will run from noon to 11 p.m. The parade route and festival location are the same as last year.

At 4 p.m. on the Pride stage, the second annual Nebraska Pride Commitment Ceremony will offer GLBT couples the chance to stand together and say “I do” in support and love of each other.

For full details about this year’s Pride, go to this website:

Bob Dorr, president

Rainbow Celebrations - Omaha