Heroes: My mother and brother. Also the users on JTI, "JohnHosty-Grinnell", "jaysays", "TruthandLove", "Hothulagurlzzz", and "pngwnz".
Current Location: Between Arcadia and Galesville, WI.
Guilty Pleasure:
The best word to describe me is: Caring and honest.
Favorite historical movement: November 15th, 2008, Prop 8 Nationwide Protest
My inspiration: You people
I Joined the Impact because I am tired of people making me feel guilty because I am interested in the same sex. Thanks to all the people who have joined together across the nation and abroad for equal rights and gay marriage I feel more confident and feel more like a normal person should feel.
I came out to my mother and brother, a cousin, and a friend from way back in high school in 2006. It was most difficult explaining it to my mother who has very strong opinions about these things. Thanks to you all here I feel more like I can tell other people about it now. I know that if my dad was still alive I would not have been able to share any of this with my family, or anyone. I think I would have been thrown out of the family for sure. Though I admired my dad, he was the type of guy you didn't share this with.
I am a Baptist and my religion does not approve of gays and lesbians. Though I have been a religious person in the past, it haunted me deeply to be the kind of person I am. I kept trying to be what others considered "normal". You know, the whole girl with guy thing. It wasn't for me. I fought with my feelings since I could remember. I don't know why a lot of people think it is a choice to be gay or lesbian. It is awful living with the thought of knowing my family could disown me, my friends could turn away from me, and my God and religion could send me to hell.
My mother doesn't want others "like me" in her house. Though she does accept me here. Even though I came out and told her over two years ago she still makes comments like, "I don't know why they choose to be that way". I get some other comments about "them" too every so often. But she makes less comments now than she did before I told her.
My brother has been a great supporter and believes gay marriage should be allowed. I have been spreading the word around certain places of the internet about the November 15th protests and about some of these websites. I check in everyday to see what else is going on. I have been known to write Senators and Representatives in several states before on a different issue in the past, signed petitions and got the word out somehow about things. I try to do what I can.
More people need to understand us, and with understanding comes compassion, with compassion will come less hatred and fear of the people who are different and live their lifestyles differently from others. There would be less hate crimes, less people living in fear and less families torn apart.
Please consider this and visit the AWAB website at http://www.wabaptists.org for all the information about the group and what it is doing to help the LGBT Baptist communities. Or write to:
The Association of Welcoming & Affirming Baptists P.O. Box 42544 Washington, DC 20015
We need you understanding and your help.
If you would like to contact members of congreass on the gay rights issue you can find all the information you will ever need at http://www.congress.org.
Sincerely,
Kim (my last name) Political and Gay Rights Activist and citizen of Wisconsin
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My mother doesn't want others like me in her house. Though she does accept me here. Even though I came out and told her over two years ago she still makes comments like, "I don't know why they choose to be that way". I get some other comments about "them" too every so often. But she makes less comments now than she did before I told her. My brother has been a great supporter and believes gay marriage should be allowed. I have been spreading the word around certain places on the internet about some of the websites I am involved with, spread word around about the November 15th protests that were going on all across the nation and continue to spread the word about what is going on. I have also been known to write Senators and Representatives in several states before on a different issue in the past, signed petitions, and got the word out somehow about things. I try to do what I can."
These days I do not attend any Baptist church at all. I hold dear to that faith and it is hard to change religions when you hold one so dear. Instead, now, I push it aside and have accepted myself more for who I am now. I have fought this issue long enough with myself. I would like others in the future to have it better than what I have and not be tormented any longer. I will work for equal rights of LGBT citizens and against hate crimes associated with being gay/lesbian. Since the passing of Proposition 8 in California banning gay marriage which was made legal in May of 2008, many have become outraged and many more have and will speak up. LGBT communities are continuing efforts of working towards marriage in other states and this means continuing the work here in Wisconsin and getting more people to open up.
(Letter continues in next thread)
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I'd like to take the time to share with you my story. I share my story wherever I can. Please read and take a moment to think on the matter. Here is my story:
"I am tired of people making me feel guilty because I am interested in the same sex. Thanks to all the people who have joined together across the nation and abroad for equal rights of gay marriage I feel more confident and feel more like a normal person should feel.
I came out to my mother and brother, a cousin, and a friend from way back in high school in 2006. It was most difficult explaining it to my mother who has very strong opinions about these things. My parents and I felt strongly in our Baptist views. Thanks to all who are helping in the gay rights movement I feel more like I can tell other people about it now. I know that if my dad was still alive I would not have been able to share any of this with my family, or anyone else. I think I would have been thrown out of the family for sure. Though I admired my dad, he was the type of guy you didn't share this with.
I am a Baptist and my religion does not approve of gays and lesbians. Though I have been a religious person in the past, it haunted me deeply to be the kind of person I am. I kept trying to be what others considered "normal". You know, the whole girl with guy thing. It wasn't for me. I fought with my feelings ever since I could remember. I don't know why a lot of people think it is a choice to be gay or lesbian. It is awful living with the thought of knowing my family could disown me, my friends could turn away from me, and my God and religion could send me to hell.
(My story and letter continues in next thread)
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I am writing to you today to ask you if you have heard about a group of Baptists who I am now a member of. The group is called the Association of Welcoming & Affirming Baptists (AWAB)? Members of the Association of Welcoming & Affirming Baptists (AWAB) are churches, organizations, and individuals who are willing to go on record as welcoming and affirming all persons without regard to sexual orientation or gender identity, and who have joined together to advocate for the full inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons within Baptist communities of faith. Our unique makeup helps make AWAB The National Voice for LGBT Baptists. Their mission statement is this: We envision that the day may speedily come within Baptist Churches when no one shall feel excluded from God's love in Jesus Christ because of their sexual orientation and gender identity.
I noticed that your church is not listed as a member under the organization and I am asking that you list yourself with them. I am a member here and am writing to whatever Baptist church I can here in Wisconsin that is not on the list. You will have to forgive me if I did not think of every Baptist church in the state and missed one. I am also a member of several other organizations working to obtain rights here in the U.S. for the LGBT communities. Many heterosexuals have joined up with other organizations as well for equal rights of these citizens. I was raised in a Baptist family and know how they operate. It can be difficult for many Baptists who are gay/lesbian, etc. to live in such a family and around others who are critical of them.
(Letter continues in next thread)
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As some of you may or may not know, I am a member of several websites to help in the gay rights cause for us LGBT citizens. One of the websites I became a member of recently was AWAB. It stands for the Association of Welcoming & Affirming Baptists. You may look it up at http://www.wabaptists.org. I started a project of my I started a few days ago and wanted to tell you about it. It is taking quite some time to do. I have gathered up alot of addresses to Baptist Churches here in Wisconsin. I have a letter I typed up and am printing out several of these. I still need to gather up plenty of addresses yet, but probably have at least 150 letters here. I will mail between 60 and 80 of them on January 2nd. The rest of the letters I will have to wait until I get plenty more money for postage before I send those, but it is quite a start. I don't know if it will do much good. At least I am trying.
Some contacts of mine have tried sending letters to some local churches around where they live. Mainly in the California area. If we start hitting the religious organizations a little harder and in all areas of the nation, small towns as well as big, and I don't mean showing them with anger. It is understandable alot of us are frustrated, but speak from our whole heart on why it is important that they preach acception of LGBT people no matter what religion you, tell your story and that it is not a choice to be who you are. If that church shows understanding and compassion, it may spread to the people below who are members of that church and people of that religion who would usually fight against us. To get more people on our side, we can't fight the churches though we may have our differences with them, we have to make them understand and then will come more progress.
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