Hello all.
Stonewall Columbus has received numerous calls, website responses and community members dropping by the Center- all wondering what happens next with Issue 1. As with you, we are all feeling saddened by the vote and working on healing the wounds and moving forward in this important battle. We understand your frustrations, concerns and in many cases, anger. We also appreciate the many kind words that we have received from folks and we encourage you to reach out to your friends and family that are feeling hurt during this tough time. So, where do we go from here…?First, as individuals and a community, we need to heal and focus on being supportive to one another and ourselves. Since so many are truly grieving this loss, Stonewall would like to offer an opportunity for community members to come, gather and have a dialogue about the many emotions that we are feeling. So many have called us feeling overwhelming grief and sadness and we want to provide a chance for you to discuss what you are feeling. We are hosting a session, “Healing the Wounds of Issue 1” this Tuesday, November 9th 6-8pm at the Stonewall Community Center (1160 N. High Street) to be held in the library. This is again, a chance for folks to dialogue in a group setting which will be facilitated by Phil Hart of Sanctorum and the Stonewall Interfaith Program. Please note, this session is a supportive gathering and offers community members the opportunity to process their emotions in a collective, safe environment. Thus, it is neither a town hall meeting nor educational program focused on the political issues of Issue 1’s passage. Our community must first heal, before we can move forward and effectively fight this battle.
Many of you have contacted us with questions about what Issue 1’s passage means for you and your family legally. As stated by many attorneys and community activists prior to the election, Issue 1 is a vague and ambiguous amendment which could have a variety of ramifications for domestic partners. Community leaders are discussing this, as well as, gathering all the information from the election in terms of numbers and data, so that we can strategically outline the next step in this fight. We hope to have all data in within 2 weeks which will at that time be analyzed and reviewed to develop a strategic plan. This fight is NOT over, in fact it will be even more important that this community joins together to fight discrimination and attacks, like Issue 1, and make it known that we are NOT going away, we are growing stronger as a community and force within the social and political fabric of this state and country.
As we outline a strategy, we will be hosting a Town Hall Meeting for all community members to attend and hear updates from community leaders and organizations as well as find out what YOU can do in this struggle. Stay tuned for further details by logging on to our website at www.stonewallcolumbus.org where we will post information of this meeting and future plans for community action.
Lastly, Stonewall Columbus would like to extend deepest gratitude to our community for all of your tireless energy, support and dedication to fighting Issue 1. We did NOT lose this battle on all fronts, in fact, we succeeded in coming together and showing that we are strongest when we work together to fight those against us. Our community showed that we can collectively fight battles and we proved that we are stronger when we are united. This has been an amazing journey for us all and we should all be proud of the amazing work we have done. This is NOT over and we must now, more than ever, remember to support one another, reach out to those hurting and move forward for equality and justice!
Sincerely,
Kellye Pinkleton and Kate Anderson
Ps- for those that have contacted with suggestions and ideas for the continued fight, please know we appreciate your thoughts and we are collecting and reviewing these comments.
