The Davis Phoenix Coalition, a voice for inclusive communities free of hate motivated incidents and crimes, emphatically denounces the “Sodomite Suppression Act” ballot proposal initiated in Orange County.
The proposal encourages violent acts towards LGBTQ people, with language stating they should be “put to death by bullets to the head”.
While this dangerous proposal violates state and federal laws and won’t be implemented, the very nature of this hate speech holds great potential of harm, without ever being passed.
The time is NOW to stand up and let our LGBTQ community members, especially our youth, know that hate will never be tolerated here, that they are safe, welcomed and valued. Engaging in conversations with your children is a powerful action that not only helps them feel safe; it also models for them important ways to build inclusive communities.
Your voice matters. Use it to teach by example by joining the Davis Phoenix Coalition and other organizations working to build inclusive communities and denounce this hate filled proposal.
I am happy to add my voice to those of the Phoenix Coalition in the denunciation of the intolerance and hate implicit in the “Sodomite Suppression Act”. When I first heard about this bill, I thought it too ludicrous to give any credence or publicity to. However, on further reflection, I think it is worth thinking and writing about. Especially since I have a unique point of view on this forum because of my career.
It is now not uncommon to encounter individuals who have come, through a variety of different life experiences, to gender self identify differently from how their gender was assigned at birth. It is also common to see individuals who are attracted sexually to the same sex or to both sexes equally. Yet our society has an amazing double standard with regard to our expectations about our bodies. Both men and women are very accepting of radical changes to a woman’s body done to enhance her attractiveness to the opposite sex ( breast and buttock implants, re contouring of the labia for cosmetic reasons, tummy tucks ) all of which are highly “unnatural”. And yet, as this bill demonstrates, there is resistance to the idea of changing from one gender to the other, even for the purpose of the individual simply being able to live comfortably within their own body with surgery which is no more or less “unnatural” than a woman changing her contour for a man. Further, as the very existence of this bill illustrates, there is huge resistance to the idea that whom a person engages with sexually is entirely their own business and not that of anyone other than the consenting adults.
As someone who has seen every variation up close and personal as part of my career, I would like to state unequivocally that one’s gender identification or preference does not make one a better or worse person. We are all human beings with the full range of human strengths and weaknesses.
I stand firmly with the Phoenix Coalition in my assurances to all members of our community “that hate will never be tolerated here, that they are safe, welcomed and valued ” as equal partners with every other member of our community.