Minutes from 11.14

LoL Workshop about recent politics and the LGBT community and about equality for LGBT people

• Alex led LGBT political discussion in past few weeks
• 3 states passed gay marriage (Maine, Maryland, Washington) by popular vote, 1 state made it not illegal
• pansexual, openly gay in Congress (more minorities in congress!)
• Obama: first president to openly advocate for gay marriage
• break up into groups, issue cards given out (diff. issues in LGBT community, NOT including marriage equality)
• MUST put cards in order of importance
• think: what makes something an issue
• issues: hate crime, LGBT healthcare, LGBT youth homelessness, job discrimination, immigration, adoption issues, LGBT clergy, prison reform, elder care discrimination
• where should marriage equality fall? --> near top of list
• marriage is unity with many rights grated to couple, including emotional, psychological, philosophical and validation
• be able to normalize
• many of these issues (immigration, adoption, elder care( liked to marriage)
• Steve (visitor) talks about marriage=
• financial consultant for nonprofit organizations, director of Identity House (one of the the oldest LGBT communities) --> safe place for people to come together (peer counseling) 
• focus on equality not marriage
• has to overcome the thinking of a two-class society
• believes the "mainstream world" (the straight privileged world) drew the separation between same- and different-sex marriages