THE GAYLY » Wichita

The Kansas Equality Coalition

The Gayly — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 05:13:49 +0000

Staff Report

The Kansas Equality Coalition is a nonpartisan group who includes people who are religious and secular as well as straight, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered. We are from all walks of life and from all parts of the state.

Formally created on Oct. 9, 2005, in a meeting in Emporia, the Equality Coalition is the largest organization in Kansas dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The Kansas Equality Coalition is a non-partisan group of fair-minded people who are determined to end discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Our mission is to ensure the dignity, safety, and legal equality of all Kansans.

Since its formal creation in the autumn of 2005, the Equality Coalition has organized chapters in Johnson County, Douglas County/Lawrence, Manhattan, Topeka, Wichita, North Central/Salina, and Southwest/Dodge City. Our current membership stands at more than 600 Kansans from all walks of life.
Kansas Equality Coalition Chapters The Equality Coalition has had many accomplishments. They have:

Hired a lobbyist and kept a full-time presence in the Kansas Statehouse to work for fair laws for lesbian, gay and transgendered Kansans;
Supported the Lakeway Hotel in Meade, Kan., in its fight to continue to fly the rainbow flag;
Worked to expand anti-discrimination protection at Johnson County Community College to include sexual orientation;
Helped preserve the Topeka Human Relations Commission and its work against discrimination based on sexual orientation;
Formed the Kansas Equality Political Action Committee that endorsed and supported candidates in the 2006 general election (two-thirds of our endorsed candidates won);
Formed an affiliated 501c3 educational foundation;
Worked with national organizations to expand legal protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Kansans.

The group was created by many of the people who fought the state constitutional amendment that banned same-sex marriage and civil unions in Kansas. The moment that ban passed on April 5, 2005, we started work.

The coalition plans is to continue organizing chapters throughout the state, lobbying the Legislature to promote civil rights and block harmful legislation, and leading the campaign to end discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The Equality Coalition is a grassroots movement that can’t succeed without the support and help of its members. Our meetings are open. We welcome your ideas and your help. We also understand that time can be tight. Doing something as easy as becoming a member, though, can make a huge difference in the life of all LGBT Kansans.

When you join the Equality Coalition, you add your voice to the call for fairness and quality in Kansas, you show politicians that you’re another vote for fairness and you give us new strength. For membership information, visit www.kansasequalitycoalition.org.

Kansas Teenager defends First Amendment and gets apology from Governor Brownback

The Gayly — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 14:00:50 +0000

Staff Report

Social Media is more popular than ever but when 18-year-old Emma Sullivan tweeted last week that that Kansas Governor Sam Brownback “sucked,” she thought her words to her 60 Twitter followers would perhaps be ignored. But then she got called to the principal’s office in her High School in Prairie Village, Kansas.

While performing a routine search of Governor Brownback’s name on social-networking sites, his communications director, Sherienne Jones-Sontag, found Sullivan’s tweets and reached out to her school to demand an apology. The teenager’s principal agreed, ordering the teen to draft an apology to send to the governor.

Initially Sullivan agreed, saying, “I didn’t want to deal with it because I’m in the process of applying to school and am trying to keep my reputation good.” But after a chat with her sister, a political science major at Wichita State University, Sullivan decided to tell her principal and Brownback, no way! “I wasn’t sorry for what I said because I meant it,” she told Yahoo! News, saying that she disagrees with the Republican governor’s views on gay rights and abortion.
In educating herself, Ms. Sullivan was able to stand up for her rights against the most powerful man in her state.

Now Sullivan is getting an apology of her own. Brownback himself has backed down and says it’s his staff, not Sullivan, who was in the wrong. “My staff overreacted to this tweet, and for that I apologize,” Brownback said in a statement to The Associated Press. “Freedom of speech is among our most treasured freedoms.”

Wichita themes Pridefest 2012 as, “Proud Family”

The Gayly — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 14:00:43 +0000

By Robin Dorner
Editor in Chief

The date is set and a new logo is slated to be unveiled soon for the 2012 Wichita Pridefest. According to Wichita Pride event organizers, the logo will be selected early in the New Year.

“Our official event logo has not yet been chosen as it is set to be voted on at our next meeting January 9th,” said Brent Kennedy, Wichita Pride President. “The theme of PrideFest 2012 is set as “Proud Family” and the date and location will be September 29, 4:30p-9:30p, and September 30 10:30a-6p at the Mid America All Indian Center.”

The mission of Wichita Pride is: As a 501(c)3 non-profit volunteer organization, Wichita Pride, Inc. will organize events to celebrate and unite our diverse community of Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, Transgender and ally people in the greater Wichita area.

Dedicated to improving the quality of life for and visibility of the members of the gay community, Pride is held on a warm weekend in September in downtown Wichita and expects to draw crowds of many thousands together in support of our multiplicity. The event is the centerpiece of a month-long celebration of the uniqueness and rich diversity of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community. It is a time to remember the Stonewall Riots, which happened in New York City in 1969, and is generally recognized as the beginning of the movement in the quest for Human Rights.

To get involved or otherwise inquire about Wichita Pride, visit www.wichitapride.org

Wichita Final Friday Gallery Crawl

The Gayly — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 19:08:59 +0000

December 30th, Arts District Downtown Wichita.

The Jones Gallery at Positive Directions is named after our benefactor and friends, the Jones family. Located in the heart of the Arts District Positive Directions is now participating in the Final Friday Gallery Crawl. The last Friday of every month from 6-10pm.

It Gets Better – if you don’t give up

The Gayly — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:00:09 +0000

“Everyone should always have hope in their heart, feel love in their life, have an equal playing field and an equal chance to be happy.”

Those were some of the last words my friend “O” said to me. They were the mantra of his life and the message he wanted carried forward. Sadly, they were also all of the things he was never able to embrace. In the aftermath of his suicide, I am left with the task of deconstructing the taboos that blocked him from realizing what he so eloquently desired.

“O” was a dartboard for everything we as a culture are afraid of: he was gay, Muslim, and mentally ill. When he came out of the closet, he found there was no place for him inside his religion. As he turned to the gay community for support, he discovered the awkward truth that a culture colored by the rainbow is still uncomfortable with some of the hues inside that prism. Though he constantly desired personal freedom and intimate connections, his personality disorder robbed him the ability to live life on his own terms. He was born into a family that loved him, but most of his relatives were ill-prepared for the advent that was “O”.

When we decide something is a taboo, we limit people’s abilities to navigate how to deal when it inevitably manifests. Just because we don’t want something to
exist, doesn’t mean it won’t. Sometimes, people come into this world to challenge assumptions and expand horizons. With so many taboos tattooed to him, “O” was one of those people.

Teenage suicide and adolescent bullying are issues that have gained national attention and caused recent local strife. News anchors like Anderson Cooper venerably try to dissect how ill treatment from others leads to irreversible decisions. It isn’t just kids who are offing themselves, though. “O” was well into
his thirties when he died. Causalities come when we refuse to allow people to fully integrate who they are with where they are. When we refuse to confront the things that scare us, we chase off some of the very people we want to love. That’s exactly what happened to “O”.

I’m no scholar of Islam, but I know most Muslims will tell you there’s no place in Allah’s kingdom for a gay man. Muslim men are supposed to be the leaders of their families. Their offspring bring honor to the bloodline and goodwill to the family name. This was one requisite “O” would never manifest. Instead of dealing with that fact, most of his family ignored it, hoping it would go away. Simultaneously, they ignored his mounting cognitive deterioration. Stigmas over mental illness don’t just bring dishonor to Muslim families; most Americans are uncomfortable confronting the challenges that come when a family member has an anguished mind. When relatives can’t give you the acceptance you need, it’s natural to seek that out in other people. Islamophobia and the misconceptions most people have about Muslim culture often prevented “O” from making those connections.

Suicide, he felt, was the only release fromalifefullofcontradictions. Race, religion, culture, heath, and sexuality tragically collided.

These are not easy issues to talk about. You’re probably uncomfortable reading this piece. If so, that is very good. Uncomfortable is compelling. Answers are often found inside the notions that scare us the most.

My relationship with “O” was complex. He and I never actually met in person. We were introduced via the “Gay Men Who Think Levi Johnston is Hot” Facebook group. See, even Sarah Palin is good for something! Though I never interacted with his physical presence, I got to know his mind better that probably anyone. We talked nearly every day for two years. He knows things about me that even my best friends do not. We had was a relationship full of constant challenges. It required my mind to expand. It made his heart open up. It was strange, but it was real. Technology can either be the means by which we break taboos or allow them to exacerbate. I choose to let social media broaden the scope of my social understanding.

Every night around 9:00 p.m., I wait for my phone to ring and a picture of “O” to pop up. That doesn’t happen anymore. It isn’t the dartboard of collective fear I want to hear from, though; I just miss my friend. Suicide often happens because circumstances larger than a single person overtake an individual’s life.
In our last conversation, “O” told me he didn’t want his message to be forgotten. I write this in hopes that you will lace in your heart the words that open this article. When you encounter people whose identities and circumstances challenge or befuddle you, please pay attention. If you’ve been affected by suicide, examine the conditions that surrounded the event. Sometimes, people come into your life to wake you up. With open eyes, we can level the playing field and create the world of hope, love, and happiness for others “O” didn’t have for himself.

By Jason Dilts
Gayly Columnist

Wear a red ribbon on December 1st

The Gayly — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 14:00:03 +0000

Wearing a red ribbon has become an internationally recognized symbol for HIV and AIDS aware- ness. The red ribbon was created in 1988 by a group called Visual AIDS to show support and in remembrance of those who have died. December 1st each year, people around the world pin on their red ribbons to commemorate World AIDS Day.

World AIDS Day is important in reminding people that HIV has not gone away. There are now 33.4 million people living with HIV. During 2010 some 2.7 million people became newly infected with the virus and an estimated

2 million people have died from AIDS. Around half of all people who become infected with HIV do so before they are 25 and are killed by AIDS before they are 35. In recognition of World AIDS Day December 1st, here is a list of events happening in the Gayly readership:

TULSA:
Dec 1st, Candlelight vig- il, RAIN team reunion, Council Oak Men’s Chorale and Sisters in Song will perform. Time TBA. Event will be at Circle Cinema in Tulsa. Documentary ‘We Were Here’ will be shown Dec 1st – 8th at Circle Cinema.

OKLAHOMA CITY:
Nov. 30th, the AIDS Walk board and deadCenter Film Festval will premiere the film “We Were Here” at the downtown Museum downtown. Contact deadCenter at (405) 246-9233 for info.

Dec. 1st, 7pm – service at Expressions Church. OKC AIDS Walk Board will distribute grant checks to recipients and a reception will follow with food and drink.

WICHITA:
Dec. 1st, 6:30 service is planned Mid-America All Indian Center at 650 N. Seneca. For more info, call (877) 472-8227 and ask for Teresa.

Further AIDS fundraising info – Oklahoma AIDS Walks raised the following in Sept & Oct; Tulsa raised $13,000 & Oklahoma City raised $65,000.