Kansas City AIDS Walk

The 16th Annual AIDS WALK/RUN Kansas City is this Saturday, May 1st, at 10:00am in Mill Creek Park.

Kansas Marriage Amendment Part 2?

Supporters of a marriage prohibition amendment are urging Kansas senators to reconsider.

Gay marriage issue may be resurrected

Missouri House Passes Gay Marriage Prohibition Amendment

They did vote on it this session after all.

House passes gay marriage amendment

Update: Here's a link that doesn't require registration. Missouri Anti-Gay Amendment Moves Closer To Ballot

And here's another one. Missouri House passes amendment barring gay marriage

Missouri House Discusses Gay Marriage Prohibition Amendment

The Missouri House Committee on Children and Families discussed a gay marriage prohibition amendment today.

House committee discusses gay marriage amendment

They may not vote on it in this session however.

Social Selection Theory

Social Selection theory is the idea that a person's or animal reproductive success can be influenced by their social ties. I've heard that it may explain the evolution of homosexuality in human beings. The idea being that homosexuality leads to more diverse social relationships that benefit both homosexual people and their families.

I find this interesting because a common topic of discussion at PFLAG meetings is how a friend or relative's coming out wound up having a surprisingly positive impact on your life. That would seem to agree with the theory.

Here's an interview with the scientist who came up with the theory.

Gay Pride Week in Lawrence

The Lawrence Journal-World has an article with more information on Lawrence's Gay Pride Week.

A heartland divided: Penny Henry

USA Today published this article on PFLAG-KC board member Penny Henry.

A heartland divided: Penny Henry
By Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA TODAY
While headlines on gay rights focus on legal wrangling, political posturing and the booming voices of activists right and left, people in the nation's heartland wrestle with the issue more quietly. USA TODAY's Cathy Lynn Grossman asked people in Johnson County, Kan., how their views toward homosexuality were formed and how those attitudes shape their actions day by day. (Related photo gallery: The debate over gay rights)

"This is my gay son, and this is my married son": Penny Henry of Overland Park is proud of Roger, left, and Doug, pictured with daughter McCalla.
By Eileen Blass, USA TODAY

Profile

Age: 63. Occupation: administrative assistant at a bank. Divorced with two adult sons — one of them married with children and the other one gay. Raised Christian but no longer attends church. An officer for the metropolitan Kansas City-area chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG). Registered Republican "so I can mess with them in the primaries." Spent most of her life in a rural town of 3,000 before moving to Overland Park.

Influences

Henry was "devastated" when her son Roger, now 38, told her 12 years ago that he is gay — one of those people she just "knew" were "sick perverts going to hell."

"I don't even know the origins of the prejudices that I used to have. Where did I get it? From my parents? From church? From living in a small town in '50s Kansas?

"I knew Roger was different from the get-go, but I thought if I never mentioned 'gay,' it would never happen," she says. "Now I'm just sorry I missed a quarter-century of really knowing him. I don't understand parents who don't love and accept their sons."

Views

Henry tries to change the world, one consciousness raised at a time. "I don't think we can make change through legislation. We have to change minds and hearts. For a lot of people, the idea that 'gay' is normal is very frightening."

She recalls when public schools in nearby Olathe pulled a young-adult novel about lesbian teens from the library in 1993. It took a lawsuit by students and parents to get the book, Annie on My Mind, back in circulation.

"The more people know other gay people or realize there are gay people in their family, the more understanding there is going to be of how they are just like everyone else and should have the same rights," she says.

There are two portraits on her office desk. "I always show people, 'This is my gay son, and this is my married son.' Only one person ever gasped."

In letters and e-mail bluntly questioning her congressmen, all but one opposed to gay marriage and civil unions, Henry wrote: "You don't know me from Adam's off ox. I am not a political animal, but I vote regularly ... and once or twice have had a campaign poster in my yard. ... However, now that you have started messin' with one of my kids, hang on to your hat. ... Why is my many-times married first son entitled to hundreds and hundreds more rights and benefits under the law than my second?"

Updates to Calendar and Newsletter

The PFLAG-KC calendar of events and newsletter have just been updated with new events and articles.

HRC House Party

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) will be hosting "A House Party to Benefit the Human Rights Campaign" for PFLAG-KC members:

April 17th, 2004 at 3:00 pm

Sharps 63rd Street Grill
128 West 63rd St.
Kansas City, MO

RSVP to PFLAG-KC President Jamie Lee if you plan on attending.

HRC asks that you please bring a contribution to support them.

KU's Pride Week

The following events are part of KU's Pride Week. All events are free and open to the public.

Monday April 12th
Rep. Sabrina Sojourner Lecture 7:30-Pam in Woodruff Aud. Kansas Union
She's faced it all: Racism, sexism, and homophobia as the first African American lesbian elected to the US Congress. Come hear her lecture on human rights and domestic policy

Tuesday April 13th
Queer Movie Night: Featuring Soldier's Girl 8-10pm in the Big 12 Room Kansas Union
The story of Barry Winchel, a GI murdered after having a relationship with a transgender entertainer. FREE POPCORN!

Wednesday April 14th
Brown Bag Diversity Series Presents a Sean Barker Lecture -- Representing the Queer: A Consideration of Politics and Visual Culture
Noon-1pm at the Multicultural Resources Building on the KU Campus

Thursday April 15th
Religion and Oppression Panel Discussion 2:30-4pm in Alderson Auditorium Kansas Union
a discussion on how the Bible has historically been used to oppress different groups of people including African Americans, women, homosexuals, and Jews.

Internalized Homophobia Workshop with Dr. Joe Kort
7-9:30pm in the Centennial Room of the Kansas Union
an Adjunct Professor of Gay and Lesbian Studies at Wayne State University and psychotherapist helps with issues that occur even after the coming out process

Friday April 16th
11th Annual Brown Bag Drag Show hosted by Robin Banks and Balerie Dolls and featuring some of Kansas' finest Queens
Noon-2 at the Kansas Union Plaza

Saturday April 17th
Pride March and Rally
1pm meet at South Park and march down Massachusetts St. to Watson Park where we can Rally and partake of Jimmy Johns sandwhiches

Queer Comedy and Theatre night
Alderson Auditorium Kansas Union -- 7:30-9:30
Featuring KU playwrights and stand up comedy

Update: Here's the event's web page. Pride Week 2004

New Survey Shows Stigma Against Gays Is Fading

Stigma against gays fading, survey finds
"as gays and lesbians have become more open, heterosexuals in return have become more open toward them"

Update: Here's an article with more info about the survey.

USA Today Poll

There's a poll on USA Today's website on the gay marriage constitutional amendment.

Should the U.S. pass a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage?

Kansas City Gay Health Survey

Here's an article on the results of Kansas City's gay heath survey.

Microscope Put To Gay Health

50-State Rundown On Gay Marriage Laws

The Kansas City infoZine has a 50-State Rundown On Gay Marriage Laws.

Missouri House Passes Anti-Gay Amendment

A proposed amendment to the Missouri Constitution that would ban same-sex unions passed the House on Wednesday.

There are articles about it on 365gay.com and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's site.