thomascwaters.com

Thanks to Sue Kerr, Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents, for her Pride Week post, and for her mention of 2 very important events happening this coming week. While the two events were not planned together, they provide 2 different perspectives from which to think about GLBTQ Rights, and the two events compliment each other nicely. For the Wednesday event, folks from 4 local organizations will be facilitating the event: Steel City Stonewall Democrats, Pittsburgh PFLAG, Women’s Law Project, and thomascwaters.com. Well, maybe my blog isn’t officially an organization, but you get the idea.

I want to comment however, on Sue’s commentary:

This could be useful for new-to-advocay persons.  Equality Advocates has conducted similar sessions in the past. My frustration with these events is that they gear people up for an activity which can be very difficult to pursue – face to face meetings with elected officials.  There’s also the historical lack of follow through.  These organizations are all very strapped for resources and do not (for various reasons) utilize new social media very well to mobilize the troops.  If you are a tech person, perhaps that’s how you can volunteer!  Set up a FB page with frequent status updates, get wall discussions going and send out email blasts profiling different legislators.  So go into this trainings with a very open mind as to how you can get involved.  Make your own opportunity.

Might I also add blogging as an opportunity?  There are not enough queer voices in the Burghosphere and, with all due respect, two out of three are white gay men.  Minority voices within the community should seize this opportunity to speak out loud.

Sue is right on the money that blogging is a great way to play a part and we need to bring more gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered voices to the blogosphere. Sure uses the phrase, Burghosphere, and that is a good one too. In my experience, many of my most loyal readers and commenters are not local, which is one of the most exciting parts of blogging. That others in many places can appreciate what you have to share. It isn’t hard to start blogging, and there is no time like the present to dig in. But this Fall, an opportunity that can help you get going in blogging or other types of Social Media, is Pittsburgh’s Podcamp, a free 2-day unconference where you can learn most everything you need to get your voice out there.

But I really disagree that face to face meetings with legislators is difficult. It is enormously easy, and even fun! All state representatives and senators make time to meet face to face with their constituents. PA representatives spend Thursdays and Fridays in their district specifically to facilitate these types of meetings and other responsibilities. A simple phone call is all it takes to get a meeting arranged.

Joe Preston is the state representative for my area, and I met with him about a month ago. He encouraged me to stop by to see him 2 or 3 times a year to catch up. Joe expressed that face to face meetings are extremely important to legislators, because it gives them a chance to hear directly from their constituents. He wishes more of his constituents would meet with him.

If there is a difficult part to it, it is that meetings are during regular business days, so people who work have to find a way to make that work out for them. I’m fortunate, that Joe’s office is quite close to where I work, and can schedule a 15 or 30 minute meeting on my lunch hour. I was also recently involved with a meeting with Joe Petrarca in Vandergrift. For me, this was important enough (and far enough from home) that I took a half day vacation. Thursdays and Fridays legislators are in the district offices. You can also meet with your elected official in Harrisburg on other days of the week, but that is much more difficult as they have many responsibilities including the House or Senate being in session. So, my suggestion is to go for the local office meeting.

Aside from this time issue, face to face meetings are extremely easy to pursue. In the town hall forum and training, you will get step by step instructions and assistance so that anyone can help to lobby your elected official for legislation that impacts your life and your community.

Lastly, I really want to echo Sue’s comment:  ”Make your own opportunity.” There is no one way to get involved in shaping your community. But it takes all of us getting involved in whatever way we can to make a difference!

GLTBQ Civil rights: How you can change government for your rights. A town hall forum and training session.

A groundswell of activity is happening across the country to provide GLBTQ Americans with their civil rights ranging from hate crimes and nondiscrimination legislation to marriage equality battles. There have been successes, setbacks, and many big hurdles to come. Allegheny County and Pennsylvania are in the middle of such battles, and your rights may be placed in jeopardy! If we are not successful now, it may be a long time before we have basic civil rights in employment, housing and public accommodations.

It is easy to think about democracy being about the right to cast a vote, but there are other ways that you can assure passage of needed        nondiscrimination legislation like PA HB 300 and the local county ordinance. Democracy is a participation activity! In this town hall forum, learn about the status of pending legislation and the things you can do to assure passage of these critical protections. You will leave with step-by-step ideas about how you can make a noticeable difference towards achieving equality.

This event is co-sponsored by Equality Advocates PA, Pittsburgh PFLAG, Steel City Stonewall Democrats, thomascwaters.com, and the Women’s Law Project.

Wednesday June 10, 2009, 7pm- 9pm

St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church

304 Morewood Ave, Pgh, PA 15213

Contact: Thomas Waters, thomaswaters@mac.com,

http://thomascwaters.com, 412-400-8777