Prop 8 Portrait: My reader Terry.

This would be the seventh entry in this ongoing series of gay people in my life sharing their thoughts on marriage and the passing of Prop 8.  It's still difficult to believe that passed and I do trust that one day we'll look back and wonder why this was even an issue.  That's my hope. 
A short time ago, I did a portrait of my reader Jeff and now I'm adding his partner Terry to the series.

In his words..............

The Prop 8 supporters are now fighting amongst themselves. The group, now known as the Campaign for Children and Families, which is run by Randy Thomasson, who for years has been one of California's most visible opponents of gay rights and what he bills as "the homosexual agenda" is butting heads with the main force of people behind Prop. 8.

Thomasson is arguing that the efforts be expanded past just outlawing same-sex marriage and include eliminating any domestic partnership arrangements, such as insurance benefits, community property, child custody and hospital visitation. Even though California voters (temporarily) defeated gay marriage, I do not think that they never envisioned opening this Pandora’s Box.
In my humble opinion, this may be a setback for a short time, but it will add tremendous fuel to action within the gay community and I pray for a backlash from the gay community and people of conscience everywhere that will push the issue back toward more equality quicker than previously imagined.

In recalling my own background, I grew up in a small town in Kentucky and started in the ministry within a Pentecostal Church when I was 16 and continued until I was 22. When I came out to my parents, my mom said that she would rather me have been a murderer. Today, 14 years later, even though my relationship with my parents is still somewhat strained, we have moved past that level of awfulness and pain. What I can offer from this short history is that the best way to eliminate hate is one person at a time. We must make our voices heard. As long as we are silent and faceless, we are easier to discriminate against. Once they learn that we are their brothers, sisters, sons and daughters, they could actually become our defenders and advocates as opposed to our oppressors.

Thanks Terry for participating!

Portrait of Terry completed in under two hours with pen and ink on hot press watercolor paper.

Please click here to for previous Prop 8 portraits.

This is how the series is coming along..........

                                   Click on image to enlarge.

Comments

[Jeff]

Hey that's my guy! I love him to bits!

[vern]

Terry's comments broke my heart with their simple eloquence. Well done!

[Shannon]

I second Vern's comment - Terry well said!

[Kim]

What a great series you're producing! I love your site here, but haven't been by in a while. Plan to spend more time here.

Terry, I agree with you that the further these nuts go off the deep end in marginalizing those who don't conform to their ridiculous beliefs, the more the rest of us will hopefully stand up and just say NO and put an end to the nonsense! I'm straight, but it doesn't matter. I live in the DC area, and have lots of friends and acquaintences who have no problem with gay marriage, but feel it doesn't impact their life, so they really don't talk about it much. I try to seize every opportunity to educate these people on why it's unacceptable for us to live in a country where basic rights are denied to people based on their sexual orientation. It's our responsibility to make others stop and think, and act accordingly.

[Nikki]

Hey man, you're totally right. When I first came out to my mom at 16 she was against gay marriage because "there would then be less discrimination against gays and there would then be more of them". Now she proudly STILL has her NO on 8 sign on our frontyard, and has no problem talking about her happily enGAYged daughter to all her friends.

[Kim]

Nikki: Congratulations on your engagement. Are you getting married soon? In what state? Best wishes to the two of you.

[wheresandrae]

What Terry's mother said to him when he came out just breaks my heart. I have to try to remember not to focus on that, but to focus on the wonderful parents nowadays who will raise their children with acceptance and love. I hope that eventually Terry's parents will come to some understanding and realize that their son is still the man they raised, and love him and treat him with kindness no matter what they were raised to think.