Stonewall Democrats form Suncoast Chapter
08/28/05
The Suncoast Stonewall Democrats had their first meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 9.
"We want to establish a voting block," Bryan Worthington, president of the group, said.
The Suncoast Stonewalls are a grassroots organization that is affiliated with the Florida Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Democratic Caucus and the National Stonewall Democrats.
The group's roots go back not too long ago, when it was illegal for gay Americans to congregate. In New York it was even illegal to serve alcohol to known homosexuals. These laws made The Stonewall Inn and Bar in Greenwich Village an easy target for police, since it was well known as gathering place for homosexuals.
Routine raids of the bar were often conducted by police. For some time the gay community sat by and let this happen. One night -- June 27, 1969 -- they got tired of being pushed around.
When police came into the bar for their second routine raid of the week, people fought back. General protests turned into an uncontrollable riot.
Shortly after this event a small group of New York's gay community organized with the goal to protect the rights of gay men and women and eliminate anti-gay laws.
Reaching more people
The initial purpose of forming the Suncoast Stonewall Democrats was to educate the Suncoast GLBT community on the differences that exist in the political parties. Other focuses are mobilizing the community to get out and vote and to stand up for their rights when they are attacked.
When the first meeting began and members spoke their piece, new goals were added to the list.
Only 16 members attended the organizational meeting. This disappointing turnout led to a discussion of how to draw out the GLBT community and pull them together for a common cause.
Members were certain that there were more than 16 homosexual Democratic individuals in the area. With Republicans being the majority in Sarasota County, however, it was not much of a surprise that people might be afraid to make their homosexuality or Democratic party preference known.
Among the small group of attendees was Mike LeFevers, an "out" gay male who is living with HIV. He is also running for the U.S. House of Representatives, District 13, for 2006. He believes that a key focus of this group should be to eliminate the idea that homosexuals are different from anyone else.
"We settle for tolerance, not acceptance," LeFevers said. "We are just like everyone else ... the gay issue is not going to be an issue for my campaign; it's a people issue."
Members said they are tired of gay stereotypes. They agreed that "gay" does not describe who they are, just their sexual preference.
One couple told the group that they were sick of people asking which one of them was the wife. The rest of the membership nodded their heads in agreement. Most of them had experienced the same thing.
The organization will do whatever it can to crush stereotypical ideas about homosexuals.
Another message that the organization decided needed to be stressed was that the membership was not limited strictly to homosexuals. The organization is open to any registered Democrat in Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, Desoto or Hardee County who is on board with the mission of the group.
Judgment from the Republican side
The Suncoast Stonewalls may expect some criticism from the Republican side.
Bob Waechter, head of the Republican Party of Sarasota, seems to think that this new group is unnecessary.
"My first take would be that this is another try by the Democrats at reinventing themselves as they see their party becoming increasingly inconsequential," Waechter said in an e-mail interview.
Although the assumption may be that all homosexuals are Democrats, this is not the case. In fact, there is a Republican gay rights organization as well, The Log Cabin Republicans.
This group has the same type of goals and visions as the Suncoast Stonewalls. Apparently the Log Cabin group is not extremely well known, as Bob Waechter was not aware of its existence.
"As to your question if the Republican Party had any sort of similar group, we don't need one," Waechter said in an e-mail interview. "Our core values and our party platforms reflect the beliefs and goals of our base. We don't need to reinvent ourselves."
For more information about the Suncoast Stonewall Democrats, visit SuncoastStonewallDemocrats.org.
By Christina Elwell
Staff Writer
© 2005 All rights reserved.
Your Local Internet Service Provider
A division of Sun Coast Media Group Inc.
Publishers of the Sun newspapers.
http://www.sunline.net/
The Suncoast Stonewall Democrats had their first meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 9.
"We want to establish a voting block," Bryan Worthington, president of the group, said.
The Suncoast Stonewalls are a grassroots organization that is affiliated with the Florida Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Democratic Caucus and the National Stonewall Democrats.
The group's roots go back not too long ago, when it was illegal for gay Americans to congregate. In New York it was even illegal to serve alcohol to known homosexuals. These laws made The Stonewall Inn and Bar in Greenwich Village an easy target for police, since it was well known as gathering place for homosexuals.
Routine raids of the bar were often conducted by police. For some time the gay community sat by and let this happen. One night -- June 27, 1969 -- they got tired of being pushed around.
When police came into the bar for their second routine raid of the week, people fought back. General protests turned into an uncontrollable riot.
Shortly after this event a small group of New York's gay community organized with the goal to protect the rights of gay men and women and eliminate anti-gay laws.
Reaching more people
The initial purpose of forming the Suncoast Stonewall Democrats was to educate the Suncoast GLBT community on the differences that exist in the political parties. Other focuses are mobilizing the community to get out and vote and to stand up for their rights when they are attacked.
When the first meeting began and members spoke their piece, new goals were added to the list.
Only 16 members attended the organizational meeting. This disappointing turnout led to a discussion of how to draw out the GLBT community and pull them together for a common cause.
Members were certain that there were more than 16 homosexual Democratic individuals in the area. With Republicans being the majority in Sarasota County, however, it was not much of a surprise that people might be afraid to make their homosexuality or Democratic party preference known.
Among the small group of attendees was Mike LeFevers, an "out" gay male who is living with HIV. He is also running for the U.S. House of Representatives, District 13, for 2006. He believes that a key focus of this group should be to eliminate the idea that homosexuals are different from anyone else.
"We settle for tolerance, not acceptance," LeFevers said. "We are just like everyone else ... the gay issue is not going to be an issue for my campaign; it's a people issue."
Members said they are tired of gay stereotypes. They agreed that "gay" does not describe who they are, just their sexual preference.
One couple told the group that they were sick of people asking which one of them was the wife. The rest of the membership nodded their heads in agreement. Most of them had experienced the same thing.
The organization will do whatever it can to crush stereotypical ideas about homosexuals.
Another message that the organization decided needed to be stressed was that the membership was not limited strictly to homosexuals. The organization is open to any registered Democrat in Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, Desoto or Hardee County who is on board with the mission of the group.
Judgment from the Republican side
The Suncoast Stonewalls may expect some criticism from the Republican side.
Bob Waechter, head of the Republican Party of Sarasota, seems to think that this new group is unnecessary.
"My first take would be that this is another try by the Democrats at reinventing themselves as they see their party becoming increasingly inconsequential," Waechter said in an e-mail interview.
Although the assumption may be that all homosexuals are Democrats, this is not the case. In fact, there is a Republican gay rights organization as well, The Log Cabin Republicans.
This group has the same type of goals and visions as the Suncoast Stonewalls. Apparently the Log Cabin group is not extremely well known, as Bob Waechter was not aware of its existence.
"As to your question if the Republican Party had any sort of similar group, we don't need one," Waechter said in an e-mail interview. "Our core values and our party platforms reflect the beliefs and goals of our base. We don't need to reinvent ourselves."
For more information about the Suncoast Stonewall Democrats, visit SuncoastStonewallDemocrats.org.
By Christina Elwell
Staff Writer
© 2005 All rights reserved.
Your Local Internet Service Provider
A division of Sun Coast Media Group Inc.
Publishers of the Sun newspapers.
http://www.sunline.net/
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