HomeMy WebLinkAboutNon-Discrimination Public Comment from Peg Wherry 4-29-14Take button!
Good evening. Thank you for allowing me to speak. My name is Peg Wherry, and I live
at 275 N Ferguson. I might introduce myself as a recovering homophobe, because I said and did
things in my student days that I am heartily ashamed of now. Since then, in addition to knowing
gay and lesbian co-workers, one major force in changing my views has been my religion, which
has emphasized tolerance and inclusivity for hundreds of years. One church I belonged to in
another state observed a “Coming Out” Sunday when gay, lesbian, and transgender people and
their families spoke from the pulpit. Thus I have had many opportunities to get to know gay,
lesbian and transgender people through church.
What have I learned there? First, that for many individuals recognizing and accepting
their sexuality has been a struggle through depression, rage, drug or alcohol abuse, even suicide
attempts as they come to terms with the knowledge that they are different, and different in a way
that some people do not accept. Given those struggles, I have learned that being gay or lesbian is
not a “lifestyle” that is “chosen.” I will never forget an older couple who spoke to us about their
family’s experience. They had five children, boys and girls, and the youngest boy was gay.
When he came out to them, in his twenties, their response was, in part, “so THAT’S what it is!”
They had known since he was five years old that there was something different about him. A five
year old does not “choose” a “lifestyle.” He worked hard at “boy” things—Eagle Scout, cross-
country and so forth—but that couldn’t make him like his brothers.
We had a transgender member in that church too. Knowing this person has, for one thing,
shown me the answer to the “what about the bathrooms?” question. I learned that transgendered
people usually look for unisex or family bathrooms and hold their support group get-togethers in
places offering unisex bathrooms. Knowing that, there’s less reason to worry about who may be
in the next stall.
A basic principle of my religious community is affirming and promoting the inherent
worth and dignity of EVERY person. That principle requires that I NOT value one individual or
group over others. My religion says I MUST value all equally.
So that’s what I’ve learned and what I believe in church. As a citizen, I have another
fundamental belief, expressed in two little words in our pledge of allegiance. No, not “under
god.” I mean the last two words: “for all.” I am proud to live in a country, a state, and a city that
believes in “liberty and justice FOR ALL.” That’s a worthy ideal, but our history shows it’s
difficult to live up to. Martin Luther King, Jr, used the metaphor of a promissory note to express
the ways America has fallen short of our ideals. The proposed non-discrimination ordinance, like
so many other laws—dating back to the 14th and 19th amendments—is needed to uphold the
promise America makes in those two words: FOR ALL. Please make it so for Bozeman. Thank
you.
Peg Wherry