Seattle Gay Man Sends 2,000 Messages to Conservative Voters
As a ballot initiative effort is set to launch in Washington State that could rescind marriage rights there, a gay Seattle man is personally reaching out to past opponents of LGBT equality.
Paul Thomasson is taking advantage of a Supreme Court decision that allows the identities of petition signers to be released to the public. Thomasson is combing through the records for R-71, a failed initiative attempt to overturn the state’s domestic partnership law, so he can find out who supported it. In hopes of changing these individuals’ minds about R-74, this year’s initiative to overturn marriage equality in Washington, Thomasson emailed about 2,000 supporters of R-71.
“I can’t know what motivated you to sign the petition for R-71, but I sincerely hope and pray that you will not sign the petition for R-74,” he wrote.
While many R-71 supporters said they did not want their identities released because of fear they would be harassed, Thomasson’s emails have been the only known contact to the petition signers. By all accounts, Thomasson’s email is not threatening; instead he’s trying a gentle tactic of persuasion.
“People are basically good and tolerant,” Thomasson tells The Seattle Times. “My intent was to let them know there’s an actual human being affected by their decision.”
Thomasson, who identifies as Republican, was kicked out of the Navy during “don’t ask, don’t tell” and now works in human resources at Boeing. Read more here.
If you will be in Seattle this Saturday, click the link below.
The proceeds from this concert will go to my top surgery, and I’d love to get as big of a crowd as I can there. Spread the word!
<3
Scrappy
(via wanderlustprince)
Source: anarchafeminist
Check out Queer Youth Space.
leaflet dropped in seattle after seattle queers took to the streets
ACTION ALERT!! Seattle LGBTs: Hoist the Flag!!
Activists are lobbying for the Seattle Space Needle to fly the rainbow flag for Gay Pride Month again this year, as it did in 2010.
That was the first time the flag had flown over the landmark, notes Joe Mirabella in a blog post for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. He writes of being at a pride event there: “The Space Needle’s enormous flag caught the patches of summer sun that graced the crowd. The rainbow, symbolic of the entire diversity of humanity, shimmered in the light. It was comforting. It brought me hope.”
Mirabella reports that an employee at the Space Needle had told him there were no plans to fly the rainbow flag this year, and he also says no pride events are scheduled at the site. Fellow activist Josh Castle has started a petition at Change.org to encourage the raising of the flag once again.
“I hope you will consider signing it and sharing it with your friends,” Mirabella writes. “I strongly believe the Space Needle just needs to hear how important it is for us to see the Pride flag on the Space Needle. They need to hear we still need a visible sign of hope.”
See the petition here.
