PFLAG Door County
 Parents, Families and Friends
of Lesbians and Gays

 

Advocacy, education and support

 for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people,
their families and friends.

  

Don, Kyra and John at the 2008 PFLAG Picnic           Sandy at AIDS Walk Wisconsin

 

ALL ALLIES ARE WELCOME!

Monthly Meetings: 5 p.m. on the 3rd Sunday of each month at Hope Church, 12th & Michigan in Sturgeon Bay.

 

Questions?   Comments?

Please feel free to contact Sandy Brown at:

 

e-mail: sbrown@itol.com
Phone: (920) 743-8146

 

Join us online!

Click here to join pflagdoorcounty on Yahoo!
Click to join pflagdoorcounty on Yahoo! Groups.

Summer Saturdays

On Saturday Mornings, from July into October, look for us at the Sturgeon Bay Farmers' Market with our Information & Social Gathering booth.

(Off Michigan St. & 4th Avenue)

 

Please stop by to say Hello!

"That’s so gay!"

A message from Shirley Senarighi - PFLAG Door County School Safety Coordinator

 

     "That’s so gay!" I recently heard one child saying to another in the midst of a game. The receiving child was obviously ticked off, but continued playing for a short while. The parent who overheard the comment said to me, "What do you do? All the kids seem to be teasing like that."
     Silence can be perceived as acceptance. When the parent said nothing, both children perceived the statement as "okay." Phrases like "that’s so gay" are prejudicial and, depending on the situation, can be considered harassment.      So when an adult hears a child say "That’s so gay!", what is it parents, grandparents, and teachers can do?


     Name it, claim it, and stop it!

Name the behavior that just occurred: "I think I just heard you say That’s so gay. That’s disrespectful and could be considered harassment."

Claim how the words makes you feel: "I don’t like that. It is hurtful language."

Stop the behavior from being repeated: "I don’t want to hear those words again." And if you hear them repeated, intervene again and again.

 

     You might also give the children alternative words to use. Example: "I think I just heard you say… That’s so gay! There are some other things you could say, like… That’s ludicrous! That’s irrational! That’s weak! That’s goofy! That’s annoying! That’s surreal! That’s yesterday! That’s interesting! That’s absurd! That’s curious! You can use other words!"

 

Shirley Senarighi produces public service radio announcements as the PFLAG Door County School Safety Coordinator and as a Community Correspondent for www.DoorCountyDailyNews.com.

Across the country, families are preparing to give thanks and celebrate this special time of year. In Washington, DC, your Representatives are preparing to vote on workplace protections for our lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) loved ones.

 

Click here to protect the LGBT community from workplace discrimination!

 

In 29 states, it is legal to fire someone simply because of their sexual orientation; in 38 states it is legal to fire someone because of an individual's gender identity. This means that, in many states, LGBT family members and friends are not protected from unconscionable discrimination.

 

If you believe that LGBT Americans deserve the right to work without discrimination, please join PFLAG and hundreds of civil and human rights organizations in urging the U.S. House of Representatives to pass ENDA-the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009. 

 

Call your Representative on Tuesday, December 1st. Make sure your Representative knows that you support ENDA and that you want them to support ENDA, too.

 

You make the call! Your voice could be the one that convinces your Representative to support an inclusive ENDA. Call your Representative and ask them to support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, H.R. 3017. With your help, all American families will have more to be thankful for this year.

Click HERE to find out how you can take Action with PFLAG!

 

LGBT Civil Rights Demonstration - December 5th - Madison!

December 5th at Noon starting at UW Madison Campus Library Mall and ending at the Capital 

Our Demands 

1. Equal Protection in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states

2. Overturn the state same-sex marriage ban in Wisconsin

3. Grant national anti-discrimination rights via 14th amendment

4. Executive Order overturning don't ask, don't tell

Click HERE for details!

 

 

Thank You!

 

We appreciate your support:  PFLAG of Sturgeon Bay - Door County is a 501-C-3 non-profit organization and an official chapter of PFLAG national.   Your financial support pays for the materials needed to carry out our mission of community outreach, support and educational.  Your help will make a difference in our community and is greatly appreciated.  Thank You!

 

PFLAG Door County
PO Box 213
Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235

 

Grocery Store Receipts: Every little bit helps and both Econo Foods and Pick 'N Save of Sturgeon Bay will generously donate a percent of your purchase amounts to our organization.

  • Econo Foods:  Save your receipts and turn them in at our regular meetings; mail them to our address above or call Sandy.  Econo Foods will give us a percentage of the total - as long as the receipts are clearly visible, there is no time limit on them.  

  • Pick N' Save:   Stop at the Service Desk to name PFLAG Door County as the organization of your choice. #603180        NOTE: If you have an older Advantage card, you were able to name 3 charities on your account - if you change it now, you will be limited to one charity so you may not wish to update it.

 

Newsletter Highlights

Sign-up for our Newsletter

From http://www.quest-online.com/NewFiles/Quest_Newsroom_263.html:

 World AIDS Day, Dec. 1:  Green Bay will host a community-wide Red Ribbon community event at the Preble Park Presbyterian Church, 607 Ravenswood, two blocks north of East Town Mall. The evening will offer song, dance, speakers, snacks and beverages. Doors open at 6:30 PM with the event beginning at 7. For more information contact Paul Jacob by phone at: 920-437-7400 Ext. 3110 or by email at: paul.jacob@arcw.org
  According to UNAIDS estimates, there are now 33.2 million people living with HIV, including 2.5 million children. During 2007 some 2.5 million people became newly infected with the virus. Around half of all people who become infected with HIV do so before they are 25 and are killed by AIDS before they are 35.
  Wisconsin has seen a 138% increase in new HIV infections among gay men under 30 in the last three years. Particularly intense outbreaks have occurred in the cities of Appleton and Madison.

December "In the Life" Focuses on Understanding the AIDS Virus
            This month, In the Life looks at the AIDS virus in “Creating Solutions” airing at 10 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 15 on Wisconsin Public Television (WPT).
        “Creating Solutions” will feature scientists who are working to find a cure, advocates speaking out about the stigma of HIV and the success of a cutting-edge prevention effort to stop the spread of the virus.  In the program, scientists discuss the complexity of the virus and why a cure remains elusive.
            Fashion Designer and Chairman of the Board of the Foundation for AIDS Research Kenneth Cole discusses the stigma surrounding HIV with Regan Hofmann, editor-in-chief of POZ magazine and the author of “I Have Something To Tell You,” a memoir chronicling her life upon discovering she was HIV-positive.

Study Suggests Lesbians Make Better Parents.  Lesbians make better parents than a man and a woman, according to Stephen Scott, Director of Research, at the National Academy for Parenting Practitioners.  In a meeting hosted by the think tank Demos, Scott said that the latest research showed that children of such couples did better in life, reported UK Daily Express.   Unsurprisingly, there has been a backlash from the conservative right, with critics saying that children need fathers and that children do best when raised by their married biological parents.

If you have news or events to include, please send to me.  I try to send this out the first weekend of the month.

 

Movies

  • "Out of the Past: the Struggle for Gay and Lesbian Rights in America" - it's got some good history, particularly of the beginnings of Gay Straight Alliances in schools.  

  • "The Celluloid Closet" - a history of gays in the movies.  IMDB Listing

  • "MILK" - the story of Harvey Milk, the first gay city councilman in San Francisco who was shot and killed along with the Mayor.  IMDB Listing

  • "Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin"  A film of the life of Bayard Rustin, who worked closely with Martin Luther King Jr. for civil rights.  IMDB Listing

  • "For Love and for Life: The 1987 March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights" - For Love and For Life places the 1987 March on Washington in perspective among the major political events of our times.  IMDB Listing

  • "The Laramie Project" - When a small town comes face to face with murder, everybody has a tale to tell.   IMDB Listing

  • "Before Stonewall" - The history of the Gay and Lesbian community before the Stonewall riots began the major gay rights movement.   IMDB Listing

NOTE: If you have suggestions for good LGBT history films, let me know.  (Let's stick to her/history here.)

 

 

 

Look What's Happening!

 

The Laramie Project:  Matthew Shepard died 11 years ago.  On Oct. 12 "The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later (An Epilogue) will debut, see www.advocate.com and www.laramieproject.org.  His mom, Judy Shepard, was on WPR this month and on ELLEN on Fri. talking about her memoir: "The Meaning of Matthew: My Son's Murder in Laramie, and a World Transformed". 

Wisconsin Public Radio:  Click here to Listen! Listen or Click here to download this program

Ellen DeGeneres Show:  Click HERE for Video

Tell Me More - Kids coming out earlier:  PFLAG President John Cepek participated in a segment on NPR's "Tell Me More" about kids coming out earlier in life. John told the story of his own son's coming out, and offered great support to the 15-year old boy also interviewed in the segment. John also had an opportunity to share PFLAG as a resource for LGBT kids and their families.  Listen to the segment online here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113299416

 

Domestic partners are now eligible for retirement benefits through the Wisconsin Retirement System!!!  If you have questions about Domestic Partnerships,  Dana Brooks did a great job of discussing the new Domestic Partnership law at our last meeting - watch for more details!  Click HERE for a full summary of the Domestic Partnership protections just granted in the WI Budget.   It's not full benefits, but it's a start!

 

Lambda Legal's LGBT and HIV health care fairness survey - Lambda is working to ensure that LGBT and HIV issues are addressed in health care reform this year. Lambda Legal will use the results of this survey to help educate politicians about our needs.

 

2010 Census:  On the 2010 Census, President Obama says that this time married same-sex couples will actually be counted as married!  365gay.com

 

Lieutenant Governor's Conference on LGBT Youth: March 5, 2010, UW-Oshkosh Save the Date for this important conference sponsored by Gay Straight Alliance for Safe Schools and Diverse & Resilient.

Write cindyc@gsaforsafeschools.org for more information.

 

Recently Out?:  Julia Spear, j.spear@rocketmail.com, is a graduate student in the Social Work program at Missouri State University, and is looking for gay or lesbian individuals ages 18-28 who have come out to one or more parents in the past five years who are willing to participate in a confidential research study. No identifiable information will be collected.  The following link should get you there or write her: www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=wFd9sG9HAzXV1qqAjd2Mnw_3d_3d

 

LGBT Parents - Share Your Story: A research team from Lawrence University interested in exploring the experiences and perspectives of LGBT parents and their children.  If you would like to learn more, go to www.lgbtparents.org.   

 

Lieutenant Governor's Conference on LGBT Youth: Save the date for this important conference sponsored by Gay Straight Alliance for Safe Schools and Diverse & Resilient, March 5, 2010, UW-Oshkosh. 

Write cindyc@gsaforsafeschools.org for more information.

 

New Books:  We have been offered 3 boxes of Lesbian books!  We could sell them to raise funds for PFLAG or whatever we like.  Anyone have any ideas or would be interested?  Let me know.

 

Recommended Reading: Positive Voice has a great book list and  I recommend: "Crisis:  40 Stories Revealing the Personal, Social, and Religious Pain and Trauma of Growing Up Gay in America" edited by Mitchell Gold.  He says it "exposes a tragic mental health crisis", giving statistics on gay suicide and detailing "who and what is contributing to the silent epidemic of depression, isolation, and fear, and what can be done about it."  He has created a website for the book and more stories:  www.CrisisBook.org. 

 

 

LGBT Links

Angels of Hope MCC -- A Metropolitan Community Church for Green Bay, Appleton and northeast Wisconsin.


Fair Wisconsin -- A state advocacy organization dedicated to equal rights for LGBT people.

 

GayChurch.org -- LBBT welcoming Christian church directory.  This link lands on the Wisconsin directory.

 

Gays for God --  GLBT directory of faith communities - Christian and Non-Christian.

 

In The Life --  Documentary stories from the gay experience.


Local GLBT Guide -- A national guide to local GLBT resources in all U.S. states and territories.


 NEW Pride -- The Web site for an LGBT Pride event in Northeast Wisconsin -- held July 12, 2008, and planned again for 2009.  Supported by the Green Bay Action Network (GBAN).


 PFLAG Fox Cities -- (link hasn't been working) Serving Appleton, Green Bay, Oshkosh, Fond du Lac and surrounding communities.  128 N. Oneida St., Appleton, WI 54911  Hotline number is 920-882-4056. Monthly meetings held in the Multicultural Center in downtown Appleton (next to Harmony Cafe)


PFLAG National -- Our national organization, with news releases, Action Alerts and information on issues for LGBT people, family and friends.


PFLAG of the Greater Oshkosh Area, Inc. -- Serving Oshkosh, Fond du Lac and the east-central Wisconsin region.


 Positive Voice, Inc. -- A social, educational and support organization for LGBT people in Northeast Wisconsin. Social meetings Thursdays, 6-9 PM at Angels of Hope MCC.

 

Pride Alive --  Northeast Wisconsin Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride celebration, will take place this summer to celebrate the LGBT community and to connect with the larger Northeast Wisconsin community.  The celebration also aims to promote a positive LGBT presence in the community and to bring together the various groups that fall under the LGBT rainbow.   This year's event is on July 11, 2009 at Joannes Park, Green Bay.


Wisconsin Rainbow Families -- A Milwaukee-based organization dedicated to GLBT parents, families and kids throughout the state of Wisconsin. Find family resources online.

 

 

Online Resources

  • Yahoo! Groups: If you want to send emails to a list of PFLAGers  and see our growing list of resources, go to this link:   http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pflagdoorcounty/ and sign up.  If you have trouble connecting or figuring it out, just let me know.  I can just add you so you can send emails to the group.  Pictures are also posted there.  

  • Lesbians only:  Have you heard of "Lesbian Connection"?  It's a free magazine to lesbians worldwide, or $42 if you can afford it, see www.LConline.org.  

  • In the Life: Documentary stories from the gay experience.  Episodes are viewable on the web and downloadable as well.  If you go to www.inthelifetv.org  you can find the episodes you want to view there.   

  • WI Chapter leaders, if you are not on the Yahoo Wis pflag group, here is how you get on...go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WI_PFLAG/ and click where it says "join".  Also, someone from each chapter should be on the pflagall list.  Let me know if you need to get on that one

  • PFLAG's rural Yahoo! group, PFLAGinruralAmerica is a closed group that you'll need approval to join. The group is set up specifically and reserved for chapter leaders and chapter members in rural communities.  Please go to http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/PFLAGinrur alAmerica/ or e-mail bsmith@pflag. org for an invitation to join the group.

  • The Story of PFLAG:  I'm mailing this on National Coming Out Day!  President Obama shared the story of PFLAG--Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays--as "the story of America" in a speech on October 10, 2009, Watch it on YouTube!

  • Will & Trust Kit: Suze Orman, an out lesbian and financial guru, is offering us free access to her online Will & Trust Kit!  Go to her site, www.suzeorman.com, click on Will & Trust Kit, then click on "Gift Code" (on the right), then enter "people first", and "activate kit now."

New Links

 

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

 

REGULARLY OCCURRING MEETINGS/EVENTS

 

PFLAG Door County meeting at 5 p.m. on the 3rd Sun. at Hope Church, 12th and Michigan, Sturgeon Bay.  (Map)

 

PFLAG Greater Oshkosh Area meeting on the 2nd Tuesday at 6:30 pm at First Congregational Church, 137 Algoma Blvd. in Oshkosh.  PFLAG of the Greater Oshkosh Area

 

PFLAG Point meets third Tuesday of each month from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM.  They are still working on finding a set location.  Anyone may go to  www.pflagpoint.com or phone (715) 572-6922 for more information. 

PFLAG Manitowoc County - meets the1st Thursday of the month, 7 to 8pm at St. James Episcopal Church, 434 Nth 8th Street, Manitowoc.  (Map)  Look for their yahoo group, too.  PFLAG in Manitowoc County

 

PFLAG Sheboygan meets on the 4th Monday at 7:PM at the Sheboygan Area Unitarian Universalist Fellowship - , 708 Erie Ave. Sheboygan

 

PFLAG Washburn - meets on the 4th Tuesday of each month at 7:PM in the lower level of the Washburn Public Library located at 307 Washington Ave in Washburn.  PFLAG Washburn

 

Positive Voice Drop-in Program  Join PV and Conversation Cafe at the Harmony Cafe for a fun evening of chat!  (1st Thursday of the month at the Harmony Cafe, 1660 W Mason St, Green Bay  map )

Thursday, November 5th, 6 – 8pm

Thursday, December 3rd, 6-8pm

Harmony Cafe in Green Bay, West Mason next to Toys R Us, every Friday, Conversation Cafe, 11:30 - 1pm, hosted by Cricket and John O.  Click HERE for all the services that Harmony Cafe offers.  map

EVENTS BY MONTH

DECEMBER

1  World AIDS Day, as well as the day Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus back in 1955!

3  PFLAG in Manitowoc County, the1st Thursday of the month, 7 to 8 PM St. James Episcopal Church, 434 Nth 8th Street, look for their yahoo group, too. 

5  Positive Voice Holiday Dinner Party & White Elephant Gift Exchange. Sierra Hotel

5  LGBT Civil Rights Demonstration - Details - Starting at Noon at the UW Madison Campus Library Mall - Ending at Capital 

6  Valued Families, http://www.valuedfamilies.blogspot.com/, meets the first
 Sunday of each month from 2-4p at Harmony Cafe (233 E College Ave, Appleton)

8  PFLAG of the Greater Oshkosh Area meeting on the 2nd Tuesday at 6:30 pm at First Congregational Church, 137 Algoma Blvd. in Oshkosh.

15  PFLAG Point meets third Tuesday of each month from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM.  They are still working on finding a set location.  Anyone may go to  www.pflagpoint.com or phone (715) 572-6922 for more information. 

20  PFLAG Madison, 3rd sundays (not in june july or august)  2-4 pm  see www.pflag-madison.org for directions and topic.  Str spouse group meets at 4 pm, right after pflag.
 20  PFLAG Door County meeting at 5 p.m. on the 3rd Sun. at Hope Church, 12th and Michigan, Sturgeon Bay.  (Map)

20  PFLAG Milwaukee, 5 p.m., third Sunday at Martin Luther Lutheran Church, Milwaukee.  www.milwaukee-pflag.org.

22  PFLAG Washburn 7:00 PM the 4th Tuesday of each month in the lower level of the Washburn Public Library located at 307 Washington Ave in Washburn.  Call (715) 209-1100 if you have questions.

28  PFLAG Sheboygan on the 4th Monday at 7 p.m., 708 Erie Ave. Sheboygan - at the Sheboygan Area Unitarian Universalist Fellowship

JANUARY

1  Happy New Year!

"Fine Tuning Your School to be an Emotionally Safe Place for ALL"

Professional Development Opportunity for Educators

Funded by NEA/WEAC Safe Schools Grant and PFLAG of Door County

with the support of Sturgeon Bay Schools & Individual Contributors.

 

Click HERE to see what was offered in our 2009 program.

Contact Us

Sandy Brown
PFLAG Sturgeon Bay/Door County
PO Box 213
Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235
920-743-8146

sbrown@itol.com

 

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
---Martin Luther King, Jr.

PFLAG and PFLAG PARENTS, FAMILIES AND FRIENDS OF LESBIANS AND GAYS are registered trademarks and service marks of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, Inc.

Thank You for visiting us on the web at: www.PFLAGDoorCounty.org

Please help us build our community of support & education by forwarding our web address to family and friends.

 

 

Click HERE to offer feedback, comments, or report problems on this page.

Hello PFLAG members of Wisconsin

I'm writing on behalf of a new coalition in Madison Wi, that grew out the National Equality March, Unified for Equality.  We have called a march of December 5th and want anyone who is interested to join us. The march is very soon, and that is why I am writing to formally invite you and your members and anyone else you may know who would be interested to come to the Capitol on the first Saturday in December and march with us. We are encouraging groups to feel free to represent themselves and if any of you have a compelling story or inspirational words that you would like others to hear, feel free to contact me so that you can speak at the rally. 

Below are the march logistics please read through them and if you interested in coming please email me back so that we can get an idea on numbers.

Thank you, Hope to see you there,

Kristen Donat

LGBTI Equality NOW!

(312) 636 0201

LGBT Civil Rights Demonstration!

Dec 5th at Noon 

Starting at UW Madison Campus Library Mall

Ending at Capital 

Our Demands 

1. Equal Protection in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states

2. Overturn the state same-sex marriage ban in Wisconsin

3. Grant national anti-discrimination rights via 14th amendment

4. Executive Order overturning don't ask, don't tell

 

Organizing Meeting 5pm, Saturday, November 28th, 2009 at 600 Williamson St at the Outreach Center, Madison
Part of the Meeting will be spent discussing this article http://socialistworker.org/2009/11/05/what-does-maine-tell-us

 

Unified for Equality stages march and rally


“March on Madison,” an action by Madison-based grassroots group Unified for Equality, is scheduled for Saturday, December 5 at the Wisconsin State Capitol. A rally will follow the march.
 
This action is meant to call public and legislative attention to the outcome of a hearing earlier this month in the Wisconsin Supreme Court, brought to challenge the language of the so-called gay-marriage ban enacted in 2006 in Wisconsin.
 
The challenge in the Court responded to a problem: The ban contained two actions in a single voting-item. The first item banned marriage itself; the second banned "anything substantially similar." 
 
Bill McConkey, who brought the challenge in the Court, was challenging the constitutionality of the language used on the ballot. The vote's language prevented voters from voting yes or no on marriage and voting separately on "anything substantially similar." The Court has until July to make a decision on the case.
 
Unified for Equality represents the views of the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) community toward equal rights at the state and federal levels.  Coalition groups include Madison Area Transgender Association; MATC Pride Alliance; the Madison Branches of the International Socialist Organization; LGBTI Equality Now at UW-Madison; OutReach/OutThere of Madison; P.E.A.C.E. at UW-Whitewater and others. Support from the community is welcomed and encouraged. 
 
Among the demands of Unified for Equality are equal protection in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states, the overturning of the state same-sex marriage ban in Wisconsin, the granting of national anti-discrimination rights via 14th Amendment and an executive order to overturn "Don’t-Ask-Don’t-Tell".
 
The LGBT community lacks everyday rights in addition to the marriage right and refuses to accept the status quo any longer. Unified for Equality works without pause to attain the rights guaranteed to us by the 14thAmendment, but not extended to us as a group. We now demand, not request, equal rights for every citizen under the law and the Constitution of the Unites States of America. 
 
The march begins at the UW-Madison Library Mall at 12 p.m., and ends at Capitol Square, where a rally will further demonstrate unity and solidarity and will show Wisconsin and the Court that other Wisconsin residents care about this issue and want the ban thrown out.

 

Unified for Equality

unifiedforequality@gmail.com

Charlene Hanson

608-239-0313