From the National PFLAG Website

Equal Rights – No More, No Less:
NJ PFLAG Mom Praises Marriage Equality Decision

Washington, DC – The monumental decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court that opens the door to marriage equality in the state is receiving high praise from parents, families, and allies of gay and lesbian people across the nation. The mother of a gay son and member of PFLAG in New Jersey summarized the importance of the decision for family values in the following statement:

“As the mother of a gay son and a resident of New Jersey, I am deeply gratified by this decision to end discrimination in the rights and benefits of marriage against same-sex couples issued today in my home state.

This wise and compassionate decision by the Supreme Court of New Jersey removes a weight from families like mine which include a gay or lesbian loved one. Since our son came out to us in 1991, we have become more aware of the lack of protection for gay people in our society and the more we learned, the more our concern for our son grew. We came to realize that he and his partner need the support and affirmation of marriage as much as our three married daughters.

As someone who has been married for 46 years, the mother of four children and the grandmother of five, I wholeheartedly believe in family values. Marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples greatly benefits all of us who want to strengthen families and protect our children.

Beyond the important protections which marriage confers - hospital visitation, health coverage, pension benefits, survivor’s rights, just to name a few responsibilities of marriage - this decision recognizes the right of gay people to marry the person of their choice. Implicit in this ruling is the respect for the relationships of committed, loving gay couples that they deserve. This is what I and all parents want for our children. Equal rights. No more, no less. And now we look to the state legislature to affirm our right to total equality.”

Hockey in Madison…
by hockey hater, Kay Heggestad

Even if you hate hockey, please see the www.madisongayhockey.org web site. The young man who runs this site, Patrick Farabaugh, and who started the Madison Gay Hockey League last year is a genius, I think. I spent a couple of hours talking to him last week in English. But, you can also talk to him in French, Spanish or Russian. To read of bit of his history, go to the site and on the left, click on "introductory email" and this tells you a bit about him. Not only did he mastermind the Madison gay hockey league, which has men and women, gay and straight and transgender on the teams, but also under his care it has grown to be the largest gay hockey league in the U.S. He has been written up in several magazines and if you look around the site, you will find links to those. This is hockey, but it’s really not just about hockey. It is about community. It is about letting some GLBT people, who had no where else to go, be a part of something bigger. There are several couples who have been together for many years on the teams too, showing the younger members that long term relationships do thrive in the gay community.

Patrick is also going to start a monthly magazine, probable first issue in June that will be free and found in the same places that the Isthmus is found. I saw the preliminary plans and some of the articles and photos. I was extremely impressed by what he has put together. He wants the magazine to be all inclusive of every group in the Madison area that works for or has members that are GLBT. The issues will include contact numbers and activities of all the groups, including PFLAG. Some of the feature articles will be stories of GLBT people and also about their relatives and friends.

We are all going to know Patrick’s name in the years to come. The games are on Sunday nights and you can find all the details about where and when on the web site. I hate hockey, but I will be going to some of these games just because I want to know more about this remarkable young man. In fact, if PFLAG goes as a group, he will announce us to the crowd.

The National PFLAG Conference
October 10-14, 2007

Hundreds of PFLAGers and allies from around the United States will gather for the 2007 PFLAG National Conference just outside of Washington, D.C. So mark your calendars now and keep watching for more details. Be there for your family, your friends, and to move equality forward.