Gay and lesbian issues brought out at forum

BY MICHAEL J. RUDOLF

Thursday night’s showing of the film “Out in the Silence” at the Dietrich Theater in Tunkhannock and the forum that followed brought forth a lively discussion on issues that affect the gay and lesbian community in the region.

With more than 100 people in attendance – many of them high school and college students – filmmaker Joe Wilson said that showed that the community not only has a considerable number gay and lesbian people, but also that they and others are eager to move the discussion forward.

“This is by far the best attended presentation as far as students that we’ve ever had,” Wilson said.

Wilson and his spouse, Dean Hamer, produced the documentary to present some of the problems they and others face in communities that are often less than tolerant of gay and lesbian lifestyles.

The film and the forum was presented by PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) of Wyoming / Luzerne Counties, Keystone College O.P.E.N., and the Tunkhannock Area High School Gay-Straight Alliance.

After the film, a panel discussion allowed those who attended to express their views about not only the movie but also about their own community.

In the film, a teenager from Oil City – also Wilson’s hometown – describes the attacks and threats he received while attending high school.

Cindy Francis of Wyoming County Family Preservation, said any animosity toward the LGBT community in this area is small, and tends to be more prevalent among adults and older people.

“There is really almost no prejudice, no bias in the younger kids. The older kids are starting to come around,” she said, noting that there have been incidents among older students.

The audience included a number of Tunkhannock Area High School students, some of whom spoke out.

“I was always picked on all my school life,” one boy said. He said he has learned to push the words aside, as if they had no meaning.

One girl spoke up to say her own family objected to her even being associated with LGBT causes.

“When I confronted my dad about being in the GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance), he wanted nothing of it,” she said, adding that her father claimed that if she were a boy he would have beaten her.

The girl said she can’t comprehend how people such as her father can use religion as a means to attack someone’s sexual orientation.

“I was taught that God loves everybody. If God loves everybody, why can’t you?” she said she asked her father.

One member of the panel, Rev. Paul Walker of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Montrose, said he believes such a gathering could not have happened in this area years ago.

“The very fact that we’re all gathered here is to me an amazing transition that’s happened in the past 30 years,” he said.

Walker said while he has not faced problems while living here, his sexual orientation was an issue when he served at churches in other areas.

For example, he said at a parish in New Jersey, the mayor of the town openly fought against programs Walker wanted to initiate.

Walker said that people of different sexual orientations must learn that they all have a valued place in society.

“This is not a choice. This is who we are. To reject that gift is not who God calls us to be,” he said.

Acceptance of one’s self is the first step toward gaining the acceptance of others, Walker said.

“Just being who you are and just accepting who you are is really important to changing people’s mindsets,” he said.

One woman said all clergy members should follow Walker’s lead and speak out against intolerance toward gay and lesbian people.

“That’s what we need, ministers speaking out against the bigotry,” she said. “If the worst thing that someone can say about me is that I’m gay, I’m doing just fine.”