Glad I'm With GLAAD

Monday night I attended a staged reading of The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later, and it was pretty astounding. The reading, at Emerson's Majestic Theatre, was performed simultaneously with over 150 participating theatres around the GLOBE, and it began with a simulcast, via the interwebs, from the main theatre in NYC. The performs also coincided with the 11 year anniversary of Matthew Shepard's death on October 12. Members of the Tectonic Theatre Project, the group responsible for the original Laramie Project, returned to Laramie and conducted interviews with the town folk new and old. Some wouldn't comment, others tried to explain that Laramie is NOT a homophobic town, but because of the murder, that is what the town is known for, and some maintain that the murder was driven by drugs, or a robbery gone too far. In other words, they defend the theory that Matthew Shepard's murder was NOT a hate crime... idiots. Although, thanks to morons at 20/20, that theory has been given national attention... I'm never watchin 20/20 again.

What had the greatest impact on me was the interviews with the 2 men that committed this heinous crime, Russel Henderson and Aaron McKinney. Russel, in his interview, claimed to have remorse and guilt for what he had done, however, Aaron's interview was most haunting. Aaron's only guilt and remorse revolved around the disappointment he feels he inflicted on his father. He maintained to hate gays, and that he believed Matthew to be a sex predator, so to quote, "he had it coming". Really f'ing terrifying.

Following the reading, there was a short, live Q&A session with the Majestic audience and the president of GLAAD, a rep from ADL, and a woman from... somewhere that I can't remember, and anyway, they talked about how even today there is NO FEDERAL HATE CRIME LAW that extends to crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. Currently there is a bill proposed to United States Congress, The Matthew Shepard Act, first introduced in 2001, currently, 8 years later, awaiting a vote from the Senate. Progress???... we'll see.

Anygay, seeing this performance the day after the rally in Washington of over 75,000 gay rights activists, made me realize that I should try to do something.

SO, today I applied to volunteer for GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation).

I would even love to one day work for the organization, and perhaps make it my career... my grandmother always told me I'd make a great politician... I AM HERE TO RECRUIT YOU!

Please check out more information on GLAAD and ADL (Anti-Defamation League) and if you are gay, know a gay, or just love gays, volunteer!

Like Lady Gaga!