We slept just outside of Taos last night, in Carson Nation Forest. We set up camp right next to a babbling brook. It was so peaceful, but really cold. Waking up today, we headed into Taos and were able to explore the town a little more. It’s a great place. We found some internet and were able to work on setting up some upcoming interviews. We’ve lined up some exciting people to talk to in the next few states!
We left Taos in the afternoon and headed into Colorado. Going over the mountains was quite a trip. The peaks are incredible. What a sight! The elevation is intense though. Taos is located at 7,000 feet, but climbing the mountains into Colorado we hit 9,000 feet. I’ve been kind of sick since El Paso and I think the elevation has something to do with it. It is nice tonight to be in Colorado Springs at 6,000 feet and I’m looking forward to getting down to Denver tomorrow at 5,280 feet. The Mile-High City will be a nice break from the elevation we’ve been experiencing the past few days.
We had a productive day in Santa Fe today. We conducted a great interview with a young queer New Mexico native, who shared with us a bit about the queer community in Santa Fe. She also told us about her activism, working to pass a domestic partnership bill in New Mexico. The bill is still in the works. New Mexico does have laws protecting LGBT people from workplace discrimination though. This is the first state that we have visited that protects people from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
I like New Mexico. This is a beautiful state. After our interview in Santa Fe, we headed toward Taos, New Mexico. Taos is a super cute little town located in the shadow of a huge mountain. We met some great folks in town and saw some beautiful sights; including the incredible Rio Grande Gorge Bridge.
I think I’m sick. I had a tough time waking up this morning. I wanted to wake up at 8, but couldn’t get out of ‘bed’. I awoke again at 10, but still couldn’t get up. At noon I climbed out of the van and soaked in the sun. I ate breakfast and started driving. About an hour later I had to pull over and take a nap. I slept for an hour and then started driving again. A couple hours later I had to stop again. I sleep for another couple hours. Then I grabbed some food and drove to Santa Fe. We are doing some interviews tomorrow and then heading to Taos. I’m not sure why I am so tired, but it sure doesn’t feel right. I think I’m sick. Either way, I’m glad to be in New Mexico! I love this state.
I got to see a couple friends in Boston today. It was great! It was strange though; being on the road just a few days ago and then all of a sudden being back in Boston. It was like a time warp or a teleport. After seeing some friends, I jumped on a flight back to El Paso. Got to Texas around midnight and found the van right where I left it. I wasn’t tired yet, so I started driving toward New Mexico. I made it about an hour and a half before I pulled over at a rest stop and went to sleep.
Today was amazing. I am in my hometown; Lunenburg, Massachusetts. Last night I parked the van and flew out of El Paso and into Boston. I arrived at 1:00AM this morning. (Thanks for picking me up, Gerald!) This morning I woke up in Cambridge, MA and headed to Lunenburg, where my parents live. My dad turned 60 recently and we organized a massive surprise party for him. My oldest brother, Tom, flew in from Taiwan; my sister flew in from Thailand; and I flew in from Texas, to surprise my dad.
My mom did an amazing job putting the party together. My aunts and uncle all flew in for the party as well. My dad was taken aback when he showed up at what he thought was someone else’s birthday party, only to find that the party was for him. He was thrilled to see his friends, brother, and sisters. About 30 seconds after the initial surprise, my brother, my sister, and I, came through the door to deliver the secondary surprise. He was stunned. I will never forget the look on his face when he saw us. It was a mixture of joy and shock that made his jaw drop.
It was awesome to spend the day with my family. What a blast! I’m so happy I was able to come home for my dad’s big 60th birthday. As I travel around the country, interviewing folks, I have a set of questions that I always ask. The last question of each and every interview is, “Who is your hero or role model?” My answer to that question is unequivocally, “my dad.” He is the most amazing person in my life. He is kind, gentle, caring, passionate, smart, political, courageous, adventuresome, open-minded, and understanding. He has been my strongest advocate since day one.
My dad taught me that every person deserves to be treated equally, with dignity and respect. The values I learned from him, from watching the way he lives his life and treats others, have shaped me into someone who stands up for the little guy, reaches his hand out to those in need, and points out a wrong when he sees it. I learned this from my dad.
My dad once wrote to me: “Being progressive, you will always be ahead of society. You will have a lifetime of being disappointed because you can see things so clearly and it is hard to understand why others cannot see what you see. It is hard to do…but you must just keep working towards your goals…slowly as it is. Progress is made over time…ever so slowly. Sometimes it may seem that we are going backwards…but times do change. The secret is not to give up; not to ‘accept’ what is happening around you; not to become cynical; keep a positive attitude; keep your goals in focus and in whatever small or large role you play to keep pressing forward.”
He talks about being a positive force in the world. He makes it a point to smile at everyone because a smile can brighten someone’s day, make them feel better, encourage them to smile at others, change people’s attitudes, and, in some small way, change the world.
Dad: I love you so much. You are my hero and my role model.
Tonight I am sleeping in Luenenburg, MA. Tomorrow I fly out of Boston and back to Texas. I’ll jump back in the van and continue the journey.
We spent the night in El Paso, Texas. I like this city. I dropped Potter off at the bus station this morning. He is going up ahead to Santa Fe to visit his friend. I’ll meet him there in a couple days. After dropping him off, I was driving through El Paso when I came upon the border to Mexico. I drove along the border for a while. It was too tempting, I had to cross.
I crossed the border into Mexico and drove around for about 20 minutes. The most striking thing was the police and military presence. There were soldiers in trucks with machine guns and police in the streets with their weapons drawn. It was also interesting to see crowded streets without the corporate signs and logos. I want to go back and explore Mexico more.
Getting back into the United States was no problem. In fact, it was easier for me to enter Texas from Mexico than it was to enter Texas from New Mexico. Upon entering Texas from New Mexico I had to show my ID, proof of insurance, get out of the van, was questioned by police, and had the van illegally searched by a drug dog. When I entered Texas from Mexico, I showed my passport, the officer quickly looked in the back of the van, and I was off. Crazy.
We woke up in Texas and are going to sleep in Texas, but during the day we were hanging out in New Mexico. We spent the day in Carlsbad. We finally did our laundry (after 27 days) and cleaned up the van a bit. Then we headed down to Carlsbad Caverns. The last elevator down is at 5:00pm and we got there at 4:58…plenty of time to spare. Thanks to Milree Keeling for the National Parks Pass, we had free entry into the caverns.
The underground layer of caverns are amazing. It is like a hidden palace of rock formations. Very cool. The drive to Carlsbad was also great. It feels so good to be back in the desert. When I was young, I was told that the way to remember the difference in the spelling between “desert” and “dessert” is that you would, of course, want two desserts, not two deserts. I don’t know though. I think I’d rather have two deserts.
Anyway, after Carlsbad Caverns we headed toward El Paso, Texas. Upon crossing the border into Texas there was a checkpoint. There were cones and signs up that said to stop for a license and insurance check. I couldn’t believe it. It seems un-American to me to have a checkpoint between state lines. And that is exactly what I told the officer who was standing at my window. I asked him what the purpose of the checkpoint was. He told me that is was to keep the roads safe. I asked him if he didn’t see the checkpoint as infringing on civil liberties. He told me to pull the van over and park on the side of the road.
That officer called the Sheriff over and told him that I was “making trouble.” They made us get out of the van. I told the Sheriff that checkpoints between states were un-American. I asked him if he has seen The Hunt for Red October. The two Russian officers in the submarine talk about how, in the United States of America, you don’t need to show papers when you travel from state to state, unlike in Russia. (Listen to the clip here.)
Borodin: Do you think they will let me live in Montana?
Capt. Ramius: I would think they’ll let you live wherever you want.
Borodin: Good. Then I will live in Montana. And I will marry a round American woman, and raise rabbits, and she will cook them for me. And I will have a pick-up truck, or umm… possibly even…a recreational vehicle, and drive from state to state. Do they let you do that?
Capt. Ramius: Oh yes.
Borodin: No papers?
Capt. Ramius: No papers. State-to-state.
(Listen to the clip from The Hunt for Red October here.)
The Sheriff said that he had never seen the movie. I asked him what the purpose of the checkpoint was. He also told me that it was for safety. They were making sure folks had drivers licenses and if they saw anything suspicious, they would search for drugs and guns. He asked where I was coming from and where I was going to. I told him. He asked what I was doing with all the equipment in the van. I told him that we were making a documentary about gay rights in America. That is when they called the drug dog over to search the van. That is about the same time that I grabbed the camera and told them that I was filming this.
The officer with the dog would not let me film the search, but I described the scene as the drug dog climbed into the back of the van and then into the cab. I asked the Sheriff if he did not consider the checkpoint and search of my van a violation of my civil liberties or of the 4th amendment. He said that he did not. I told him that I felt less free in my country now that I had entered Texas through his checkpoint. He said that on September 11th, 2001 there were people that were “free” to fly planes into buildings. “Wow,” I thought, “did he really just go there?” I told him that if we had police stopping citizens and searching their vehicles without warrants, then the terrorists were winning and America was losing.
To his credit, the Sheriff did agree to be on camera and do a short interview with me. I asked him why he searched my van. He said that I was acting suspicious. I asked him to explain how I was acting suspicious enough to warrant a search of my vehicle. The Sheriff told me that I seemed suspicious because I was “asking questions.” (Question authority?) I’m glad I got the event on film, but can’t believe that it happened. I can’t imagine the State Police stopping people at the border of Massachusetts to check their ‘papers’. We would not stand for that. I told the Sheriff that as well. He didn’t seem to think too highly of Massachusetts.
After that whole incident, I put my American Civil Liberties Union membership card in my wallet instead of keeping it in my bag where it had been. I also have my handy-dandy pocket sized copy of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights that I brought with me on this trip and keep in the cab at all times. Next time I am stopped at a checkpoint between states and asked to produce my ‘papers’, I’m going to hand the officer my ACLU membership card and make sure the camera is rolling.
Woke up today on the cliff above the lake. We slept in the van to avoid the spiders. I grabbed the camera and got some footage of the beautiful scenery. I put down the camera on the picnic table for a minute while I got some water. Just then I saw a huge bird soaring over the lake. I grabbed the camera to capture the bird on tape. I put the viewfinder to my eye, but the bird was blurry. I tired to refocus, but it was still blurry. I pulled the camera away from my eye to check the focus on the viewfinder. It was then that I realized that the reason the picture was blurry was because a big, hairy, black spider had crawled into the viewfinder. My eyeball had touched the spider’s body. I screamed, but gently put the camera down. I hate spiders and one had just been in my eye. It freaked me out. Eventually I got the spider out, but it was not something I will soon forget.
We packed up camp and headed down to Lubbock, Texas. It was a nice drive past the farms. In Lubbock we met with local leaders of the LGBT community. It was a great roundtable discussion. We talked with folks from the local PFLAG, the Lubbock Metropolitian Community Church (MCC) pastor, local activists, the advisor to the GSA at Texas Tech and a former Lubbock High School student who sued the school because the administration would not allow the formation of a gay/straight alliance. (They lost the suit and Lubbock still does not have a GSA). We talked about the discrimination faced by LGBT folks in Texas and what progress has being made.
The folks in this room were courageous leaders who are making a real difference in Texas. Some of the stories they told us were unbelievable. The pastor told us that the MCC (a “gay” church) has been vandalized a few times. The former high school student told us of how he always wears headphones at the grocery store so he doesn’t have to hear people call him “faggot.” As I mentioned, the local high school would not allowed the students to form a GSA. We heard about kids being kicked out of their homes for coming out. Things are tough in Texas.
However, there is real progress being made. The local PFLAG chapter is strong and a visible presence in the community. We heard about a mother who recently called PFLAG asking for help. She found her 15 year old son making out with a boy on the couch. The fact that she called PFLAG for advice is a great sign. Also, the MCC has a float in the July 4th parade every year now. Granted, they are not allowed to use the words “gay” or “lesbian” on the float, but they do cover the thing in rainbows. It seems as though things are slowly changing.
The folks who are out in places like Lubbock, Texas; attending PFLAG meetings, running college gay/straight alliances, and building rainbow floats are my heroes. These folks are fighting the fight where it isn’t easy to be out in the open. I keep thinking of the young kids growing up gay in a place like Lubbock. They think they are all alone, until they see a flier for the local PFLAG or the big gay float driving down main street on the 4th of July.
Below is a clip from our interview with the folks in Lubbock. (This was taken with the ‘behind-the-scenes’ blog camera and is not the actual footage for the documentary.)
We started the day in Wichita, Kansas. We slept in the van at the local IHOP. Kansas was grey and cold. I do love the Kansas highway signs though. The sunflowers are so cute.
We left Kansas and headed into Oklahoma. The prairies are beautiful. We got some great footage of this state. All the folks we talked to were really nice. On our way through Oklahoma we stumbled upon the Shattuck Windmill Museum. This is the great thing about taking back roads across the country rather than the main highways. There is so much to see out here! This windmill museum was really just a couple of acres of land with 51 different kind of old windmills on it, but it was an amazing sight. Check out the pictures and the video.
After Oklahoma, we headed to Lake Meredith in Fritch, Texas. We camped the night there. We were perched on a cliff above the lake. It was an incredible sight. I collected some wood and we built a campfire. Potter and I took turns playing the guitar and harmonica. But the place was infested with spiders. They were everywhere! We slept in the van to be safe.
Today was one of the more interesting days on the trip. We woke up in Topeka, Kansas and started looking for an interview. I wanted to interview someone from the Phelps clan (www.GodHatesFags.com). The Phelps family travels all over the country picketing high school gay/straight alliance clubs, productions of the Laramie Project, soldier’s funerals, churches, court houses, and numerous other events. The family is infamous for their “God Hates Fags” message. They are all affiliated with the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC), although it is not a real Baptist church.
WBC is the most anti-gay organization in America. They are classified as a hate-group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. No other group spreads as much hatred toward the LGBTQ community as the Phelps family. I wanted to talk to them. In addition to Driving Equality, I also organize counter-protests to the Phelps’ pickets all across the country. I run the website, Phelps-A-Thon.com, which turns Phelps’ pickets into fundraising events for gay/straight alliance and LGBT community centers. When WBC goes to a high school to protest the school’s gay/straight alliance, I organize a Phelps-A-Thon. Folks in the local community can pledge online for every minute the Phelps family protests at the school. All the funds raised go to the gay/straight alliance. The longer they picket, the more money they raise for the group they are protesting.
I called the Westboro Baptist Church. A few minutes later, I got a call back from Shirley Phelps-Roper herself. Shirley is the new leader of the Phelps clan, since Fred has gotten old and had to step back. You may have seen her on the Tyra Banks show (check it out if you missed it). I have seen her in action at protests all over the country and have been counter-protesting the Phelps clan for the past five years. I even remember seeing Shirley there to celebrate with us at midnight on May 17th, 2004 when Cambridge became the first city to legalize same-sex marriage.
I told Shirley that I was making a documentary about the fight for gay rights in America and that I wanted to interview her. She agreed to speak to me on camera. I had a couple of hours to prepare for the interview. Then I headed over to the Westboro Baptist Church and the Phelps family compound. I arrived at the house and rang the doorbell, not sure what to expect. Shirley’s daughter, Meghan opened the door. She was incredibly nice. In fact, the whole family was nice to me.
I was invited in to their home and allowed to set up my lights and cameras. Meghan asked if I wanted a few of the infamous signs to put in the background for the shot. I said that would be great and asked for the gayest signs they had. Shirley and I put on our mics and sat on the couch. We had an interesting conversation about…hmmm…I’m not really sure what we talked about. It was kind of confusing. She told me that god hates fags and fag enablers and America and rebels and basically everyone. She threw out a lot of bible versus and rambled a lot. We talked about almost everything. I interviewed her on camera for two hours. I will need to look at the footage to describe the conversation better. It was pretty surreal.
After the interview, Shirley showed me around WBC headquarters. I got to see the office and get a glimpse at how organized they are. They send teams of folks to protest all over the country everyday. It is like an ongoing military operation. They showed me a small stash of the sign collection. I told them that I would love a sign and Meghan offered to give me one. I asked for a gay sign and Shirley suggested the classic, “God Hates Fags.” Perfect! I now have my very own, original “God Hates Fags” sign from Shirley Phelps-Roper herself.
Meghan offered to show me where the signs are made. I jumped at the chance and grabbed the camera. She took me into the sign making studio, made up of computers for creating new designs, a huge printer, a laminator, and other sign making tools. It was pretty impressive. Then she showed me the sign storage garage. It was like seeing the anti-gay sign holy grail. There were thousands of the infamous WBC signs everywhere I looked. It was overwhelming. There must have been over 5000 signs. They were all organized by topic: anti-gay, anti-church, anti-politician, anti-jew, anti-school, pro-9/11, pro-shuttle disaster, pro-dead soldiers….the list goes on and on.
After the tour, I hung out in the office with Shirley and a few of the other family members. They were on the phone and computers setting up the next protests; the funeral of a doctor who performed abortions that was recently murdered. After spending some time in their home I was invited to a picket that night at the Topeka City Council meeting. I told them that I would meet them there to film the protest. It was raining hard, but they picketed in the street. I filmed them from inside the van. I spent close to five hours with the Phelps family. It was one of the craziest days of my life.
Special thanks to Shirley and the Phelps family for raising thousands of dollars for Driving Equality and for LGBTQ youth all over America. It was kind of ironic to film my interview with Shirley using the camera that her actions helped pay for. It was like my life had come full circle, or like I had crossed the streams or something. Very weird day.
After my time with the Phelps family we got a call from Randy, the former president of Kansas Equality Coalition. We met Randy at his apartment and interviewed him about the state of equality in Kansas. Randy told us about the hardships the LGBTQ community faces in Kansas and what progress is being made. He also shared with us his own story of the Phelps family. He grew up in Topeka and went to school with some of the Phelpses. Randy’s brother was also gay. He died from AIDS in the early 90’s. The Phelps clan protested at the funeral of Randy’s brother. It was one of the first funerals WBC picketed. Since then they have become infamous for protesting the funerals of gay men who have died from AIDS, Mathew Shepard, and now soldiers that have died in Iraq. Special thanks to Randy for sharing his story with us.
If you like what we are doing, please make a contribution to keep us on the road.
Below will soon be a short clip of my two hour interview with Shirley Phelps-Roper. It is 2AM and I’m at IHOP trying to upload this video and it isn’t working. I’ll try again later. Check back tomorrow night.
UPDATE: Here is just a short clip of my interview with Shirley. Below that is a clip of our interview with Randy.
I left camp this morning and headed to Kansas City, Missouri. Upon enter civilization, I received a hoard of voice mails, text messages, and emails. Sorry to everyone I missed during my hiatus on the river. When I arrived in Kansas City, I scoured the town for free WIFI. (I had to update this blog.) I couldn’t find any WIFI in town and am now sitting in a parking lot, syphoning WIFI from a hotel. Before leaving Kansas City, on my way to the airport to pick up Potter (got 30 minutes), I was sitting in the van with the door open, eating pizza. It was a huge pizza. I asked for a small, but the guy told me they don’t do smalls. OK. I guess one size fits all. He said it was the best pizza I was ever going to have. “Wow. That’s confident,” I thought. It was good pizza, but the best…
Anyway, I was sitting in the van eating, parking in the post office parking lot when two young, cool, hip-looking guys walked by. They liked that I was sitting in the back of the van, chilling out, eating pizza. They took my picture. I told them I was driving around the country talking to folks about gay rights. That is when the really cute boy (Hi Kalen: I know you are reading this because I gave you my business card. Yes, you are really cute), holing a guitar case in one hand, lifts his bible so that I can see it. “OK, here we go,” I thought.
We started talking about the bible, religion, and gay rights. That is when I stopped them and asked if I could film the conversation. They both agreed to be on film. I broke out the equipment, set up in the parking lot, and away we went. We had a great discussion about religion and homosexuality. Kalen and Kyle were two of the nicest people I have met on this journey so far. Unfortunately, they believe that being gay is wrong. Kalen told me that he used to be attracted to other guys, but that he was saved by Jesus and that attraction had been lifted. (Too bad, did I mention he was really cute).
I asked them if they thought that gays and lesbians should be denied equal rights because of their personal religious beliefs. They said that the state should not condone sin. I asked them if they thought same-sex attraction was a choice. They said that it was not a choice to be attracted to the same-sex, but it was a choice to act on it. I asked why being gay is so wrong, if god made us gay then isn’t it natural? Kalen read a passage from the bible that said it pretty clear: women shall not sleep with women and man shall not sleep with man.
What if that was just written by somebody who was homophobic because he was attracted to the same-sex and had internalized homophobia? What about the parts of the bible that says it is OK to have slaves and to kill your daughter? What if they were wrong? Kalen and Kyle were really cool guys. I hope they come around and see the light. It’s OK to be gay! (Kalen: you have my phone number. Feel free to call anytime you want to explore the “gay lifestyle” a little more. I wish I could take you to Provincetown and make you realize that gay is good and that god would want you to be just who you are, the way he made you, instead of suppressing it.)
After our conversation, we prayed. They prayed for me to open my heart and let Jesus in. I prayed for them to open their minds and let the truth in.
Today was an honest-to-god, official day off. The first day of the trip that I did not do any work on Driving Equality. I figure after three weeks, I deserve a break. I relaxed in Missouri at the Roaring River State Park. When I arrive yesterday, all the campsites were full, so I slept in the van. But in the morning I grabbed a great spot by the river and set up my tent. I hiked, went swimming in the river, read my book, cooked some food, made a campfire, and chilled out all day. It was great. I feel recharged.
I spent the day in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It is a really cool little town. Potter flew home to Boston for the Diesel prom. I relaxed in town, hanging out on “bathhouse row,” the National Park. By “relaxed” I mean edited video, updated the website, cleaned the van, and made phone calls. I also sat in the sun and read some of my book. I’m finally reading, “On the Road.” People have been telling me to read it for years. I figured this was a good time to start.
We woke up today in Hot Springs, Arkansas, boyhood home of President Bill Clinton. This is a cute little town with a really cool National Park for the natural hot springs and old bathhouses. We had breakfast and headed up to Little Rock for an interview with the Center for Artistic Revolution (CAR). CAR is an amazing organization doing incredible work in Arkansas. These folks make the connections between all oppressed people and work for justice for all.
“CAR’s work is creating progressive movement building that facilitates opportunities for individuals and communities to create change for a just and peaceful society that respects the value of all people and provides equitable access to civil rights, a democratic process and economical and environmental justice.”
We spoke with Randi Romo, the current Director and Co-founder of CAR. She shared with us some of the hardships facing LGBTQ people in Arkansas. She does a lot of work highlighting the interconnectiveness of racism, sexism, and homophobia. I admire her work and the organization’s goals.
We also interviewed Joseph LaFountaine from the Arkansas Stonewall Democrats. We spoke about the state’s battle with Act 1 that passed last November. Act 1 made it illegal for any single people (i.e. same-sex couples) to adopt children. This is a horrible law that must be repealed.
I was pretty excited and impressed by CAR’s mission and the work they do. Special thanks to Ryan Olson for helping us out today, for the work he does at CAR, and just for being super cute.
I have a clip of our interview with Randi to share with you. Hopefully I will get some reliable internet access soon so I can upload it to the Driving Equality YouTube channel. …and done…
This morning we left New Orleans and headed toward Jackson, Mississippi. We weren’t able to set up an interview with anylocal LGBTQ organizations in the state, so we decided to try our luck in the State House. I wanted to find a representative or senator willing to talk to us on camera about LGBTQ equality in Mississippi. I wasn’t sure how this would work out; we didn’t have an appointment to meet with anyone, and, as one aide put it, we were asking about a “pretty controversial subject.”
We had to try. I put my wireless microphone on my shirt and Potter grabbed the camera. We walked up the steps and into the State House. We made it through security and began wandering the halls, looking for someone to speak to. We hung out outside the Senate chamber and waited, but they were in session and no one came out.
We decided to look for a rep or senator in their office. We started walking the halls, looking in the office doors for someone to meet with. I poked my head in this one office and saw a life-size cardboard cutout of President Obama. That seemed link a good sign to me. I explained to the receptionist that we were traveling across the country making a documentary about gay rights and that we were looking for a rep or senator to interview. She was amazing. We would not have gotten an interview if not for this woman. Both the Senate and the House were in session, but she called a rep on his cell phone and persuaded him to meet with us.
We had a good interview with Representative Greg Holloway. We talked about equality for LGBTQ folks in Mississippi and if that is a possibility. He supports equal rights, but doesn’t quite understand the issues facing the queer community. He was not aware that it is perfectly legal in Mississippi to fire someone for being gay. LGBTQ folks in Mississippi are not protected under employment, housing, or hate-crimes laws. Same-sex relationships are not recognized by the state. There is a lot of work to be done in Mississippi. We need to educate our allies, like Rep. Holloway, about the struggles facing our community. This is difficult in a place like Mississippi where folks are in jeopardy of losing their job if they come out. But, just the fact that a State Rep was willing to meet with us and publicly support LGBTQ equality on camera is a positive sign.
Posted by Chris Mason 
Driving Equality 
