Driving Equality

Day 48

We spent the first part of the day in the library, uploading photos and editing video for the website. Then we headed into Sedona. It is weird for me to be back here, as I lived in this area for the better part of three years, starting when I first began traveling at age 18. There are memories behind every rock. I’ve had some interesting experiences in these parts. Like I said yesterday, that is a whole other story. I’ll share it with you sometime this week when I get a chance to write more. 

If you receive the Driving Equality email updates then you already know about the “Hate Mail-A-Thon“. If you don’t get the updates, you can sign up for them here. (Don’t worry, they’re few and far between.) 

If you don’t get the email updates, then I will fill you in…

Since this journey began, I have receive a ton of email from supporters and well-wishers. But I have also received hate mail from folks who disagree with the idea of equal rights for LGBT people. It is always a shock to receive an message like the one below:

“Gays deserve to die! They will all burn in the fires of Hell! I am going to knife their asses!”

I am never really sure how to respond to an email like this…until now. Most of you know that I love to run “A-Thons”. I did a “Rick-A-Thon” when Rick Warren spoke at President Obama’s inauguration, and I run “Phelps-A-Thons” all over the country to counter Fred Phelps’ hateful “God Hates Fags” message.

I am now starting a “Hate Mail-A-Thon“!

You can pledge online here.

During the Driving Equality trek, I receive two to three pieces of hate mail a week. You can pledge any amount you chose, whether it be $0.25, $0.50, $1, or even $2 for every piece of hate mail I receive from now until the end of the journey on August 24th.

Or you can pledge a flat rate for the entire amount of hate mail I receive during the journey.

Now, when I receive I piece of hate mail, I will simply respond with a friendly message telling the sender how much he/she has just raised to advance LGBT equality by sending their hateful message.

Thanks for your support!

The next time I get a piece of hate mail, like the poem below that I received yesterday, I’ll make sure they know how much they are helping to advance LGBT equality!

Hate mail poem sent to me on June 25, 2009

“proud and gay they march along
growing in numbers, weak but strong
following the footsteps of another race
creating their own, demanding their place

prophecy foretold of these times
of men depraved, with reprobate minds
still on they go against the wind
blindly led, sick within

they wear their suffering on their sleeve
and call it gay, but who believes
they want so much to be a part
closet fugitives, with jealous hearts

they impose perversion, that we contend
making it law, protecting sin
but when we preach against their state
they loudly resist, and call it hate

of God’s first institution, they mockingly err
they wrongly define, they wrongly pair
unholy unions with conscience aloof
they live by feelings, devoid of truth

the legacy of sin is always shame
and by their choice, will not be saved
for they used a vice to vent their sorrow
lived only for today, and not for tomorrow”

Day 47

We checked out the main strip in Vegas and peaked in a casino before heading down to Arizona. I gambled, and lost, $2 at a slot machine. Don’t worry though, it was my uncle’s money. 

We crossed over the Hoover Dam and checked out the Grand Canyon before pulling into Cottonwood, Arizona. We have a busy week here in Arizona, with roundtable discussions in Prescott and Phoenix, and an interview in Flagstaff. Arizona holds a very special place in my heart, as I used to live here many years ago when I ran away from home. That’s a whole other story. I’ll write about it sometime this week. 

The next time someone talks to me about the “sanctity of marriage” as a reason to deny gay and lesbian couples the right to marry, I am going to show them the picture below. 

Day 46

We are leaving Las Vegas today. But before we do, we were able to interview my Uncle Rich. He is a Vietnam veteran and was kicked out of the military for being gay, after serving his country for 15 years. After the military, he worked for the government as a civil servant for 10 years, until he was again fired for being gay. He is 60 years old and should be living off his pension, but because he was booted from the service, he doesn’t receive the benefits he deserves and has to keep working to pay the bills. However, he told us that if he had the choice between receiving the full benefits that he deserves or being handed a piece of paper that changes his military discharge to “Honorable”, he would take the “Honorable Discharge.”

The ban on gays in the military is a disgrace. Don’t Ask Don’t Tell should be booted and common sense and respect needs to take its place. Contact President Obama today and tell him to end the ban on gays in the military. My uncle is owed his benefits and an Honorable Discharge, but he may never see them. Let’s make sure what happened to him doesn’t happen to our young men and women who are serving our country today.

If you like what we are doing, please help us continue the project by making a contribution.

(This was taken with the ‘behind-the-scenes’ blog camera and is not the actual footage for the documentary.) 

Day 45

It is hot in Las Vegas! It was about 100 degrees today. Just a few days ago we were freezing, 8000 feet high in Utah. The heat feels good. We had a great interview today with David Gillentine, a pastor at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Community Church (MCC). We talked about the recent legislation passed in Nevada that created domestic partnerships. The bill was vetoed by the governor, but his veto was overridden by the legislature. Even the governor’s wife was an outspoken supporter of the bill and publicly called on the lawmakers to override her husband’s veto.

“The bill is well-supported by Nevada’s first lady, Dawn Gibbons, who hosted several gay rights activists at the Governor’s mansion last night before the vote.  She said she couldn’t understand why there was such a big deal about the legislation.  “I have a lot of gay friends and their relationships have lasted longer than many marriages,” she said, bringing chuckles to the crowd.”

We also talked with David about how the bible is used to condemn homosexuality. He went through the passages in the bible that are always thrown against us and explained the way MCC interprets them. The bible has been translated, and re-translated, and translated again by so many different peoples over the years. David said that if you go back to the original word, the bible does not condemn homosexuality at all. That completely wipes out the most vocal argument against LGBT equality. You’ve got to see this footage when the film comes out. For now, you can watch a clip of our interview with David below.

If you like what we are doing, please help us continue the project by making a contribution.

(This was taken with the ‘behind-the-scenes’ blog camera and is not the actual footage for the documentary.) 

The Metropolitan Community Church of Las Vegas has this wonderful picture of Saint Harvey Milk hanging in their office. 

Day 44

We woke up in Zion National Park and hiked a bit before hitting the road and heading toward Las Vegas. We are staying the night with my gay uncle Rich and his partner of 24 years, Jack. They took us out to dinner at the biggest buffet I have ever seen. Holy food! Tonight I’m working on improving the website and Potter is setting up future interviews. We will be meeting with a pastor from the local Las Vegas Metropolitan Community Church.

I’m glad to be in Las Vegas and excited to see the strip. I’m thinking about gambling all of the Driving Equality donations and doubling our funds…just kidding. But we can definitely use more funds, so if you make a contribution, I promise I won’t gamble it away. You can check out my pictures of Zion National Park here. 

Day 43

We drove from Bryce Canyon to Zion National Park today. It was a quick, beautiful drive. We are going to explore the park today and then it is back to work tomorrow. I need to come back to this part of the country when I have more time to explore. It is amazing.

Day 42

We happen to be at Bryce Canyon National Park during the annual Astronomy Festival. Bryce Canyon boasts the best star viewing in the country because of the remote location, elevation, and lack of light. We took classes lead by Rangers on how to read the night sky, how to use a planetshere, and Native American star stories. It was awesome. 

After the free workshops, we joined professional astronomers for the best stargazing experience of my life. From 10:00pm to midnight, we roamed from telescope to telescope, looking at stars, galaxies, supernovas, and other amazing far away wonders. There were about 20 telescopes for us to look through. The operators told us what we were looking at and how cool it was. Some of the telescopes were huge, taller than me. We also got a Ranger-led tour of the constellations. I learned so much about the night sky in the past two days, it is incredible!

Bryce Canyon is also an amazing sight during the day. The rock formations, or Hoodoos, are remarkable. I can’t even explain them. Take a look at some of the pictures.

Day 41

Driving day today. It took about six hours from Moab, Utah to Bryce Canyon National Park. We took scenic route 12 through some of the most incredible landscape I have ever seen. The road was intense. We were high up on a narrow two lane road with huge drop offs on either side. The canyons were beautiful. This is some amazing country. Camping in Bryce Canyon National Park tonight. 

Day 40

Spent the day in Arches National Park. Very cool landscape. Pretty incredible. We hiked all over the park. We are camping by the Colorado river. I’m taking time to practice guitar (thanks mom!), write poetry, and read a book. Down time is nice. Check out the photos of Arches National Park here. 

Day 39

We spent the night at Colorado National Monument. This place is amazing. We camped on top of a cliff. At night I lied on my back and watched the stars and the lights of Grand Junction sparkle in the distance. The road through the monument is one of the most beautiful I have ever driven. Now we are leaving Colorado and heading into Utah. Check out the photos from Colorado National Monument here.

Day 38

We were supposed to interview a couple of guys in Telluride today, but that fell through. (Some say that Telluride was named after the saying, “To hell you ride!” but I don’t know about that.) We are having major problems with the van’s battery. I hope we will be able to make it to Grand Junction, where we can buy a new battery. We’ll be sleeping there tonight and then heading into Utah. Then we have the next five days off to explore! I am looking forward to this little vacation. I’ll keep writing, but probably won’t be able to update the website until we get to Las Vegas, where our next interview is scheduled. Peace out all! Talk to you again from Vegas!

Day 37

We awoke after a freezing cold night in our tents and headed into town. I am sick and tried to find a doctor. Unfortunately, in America, healthcare is a privilege, not a right. I do have healthcare in the state of Massachusetts, but once I cross the state line, I join the ranks of the 46 million uninsured Americans. I do not understand why the richest country in the world does not take care of it’s citizens. The right to see a doctor, to be healthy, to live, is such a basic human right in my mind. Every other developed country provides it’s citizens with healthcare. It is crime that America denies it’s citizens the right to live healthy.

Anyway, as you can probably tell, healthcare is my other big issue. So, I trekked around Telluride all day searching for a doctor that would see me. One person sent me to a clinic, the clinic sent me to another clinic, that clinic sent me to a doctor’s office. The doctor’s office couldn’t help me either. So, in America, the richest country in the world, I was not able to see a doctor. It is incredibly obvious that my country does not care about my well-being. That makes me ashamed to be an American. We must see health care reform in the next few years, or we, as a country, are a failure.

Anyway, back to the fight for LGBT equality! We were able to set up an interview for tomorrow with a couple of gay guys in town. It will be great to get a queer perspective from Telluride.

Click on the picture to see which countries care about their citizens enough to value their lives with universal healthcare.

 Day 36

We slept in the van last night, about two hours away from Telluride, CO. I pulled off the road around 1:00AM when I was too tired to drive anymore. It was dark and we couldn’t see anything around us. When we awoke, we found one of the most beautiful canyons I have ever seen.

We happened upon Black Canyon National Park. We drove around the rim of the canyon and hiked to one of the overlook points. It was incredible! Check out the pictures.

After the surprise canyon in the morning, we headed into Telluride. We hung out on Main Street for a while, then set up camp on a mountain outside of town. It is very very cold. We are 12,000 feet high. The mountains are awe-inspriring.

Day 35

We camped in Rocky Mountain National Park last night. These mountains are incredible. Check out some pictures here. I am awed by the lyrics of John Denver’s, “Rocky Mountain High,” which I listened to today while driving through the mountains.

He was born in the summer of his 27th year
Comin’ home to a place he’d never been before
He left yesterday behind him, you might say he was born again
You might say he found a key for every door

This is the summer of my 27th year, and I have never been here before. I wonder if I will find a key for every door.

On our drive through the Rockies today, we climbed to over 2 miles high. That is over 11,000 feet! I believe that is the highest I have ever driven. I stopped the van by a river earlier and climbed up to a cliff. It was beautiful. I’d like to come back here and explore these mountains a lot more. 

We’ve been having van trouble lately. The battery is not holding a charge. We had to be jump started twice today. The first time was no problem. I found a really cool guy in the campsite and he gave us a jump. The second time we were parked on the side of the road for a few minutes when the van wouldn’t start. I made a sign that read, “NEED A JUMP,” and it only took a minute before someone pulled over to help. Looks like we need a new battery. Care to chip in to help out with this extra expense? (You can do so online here.)

We are on our way to Telluride, Colorado now. I stopped in a hotel parking lot to syphon some WIFI and write this post for you.

P.S. Boston Pride was today. I’m bummed that I missed my first Pride in years, but I’m happy that so many of my friends were able to go and enjoy the parade. Shout out to Join The Impact MA, a group I co-chair, for marching in the parade!

Day 34

We woke up in Colorado Springs this morning and started driving toward Denver. Just a couple minutes down the road I saw a sign for the “Focus on the Family Welcome Center.” I had no choice. The car van turned into the parking lot and we found ourselves walking up to the Welcome Center.

Focus on the Family was founded by James Dobson. It is one of the most powerful anti-LGBT organizations in the country. I just had to stop and see if we could score an interview with someone. The headquarters are huge. They have a sprawling campus with several buildings overlooking the Rocky Mountains.

Upon entering the Welcome Center we were greeted by an overly-friendly woman who questioned whether we thought we were at the Colorado Visitor’s Center or the Focus on the Family Visitor’s Center. She gave us the spiel and handed us two Focus on the Family visitor passes. She told me that she doesn’t call the passes stickers because “stickers are for girls and sissies.” I knew we were in the right place.

We toured the enormous Welcome Center, soaking in the almighty power of James Dobson. There were pictures of him with Ronald Reagan and George W Bush, awards that were presented to him for “protecting the family,” a theater playing a movie about his life, a huge bookstore, and plenty of interactive exhibits. Interestingly, the place was pretty busy, with families coming in and out the whole time we were there.

After exploring for a while, I went up to the front desk and told the woman we were making a documentary about gay rights in America and would like to speak to someone from FOTF for a “traditional family values” perspective. She put me in touch with the public relations person.

We headed over to the main administrative building. This place was huge. There were hundreds of people working there. We were in the belly of the beast. I met with the PR person and asked if there was anyone we could interview about FOTF’s position on equal rights for gays and lesbians. She told me that all off the “homosexuality experts” were at a Love Won Out conference in Michigan. (Love Won Out is FOTF’s ex-gay program. This is where they try to change people from gay to straight. It is an extremely disgusting and dangerous program, which has lead to gay teens committing suicide.)

Unfortunately, there was no one else willing to speak with us from Focus on the Family. So we did a piece in front of the main building. I talked about how FOTF was one of the biggest, most powerful forces in the anti-equality movement. But I still wanted to speak with someone while we were there. So we went back to the Welcome Center and waited for a visitor to speak with. I wanted to know what kind of person visits Focus on the Family, and what they thought about equal rights. After a few minutes of waiting in the parking lot, a couple of folks came out and saw us with the camera. We told them about the documentary and asked if they would be willing to speak with us on camera. One of the guys agreed.

I asked him why he was at Focus on the Family, how he felt about same-sex couples making families, employment protections for LGBT people, and gay marriage. He had a conservative view, but still thought that same-sex couples could make good families, although not perfect because “children need a mother and a father.” He believes that same-sex couples should have the legal right to marry, as long as it doesn’t interfere with any religious institutions. I explained to him that in each of the six states that have legalized gay marriage, they are referring to civil marriage and cannot force religious institutions to marry same-sex couples. He said that if that was the case, he supports civil marriage for gays and lesbians.

After the interview, we wrapped up filming and jumped in the van. As we started to drive out of the parking lot we were stopped by Focus on the Family security. Two men got out of their car and came up to my window. They were visibly angry. The asked what we were doing. I told them about the documentary and that we were hoping to speak with someone at FOTF. The guard yelled at us and told us to shut of the camera (of course we were recording the incident). I asked if he was willing to be interviewed. He was not.

The guards told us to get off of the premises and that we could never return. He said that we were banned for life. I told him that the PR person told me she would try to get us an interview for Monday. He told me that if he saw me at Focus on the Family again, he would have me arrested. They asked if we had already filmed on the property and I told them we had. They wanted to argue. These guys were mean and trying to do their best to intimidate us. It was like they were characters from a bad action movie. I believe they were trying to incite me so that they could arrest me on the spot. It was unreal. I smiled and told them to have a nice day.

We will continue our journey across the country, talking to LGBT activists, allies, and those who seek to deny us equal rights. If you like what we are doing, please make a contribution to keep us on the road.