The Power of Conversation - A Challenge

From NGLTF "Creating Change", Denver
Thursday - Part 4

LGBT people and their allies need to talk about their experiences and the experiences of their friends in family. This can be a coming out experience for gay and strait alike. It is an uncomfortable experience for some, but its power is documented.

In the Binder survey reported a balance shift from people who said they knew someone gay toward support of marriage equality. However many supporters of prop 8 reported, "I know someone who is LGBT and they don't care about this, so why ahould I?"

Binder's Prop 8 survey was an intense survey of 800 people who voted. It included long answer response which allowed a deeper understanding of the results.

There was a very small percentage (-5% with a +/- 3% margin of error) of LGBT people who voted for Prop 8. So presumable some of these people who "didn't care" really did. Why the disparity. Further conversation revealed, "They never said anything about it."

This is a wake up call to gay people who are out. It's not enough just to be there, you have to have the conversation.

Many states are building web sites to share the stories. One example of this can be found at OneMinuteForMarriage.com. But the most powerful story is one-on-one.

That means telling a personal story about why marriage is important to you or someone you love.

Take it as a challenge. Talk to someone about this that you have not.

It doesn't matter if you are in a state where this may happen this year or 10 years form now. Tell the story. Make a difference. Help us move toward the prize. Here's the progression: Have more conversations to WIN MORE STATES.