Loudoun County School Board Chairman John Stevens (Potomac) and Loudoun County Board of Supervisors member Stevens Miller (D-Dulles) will both be members of a panel discussion on what’s being billed as Standing on the Side of Love Day.
The Unitarian Universalists Church is behind the nationwide campaign that has a goal of ending discrimination and “acts of exclusion, oppression, or violence” on people based on race, religion, gender, immigrant status, political orientation, sexual orientation or any identity, as stated on the campaign’s Web site. The site also has a petition in support of same-sex marriages and full equality for homosexuals and transgender people.
More than 80 communities across the country are scheduled to hold similar events on Feb. 14.
Stevens, who is a Unitarian and supporter of same-sex marriages, said he hopes the discussion will bring some civility to a topic that is often heatedly debated.
“I also think it’s important that we show support for people who often feel alone,” he said.
Miller, who is also a Unitarian and attends the church where the panel discussion will occur, said his reverend asked him to take part.
“It appeared to me to be a very good way to foster some constructive dialog about issues that divide communities at times, and from a perspective that contemplates compassion rather than merely tolerance,” said Miller, who opposed Virginia’s 2006 constitutional ban on gay marriages.
Added Miller: “As a low-level elected official, I would like to talk with my neighbors about the role of government in preventing the perpetuation of past unfair practices, while respecting the rights of individuals to both be who they are, and make their own choices.”
In January, Miller sparked a heated debate by the Board of Supervisors by successfully proposing that sexual orientation and gender identity not play a part in the county government’s hiring and firing practices. In response, Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio (R-Sterling) said the new policy would have “men in dresses in county bathrooms.” In a subsequent e-mail to constituents, Delgaudio referred to cross-dressing men as “it,” for which he later apologized.
Anya Sammler-Michael, reverend at the Unitarian Universalists church in Sterling, said Delgaudio, who declined comment, was not invited to sit on the Valentine’s Day panel. “But everyone is invited to attend,” she added. She also said the event was in the works well before the recent controversy.
“But it has helped us focus how we are going about this,” she said
She said the panel members were chosen for their efforts to make communities more “welcoming” places, and that the discussion will not be political in nature. Though she gave no examples, she also said the day will help in “healing old wounds” brought on by acts of discrimination in Loudoun.
“We need to focus on the fact that we are all humans,” she said.
Also on the panel will be Wendi Manuel-Scott, a professor of African American studies at George Mason University, Joy Cobb, a local PTA president and lesbian parent, and John Stevens' wife, Lori Stevens, president of Loudoun Education Alliance of Parents and board member of Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays of Washington, D.C.
The discussion is free and open to the public. It will take place at the Unitarian Universalists of Sterling, 22135 Davis Dr., from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. See http://uusterling.org/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/ or http://www.standingonthesideoflove.org to learn more.
"In response, Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio (R-Sterling) said the new policy would have “men in dresses in county bathrooms.” In a subsequent e-mail to constituents, Delgaudio referred to cross-dressing men as “it,” for which he later apologized."
Stupid Yank. Why doesn't he go back to his 'own' country? Or is it just that they don't want him back;)