Stonewall Democrats hold first meeting

~ The Southeast Missouri chapter will be the third in the state.

One local group hopes flexing political muscle starts with a meeting and an idea.

The Southeast Missouri Chapter of the Stonewall Democrats met for the first time Tuesday at the Rose Bed Inn at 611 S. Sprigg St. in Cape Girardeau. About 20 people gathered to join or support the nationwide political group composed of gay, lesbian, transgender and gay-friendly Democratic activists.

James Coley, co-owner of the inn, spoke about the need for partnership. He rejects the idea of a "gay agenda," calling it instead a "human agenda."

"The fact that we live and take up good oxygen seems to be offensive to some people," he said. "But the fact that we are is just a fact."

Perry Nelson, the founder of the Gateway Stonewall Democrats of St. Louis, encouraged the gathering to form alliances with other organizations. "We have worked hard to establish partnerships and coalitions with other progressive groups in St. Louis," he said of the group founded in 2005. The Southeast Missouri chapter will be the third Stonewall organization in the state, joining St. Louis and Kansas City chapters.

Perry thinks being visible and active in the community is particularly important. "You need to live your life and interact with people so they come to know you as just another person and come to think of that part of your life they might have a problem with as a very small part," he said.

The first act by the Stonewall group will be a letter-writing campaign in support of a U.S. House of Representatives bill that would repeal the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy of the U.S. military. The policy prevents openly gay soldiers from serving. "If they're good soldiers, who cares who they kiss?" Coley said.

The group is attempting to have U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., co-sponsor the Senate version of the bill.

Both Nelson and Coley responded strongly to recent comments by Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Pace told a reporter from the Chicago Tribune he believes homosexuality is "immoral."

"We need to get people like that out of office and get fair-minded, thinking people into positions of influence," Coley said.

Trish Ferguson and Christy Soltes are a lesbian couple from Perryville who operate a mortgage company and drove down for the meeting. "I hope we can change some minds of people in the community," Ferguson said. "... To let them know that what they do in the bedroom isn't all that matters."

More than 90 Stonewall chapters have been established in the United States. The group founded in 1998 by U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., takes its name from the Stonewall Riots in New York City in 1969. The riots took place outside a nightclub and are widely considered to be the start of the gay rights movement.

tgreaney@semissourian.com

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