By Colin Howard
As I sat in on the historic Add The Words hearing the last week of January, I tried to keep an open mind to the opposition. I really did, because being on the receiving end of closed-mindedness a fair amount of time, I know how crummy that feels. I can honestly say that if a valid argument to not pass this legislation exists, I did not hear it.
Instead, I heard claims that adding these words will open a “Pandora’s Box” if this passed we’ll “impose our beliefs on the majority.” Most infuriating I heard, that we’re the equivalent of “pedophiles, and murderers.” Big difference, there. We’re living as our authentic selves, not committing crimes and inflicting unnecessary harm on others.
Obviously, we know that the 13-4 vote to leave the bill in committee went straight down party lines. There are naysayers who insist they weren’t surprised, that we shouldn’t have expected it to happen any other way. It’s sad, really, to hear such a defeated attitude. In a way, it’s almost more discouraging than those who flat out oppose the bill. The absence of hope verses seeing it squeezed out of someone little by little over the course of a time is easier to digest.
This occurs, I feel, because people who are capable of so much awesome potential and keep stepping up to use it to affect a positive change experience so much continuous oppression from a frightened, ignorant majority who use that fear to inflict way more pain than they accused the LGBT community of inflicting that how can hope possibly continuously thrive?
What’s ironic is that same damaging cycle of abuse is exactly why the human rights act needs to be amended. As long as it’s not, the message that’s out there is that the abuse is acceptable and future generations of Idahoans, whose limitless potential, could do just as much good will be diminished simply because they are born LGBT. The proponents of this bill gave some of the most heartfelt testimonies I’ve ever heard.
I heard stories of sexual assault at the behest of so-called “religious leaders” inflicted on children in an attempt to “straighten them out.” I heard from countless gay and trans individuals who have become some of my dearest friends speak about the fear they live in everyday because of the possibility that exists that they could lose their job, their house and the peace of mind that they can walk down the street and be assaulted without any recourse simply because of who they are. I heard about specific examples of that discrimination in the way of losing a job because colleagues asked personal questions about their LGBT co-workers and after those LGBT members being brave enough to be honest about it, were suddenly let go because it.
I heard the story of a friend who was viciously assaulted and had to watch his other friend get just as viciously assaulted just because both friends were gay. They tried to report it at as hate crime and were denied because a law protecting this isn’t in place. One friend couldn’t live with himself because of the level of trauma. The crime also not being dealt with by members of his government whose job is to advocate for its constituents, so he completed suicide. The message he was getting was that his suffering didn’t matter because he was gay.
When that message garners the result of simply one person taking their lives, it’s time to change the message.
This is why we stand up to this injustice and always will. This is why we fight and won’t stop. These stories matter. Everyone deserves to exist in a world where there’s no question as to whether or not their lives matter. It’s really not about special rights, it’s about human rights we should all be entitled to. These words need to be added. Will they change every hate-filled heart and mind overnight? Of course not, but what a big step in the right direction to work towards that eventual goal? Add the words.
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