by Maxine Doogan | originally posted at LastGreatBlueTruth

What does “equality” for LGBTQ people in Anchorage mean?  Who are the “stakeholders” and “allies” in the process of trying to gain it?  These are some of the questions guest blogger Maxine Doogan is asking about the Anchorage LGBTQA Town Hall meeting to be held Wednesday evening in Anchorage.

The process to define the process to define equality in Anchorage reminds me of last year’s organizing meeting at the LGBT caucus that the Alaska Democratic Party spent a mere 2 ½ hours on. And there was that 2009 organizing meeting for Alaskans Together after the Pride Conference. Both meetings were facilitated.

But I’m confused about Jeffrey Mittman of the Alaska ACLU pitching the idea of doing a petition drive to qualify a ballot initiative to make illegal discrimination against LGBT folks in Anchorage some time in the future.

The current agenda shows a chunk of time spent on the ballot initiative issue, but will there be attention paid to what “equality” means and what it means to the LGBT community in Anchorage?

Too what seems confusing is who can come to this townhall and have input. Words like “stakeholder” and “allies” are put out there in an effort to keep out the crazies and opposition.

Definitions of who is a “stakeholder” and who is an “ally” keep shifting. Maybe the group ought to address who “we” are first?

I know I am a lesbian and I do care about equality for LGBT Alaskans so I must be a “stakeholder”. I believe I have the right to be involved in decisions that affect my well being as a lesbian in Alaska even though I only live here part time.

For the record, I was born and raised in Fairbanks and lived here for the first 27 years of my life. I froze my ass off plenty walking to and from school. I feel like I need to say that since LGBT Alaskans will discount what I have to say based on my part time residency.

In coming back to Alaska after living for over 20 plus years on the West Coast, I’ve been spending the past couple of spring, summers and falls living here again. The cultural differences jump right out at me. There are differences between the general California and Alaska culture then the differences between the Cali LGBT/ Ak LGBT communities and their respective political communities so it’s a little complicated to keep conscious of it all-all the time. It took me 10 years of living in the lower 40 to stop noticing the differences in culture so much. When I first moved down there, I really missed the soft spoken polite Alaskan nature, the live and let live attitude that acknowledged differences as a strength but has since been replaced with intolerance and indifference and in some cases hostility to the point of social and political discrimination within the LGBT community specifically.

In living in places like San Francisco, the legacy of LGBT enfranchisement is alive on every street corner for every single person to marvel at and reveal in no matter how long they’ve been out or in the state of California. This leaves me more than a little bit sad for the lack of thereof in my home state. California passed 25 pieces of pro LGBT legislation in the 2009/10 legislative session of which my political club, the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club supported on several levels. Supporting civil rights legislation takes many forms, different levels of energy, experience, expertise….And this year’s legislative line up is impressive so far spawning another ballot initiative threat from the religious zealots. There’s always backlash.

In discussing the lack of LGBT protection in Alaska with LGBT Alaskans, I’ve been rendered speechless by statements like, “Things will never change here” and “You have to spend time with these people and get to know them first before you suggest changes” and “Getting any LGBT legislation going in the Alaska State Legislature just isn’t going to happen.” Are the LGBT people the “party of no?”

But there is an actual piece of LGBT legislation already in play; Senate Bill 11. This bill has one more legislative session to go before its dead again and the Sponsor, Alaska State Senator Bettye Davis reintroduces it as she has for the past several years.

One of my new friends, a young gay guy who worked on the No on 8 campaign in California expressed feelings of apprehension about participating in the townhall too. He doesn’t see himself as being welcome to participate. Other LGBT people I know have expressed concern having their voice dismissed and marginalized at the townhall as well.

I’m wondering what is the primary purpose of the Alaskan LGBT community? In California, the LGBT community I live in the other part of the year, has the primary purpose of sharing the love. That’s what we call it, sharing the love and all of this takes place against the backdrop of the California past time of narcissism.

It’s a common idea among LGBT Californians, that love, the love of self, the love of others like us, living out in community together where you can see the self esteem in each other’s eyes so much so that these collective feeling are the basis to further LGBT rights at every single turn.

Let us as the Alaskan LBGT community think about what its going to take to become the culture of ‘party of yes’ or at least stop saying no to ourselves and each other.

This ought not be considered an endorsement for the signature collection drive to qualify a ballot initiative in Anchorage Alaska.

— MxDoogan
President of the Anchorage Stonewall Democrats

Next meeting of Anchorage Stonewall Democrats is Thursday, August 25th 2011/
7pm Denny’s on 2900 Denali St, Anchorage, AK 99503

Editor’s note: Bent Alaska co-editor Mel Green, who is also an organizer of the Anchorage LGBTQA Town Hall, will give some of her own perspective on these questions in an upcoming post.  Let the conversation continue!