November 19, 2008 by Pastor Dan.

I serve on the Greater Griffith Park Neighborhood Council in Los Angeles—one of almost 100 small and serious councils of ordinary citizens–volunteers all–who vet public issues for their neighbors and attempt to provide a link between citizens and City Hall.  In a city as large as Los Angeles, the GGPNC could represent as many as 30,000–40,000 residents–certainly equivalent to many small towns in America. Although my position representing the religious community is by appointment, most members of the council actually have to stand for election in their districts. Each of these little districts—A, B, C, D and E—have populations as large as Wasilla, Alaska, for what it’s worth.

The view of Los Angeles from Griffith Park, crowns our neighborhood.

A view over Wasilla, Alaska.  Cute.

Last night’s meeting caught me totally by surprise when we came to agenda item #11, put up by a straight man just elected last June:  to adopt a motion against discrimination in any form and to ask the Los Angeles City Council to express opposition to Proposition 8 to the California Supreme Court.

I seconded the motion, but it was immediately fenced in by council members nervous about whether a local neighborhood council had any business telling the State of California what to do (in my experience it is a typical conservative reaction to say “we shouldn’t be talking about this”), and by people who just can’t resist word-smithing somebody else’s prose.

I didn’t speak up at first, because I found it interesting to watch this overwhelmingly heterosexual council toss around my issue and the significance of my life and my marriage. Nearly everybody who spoke was opposed to, embarrassed by, and extremely aggravated by the narrow approval of Proposition 8 by California voters. I was really surprised by their open-mindedness.

Our agendas are usually long and filled with nuts and bolts matters, so the time given to this discussion also amazed me. Eventually the president of the council, an attorney in his day job, temporarily relinquished the chair to one of the V.P.’s and spoke for himself rather passionately about our council’s rightful purview in taking positions on matters of public policy that affect residents and stakeholders in the community.

Finally I raised my hand and was recognized, so this was my moment to come out to the neighborhood council directly. My life and ministry are no secret, since our October 11 marriage had already been published in the November Los Feliz Ledger (buried on page 20), and my spouse was interviewed by the Los Angeles Times last weekend. But in a city as large as Los Angeles, your next-door neighbor may never catch the published news blurb about you.

So in the interests of transparency and full-disclosure, I told the council about officiating over more than a dozen same-sex weddings, and about getting married in October. My main point was to mention that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and two city councilmembers had spoken forcefully against Proposition 8 at last Saturday’s rally on the steps of City Hall, but that our own councilmember, Tom LaBonge, was conspicuous by his absence.

One of his staff, who was seated behind me, immediately assured the whole group that Mr. LaBonge is also opposed to Proposition 8.  Later in the meeting, a deputy for State Assemblymember Paul Krekorian assured me that Krekorian has also weighed in against Proposition 8, a risky business for an Armenian in a substantially Armenian district.

But apparently my revelation was not news:  people had seen the Ledger and Times articles.

If the Greater Griffith Park neighborhood is equivalent to a small town, our neighborhood is decidedly to the left of small towns elsewhere. After the word-smithing was done, the resolution was passed without dissenting voice.

“The Greater Griffith Park Neighborhood Council does not support discrimination of any kind. The passage of Proposition 8 will incorporate discrimination in the constitution of the State of California. We call on all elected officials of the City of Los Angeles to publicly express opposition to Proposition 8 and urge them to take action to overturn Proposition 8.”

It is not in “coming out gay” but in “coming out gay and married” which is truly transforming the day-to-day relationships in our “small town” neighborhood.  I am sure there are others who are uptight about me and my presence in one of the historic religious establishments in Los Feliz, but there seems to be plenty of neighbors who have no problem with it or actually enjoy the idea that there is a gay/married minister in the community.  The man who put up the resolution, by the way, said that many of his gay friends and neighbors had helped to get him elected.  If that isn’t a sign of mainstream politics, what is?

—Pastor Dan Hooper, Los Angeles

Posted in Lesbian/Gay Marriage, LGBT Rights, Public Affairs, Coming Out | Print | No Comments »

November 19, 2008 by PD.

Carl had been telling me of his “water-cooler conversations” with people at work about Proposition 8. One work friend, who lives in the San Gabriel Valley, who had attended our wedding a few days before, had actually marched across the street from his home to talk with a neighbor who had posted a “Yes on 8″ lawn sign, and persuaded the man to change his view.

Another married heterosexual, usually very quiet, became interested enough to question Carl about the effects of Proposition 8, and his perspective broadened as a result. In the last few days, Carl came home with a signed note from work. The man had taken the trouble to write a sincere letter to us:

“I suppose social progress does not come as quickly as we would like. Fear and ignorance still have a hold but its grip is weakening. The strain is starting to show as those stuck in the past hold on for all their might and become more and more desperate. Lies and scare tactics are all they have left. Each passing day the hold weakens just a little and then the day will come when the grip is broken.

“There will come a time in the future when children will read in bewilderment how we as a society acted on Tuesday. They will say, “They really did that?” and the teacher will respond with a bit of embarrassment “It was a different time.”

“But here we are today. While I cannot imagine the frustration you and Dan feel that other people made a decision about your private lives, know that Sheri and I share a piece of the frustration as well. It wasn’t even any of our business to vote on your marriage in the first place, but now that this disgraceful addition to the state’s constitution has been made it has become our business. When the voters attacked your marriage they attacked ours as well. We have been weakened knowing that we have a right that has been denied others.

“So while the state of California may not recognize your marriage Sheri and I do.”

In the age of ubiquitous e-mail, I found it touching that both spouses actually signed this letter with a real pen! It kind of makes me think about us putting pen to paper when we signed our application for a marriage license. Thank you, Brad and Sheri, for signing on in this struggle for equal rights and equal dignity under the law!

—Pastor Dan Hooper, Los Angeles

Posted in Lesbian/Gay Marriage, LGBT Rights, History, Public Affairs | Print | No Comments »