The Brite Signal Alliance, a student club at Sinclair Community College, is holding an outdoor rally to promote equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals on April 29.
“This isn’t a bunch of gay people getting together and talking about being gay,” club Vice President Sean Watkins said. “(This is) respected members of the community, elected officials, speaking about the need for equality, the need for diversity, to accept people as human beings.”
Speakers include City Commissioner Nan Whaley, Dayton Public Schools board member Joe Lacey and representatives from the Greater Dayton LGBT Center, Equality Ohio, TransOhio and Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG).
“We chose people we thought would present a positive message,” Watkins said.
Embracing sexuality
Watkins, an openly gay student, said the club helps students not just accept their sexuality, but also embrace it.
“I see the group as being a way to get ourselves out there in the community, to be involved, to say this is us,” Watkins said. “We’re human beings, part of the community as a whole, and we deserve to be treated with respect.”
The club, originally called the Gay/Straight Alliance, helps students of all orientations feel good about who they are and move from tolerance to acceptance, according to club advisor Robbin Hoopes.
“Whether you’re gay or straight, everybody has something about them that’s unique, thank God,” Hoopes said. “That difference is part of the whole mosaic.”
Equal rights
One goal of the rally is to raise awareness of gay rights.
“People think it’s a rainbow world out there right now, but it’s not,” Hoopes said.
Watkins said that because he is gay he cannot marry somebody he loves despite the fact that he is a veteran. He believes marriage laws are one of “a plethora of things that delegate GLBT to second-class citizens.”
“In an ideal world we wouldn’t have to have a rally about this,” Watkins said. “In an ideal world we’d all be equal anyway.”
Public event
Nine guest speakers, five community organizations and several student speakers will participate in the rally. Between students going to classes and others walking by, the club expects a few hundred people to attend at least part of the four-hour event. Watkins thinks students should come regardless of their viewpoint to hear the message of equality.
“Even if we don’t (have a big turnout) the fact is we got ourselves out there,” Watkins said.