Please call or email Governor Palin's office this week and ask that she sign the National Coming Out Day Proclamation submitted by Alaskans Together for Equality, Inc. It would be great to get at least a half dozen calls from across the state.
- Dial 465-3500 (Gov's office in Juneau) and ask to speak to Jessalyn Rintala (in the Gov's office of Constituent Relations).
- Let her know your name and where in Alaska you live.
- Ask that Gov. Palin sign the Proclamation for National Coming Out Day, which is this Saturday October 11th.
- Mention (something like) that you were pleased to hear Palin emphasize 'Tolerance' of gay people in the VP debate last week.
- You hope she will help promote tolerance and acceptance for gay Alaskans by signing this proclamation.
You can also email Ms. Rintala in the Gov's office: jessalynn.rintala@alaska.gov
PROCLAMATION FOR NATIONAL COMING OUT DAY
WHEREAS, National Coming Out Day is an internationally-observed awareness day for coming out and discussion about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender ("LGBT") issues, observed on October 11 by members of the LGBT communities, their families friends and allies,
WHEREAS, National Coming Out Day was founded in 1988 to celebrate the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights in 1987, in which 500,000 people marched on our nation's Capital for the purpose of raising awareness of the LGBT community in America,
WHEREAS, National Coming Out Day is an effort to put real human faces on the LGBT rights movement, so that the American people become more aware that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered individuals can be found among their own families, friends, business associates, fellow church-goers, and every other part of American society,
WHEREAS, in every state of the union, the diversity of the American people is mirrored in the LGBT community, members of whom can be found in every faith, ethnic group, profession, in the military and clergy, and every age group from young people to elders,
WHEREAS, coming out has been recognized by many Americans as a vital and often life-saving step for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered persons, making it possible for them to be fully honest with their families, friends and associates about who they really are,
WHEREAS, coming out is an opportunity for the closeted individual to find dignity, empowerment and self-respect, as well as tolerance and loving support by other human beings, which cannot be found in the loneliness and self-denial of the closet,
WHEREAS, Alaska has its own vibrant LGBT community, which contributes richly to the vigor and diversity of this great state and is active in every area of Alaskan life, from civil rights work and HIV prevention programs, through youth support organizations like PFLAG and churches like the Metropolitan Community Church, as well as publications, businesses, and contributions in the arts,
WHEREAS, Alaska has a tradition of rugged and pioneering individualism, as well as tolerance for those who are different, going back to its earliest days as a territory, and the LGBT community of Alaska are a part of that tradition,
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Sarah Palin, Governor of the state of Alaska, do hereby proclaim October 11, 2008 as:
National Coming-Out Day
in Alaska, in recognition of the importance of respect for the humanity and dignity of all LGBT Alaskans living among us.
Dated: ------------------, 2008
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