Today, for the first time in 3 months, I did not go downtown to the
state Capitol for our weekly prayer vigil.
For 11 weeks in a row the Interfaith Equality Coalition stood in silent
prayer outside the statehouse in support of equality for gay and transgender
people. This is the third year that we
have held our prayer vigils. We are part
of the Add the Words movement which has been trying to add the words “sexual
orientation” and “gender identity” to the Idaho Human Rights Act for over 10
years.
I would like to say that we are done but unfortunately the Idaho State
Legislature went home this past Friday without doing a thing to protect LGBT
people. Two Democratic senators
introduced a personal Add the Words bill but Republican leadership never allowed
it to move forward. The public saw a
quiet year compared to the last 2 years.
This year there were no protests and no arrests. There was a rally at the beginning of the
legislative session. Our coalition
members publicly prayed. One week we sat
quietly in the Senate gallery and the next week we sat in the House
gallery. Clergy wore stoles, robes, and
collars while the rest of us wore rainbow colors. Behind the scenes individuals lobbied the
legislators. Lawmakers had discussions
to supposedly find a “compromise.” In
the end they claimed they couldn’t find the right words. But we gave them four words.
This has been a disappointing legislative session. More than disappointing—infuriating would be
a better word. Add the Words was not the
only issue that didn’t go anywhere.
There was a huge push to expand Medicaid to cover the 78,000 Idahoans
who have no health coverage. They ended
up doing nothing, despite the fact that more people will die. They refused to protect children from faith
healing parents who allow their children to die from treatable illnesses. However they made lots of statements about
being pro-life and anti-abortion so they passed bad bills that interfere with
women’s reproductive health. Once again
a lawmaker made an inane statement about women not getting pregnant after the
trauma of rape—this got us more unwanted national attention. These pro-life legislators also passed
permitless concealed carry for cities against the wishes of local law
enforcement. They not only refused to
raise Idaho’s minimum wage but actually passed a bill to prevent cities from
doing it (and these are the same people who scream about the federal government
interfering with state control). I could
go on. . .
Idaho is at the bottom of almost everything in the United States. People are struggling here but our lawmakers
don’t seem to care. It’s all about
ideology and religion. The Idaho
Legislature is about 80% Republican. It
is also 80% Mormon and predominantly white men.
Votes are often made along party lines.
Decisions are made in Republican meetings behind closed doors. Many of these legislators are old men who
seem to be clueless about the world outside their own little piece of Idaho and
they are especially clueless about women’s anatomy (which has become painfully
clear during hearings). One is showing
signs of senility—but he’ll probably be reelected.
Why are these people reelected?
Why do people blindly vote “R” against their own interests? Ignorance?
(Schools are constantly underfunded.)
This is an election year for all of our legislators. It’s clear that changes need to be made. We need a legislature that listens to
citizens and cares about all of the people in the state, not just the ones who
are like them.
This was a frustrating year but we are not giving up. Many people will be fighting for justice and
for the welfare of all people. My
coalition will be back at the Capitol to greet legislators next year and to ask
them to Add the Words. We will be
visible to the members of the public who drive or walk by and often show their
support. Most importantly, we will be
there to show our gay and transgender brothers and sisters that we care and
that we believe God loves all.
