We, the executive board of the Coalition of LGBTA Graduate Students, would like to invite everyone to Saturday's Pride Commitment Ceremony at 1:00 p.m. in Alumni Hall, HUB.
We ask you to join us to celebrate the loving relationships of four same-sex couples as each is united in love and devotion in the presence of their friends, families and the Pennsylvania State University community.
The mayor of State College, Bill Welch, has enthusiastically agreed to preside over the ceremony, and Stephen Glassman, Chairman of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, will read several short poems and announce the couples after the ceremony, leading into the traditional reception.
We are grateful for the tremendous outpouring of support this event has garnered from the university and the greater State College community, without which we would not have been able to be plan an event of such a large scale in such a short amount of time. Approximately three-quarters of all individuals contacting us or the Mayor have voiced their encouragement, which reassures us that our loving intentions are supported and mirrored throughout the community. It also confirms that what we are doing is the right thing to do, not just for the LGBTA community, but for individuals everywhere.
We are also pleased that word of this event has prompted much-needed discussion about LGBTA families. Our families face numerous difficulties, primarily centered on the lack of recognition and awareness that we are just that -- families.
When we are denied visiting rights to our partners in hospital or denied the "privilege" of second-parent adoption, it is because our family structure is not being valued or respected. This ongoing struggle for recognition imparts additional challenges to members of our communities, including those participating in the ceremony, as they all navigate the trail to lasting relationships in a society where such a trail is not widely valued. This event celebrates not only the union of four couples today, but the fact that these same-sex relationships have already withstood the test of time.
We do recognize that there is enormous diversity among LGBTA families. But while they come in different forms, they share the common threads of love, respect, honesty, responsibility and devotion, and this ceremony celebrates the uniqueness of each couple involved and the bonds they have built on this foundation.
The magnitude of public outreach for this event has surprised us, but convinces us that this is something important. Hopefully, the opportunity for dialog presented by this ceremony will transcend beyond just the coming Pride Week events and will have lasting effects throughout Pennsylvania and nationally. After all, as we continue to learn from our deepest of traditions, every person deserves the right to be treated with respect and love.
We hope you will come to enjoy the commitment ceremony and reception. At the same time, we would like to welcome the Pennsylvania Family Values Coalition, Altoona's Faith Baptist Church and the American Family Association of Pennsylvania to the University Park campus. The "Family Values Rally" being planned has both publicized and politicized our event -- and we are grateful for their presence and their efforts to bring awareness to our community event. Moreover, the "Family Values Rally" and the various political events being held on campus throughout this week represent the power and importance of public involvement.
In closing, we again welcome everyone to come to the ceremony and reception.
