Sunday, October 15, 2006
Thirty years ago a 21-year-old man named Richard Heakin was visiting Tucson. He went to a gay bar and as he was leaving four teenagers, aged 15 to 17, beat him to death. The judge reduced the case to manslaughter and gave the four probation. Injustice.
Heakin's death forced the City of Tucson to confront reality. There were homosexuals in the community and they needed help. The City enacted civil rights laws. The gay community organized and started a community newspaper and an annual pride celebration.
This year Richard Heakin's sister Lori Heakin Ryan was the Grand Marshall of our tiny Pride on Parade. After she gave a short talk about how much her brother had meant to her family, I stood a short distance from her and could see how happy, yet sad she was.
Lori Heakin Ryan.
Here it is 2006 and yesterday I filled in the little oval dot on my mail-in ballot for Proposition 107, which would prevent governments from granting rights to domestic partners. We still have a long ways to go.
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Heakin's death forced the City of Tucson to confront reality. There were homosexuals in the community and they needed help. The City enacted civil rights laws. The gay community organized and started a community newspaper and an annual pride celebration.
This year Richard Heakin's sister Lori Heakin Ryan was the Grand Marshall of our tiny Pride on Parade. After she gave a short talk about how much her brother had meant to her family, I stood a short distance from her and could see how happy, yet sad she was.
Lori Heakin Ryan.
Here it is 2006 and yesterday I filled in the little oval dot on my mail-in ballot for Proposition 107, which would prevent governments from granting rights to domestic partners. We still have a long ways to go.
