Tolerance of gay and lesbian young people is on the rise in the Poconos, though work remains to be done before full acceptance is achieved, a panel of speakers said Saturday. “There are still issues,” said Anita Lee, of the organization Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, or PFLAG, of Monroe County. “But the Poconos has gotten better.”
Lee and others spoke after a screening of “Out in the Silence” at Pocono Community Theater in East Stroudsburg on Saturday afternoon; it was attended by about 70 people. The documentary examines what happens in the small Pennsylvania town of Oil City after the filmmakers place their same-sex marriage announcement in the local newspaper.
At first, outrage arose in the Rust Belt town. One letter to the editor of the local newspaper advised the couple, “it would have been better for you not to have been born.” One of the filmmakers, Joe Wilson, grew up in Oil City with his gay identity closeted. But he returned to his hometown, in part, because of the reaction his announcement sparked. But, more pressingly, he was summoned by a letter. A mother of a gay son, who lived in Oil City and was being bullied, write to him looking for help.
Full Story from the Pocono Record
Click here for gay marriage resources in Pennsylvania.
To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.
