From California to Maine, Straight Allies Stand Up

Meet lawyer Anne Wynne of Texas, a straight married mother of three. She's a strong supporter of gay equality.

And say hello to Wisconsin first lady Jessica Doyle, also a straight married mom and strong supporter of gay rights.

Then here's writer Amy Buttery of Michigan, a straight married mom of two, and staff developer Susan Craine of South Carolina, a straight single mom of three. And, yep, you guessed it, they're both strong supporters of gay rights.

This foursome share something else: They're standing straight up for gay friends and neighbors — taking the all-important step of going from privately opposing discrimination to actively speaking out against it.

They'll be part of a week-long, first-ever series of events starting Oct. 7 known as "Seven Straight Nights for Equal Rights."

At church potlucks and candlelight vigils from California to Maine, thousands of such straight men and women will get acquainted with like-minded folks. And those of us who are gay will get a rare glimpse of how our allies' ranks are growing. (Learn more at: sevenstraightnights.org.)

"Many gay people will tell you that they have never asked a straight person to do anything for them, to ever stand up for them," says Wynne, an organizer of Straight Nights. "We're at a point of time where not only have the straight people not volunteered, but the gay people haven't asked, either."

Three years ago, Wynne got fed up: Anti-gay marriage measures had passed in state after state partly because gay-friendly heterosexuals had kept their views too private. So she founded Atticus Circle to get, well, a lot of introductions started among straight allies.

She named the group after Atticus Finch, the white lawyer in "To Kill a Mockingbird" who stood up for a wrongly accused black man.

Since then, Wynne has testified against anti-gay proposals in the Texas legislature and protested with her kids against the Ku Klux Klan when it rallied in favor of banning gay marriage.

Joining with Gandhi-inspired Soulforce, Wynne is hosting "Straight Nights." Like all good hosts, she's introducing folks and sparking heartfelt conversations.

Each "Straight Nights" city also has a host. Susan Craine, the South Carolinian, volunteered to host an all-night candlelight vigil near city hall "because Greenville needs a lot of help with equality."

Many local gay people "are afraid to come out. It is very sad. They need our support. They need to know we are here," says Craine, whose 16-year-old daughter, Carrie, will help light more than 1,300 candles to symbolize the number of rights and protections denied gay couples.

Amy Buttery decided to host "Straight Nights" in Lansing, Mich., in part because her sons have playmates with lesbian moms. She's inviting everyone on her "very extensive" email list to join her at a church to watch "For the Bible Tells Me So," a documentary about reconciling faith with support for gay rights.

"I see myself as a straight ally," says Buttery. "But I never thought of that as a position that involved activity. ... All it took was for someone to ask me."

How wonderful to see straight people beginning to ask one another to stand up for the gay people they already know, respect and love.

Deb Price of The Detroit News writes the first nationally syndicated column on gay issues. To find out more about Deb Price and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2007 CREATORS SYNDICATE INC.