Thursday, October 20, 2011

"Andrew’s Round Table" aims to defeat MN marriage amendment

I received an email today from Jeff Wilfahrt, father of Cpl. Andrew Wilfahrt, a gay soldier killed by an IED in Kandahar, Afghanistan back in February of this year. He wanted to update me and my readers on what he and his wife Lori are working on in their home state of Minnesota as they fight to defeat a marriage amendment that will be on the ballot in that state in 2012. More specifically, he wanted to let us know about a new group that has been formed called Andrew’s Round Table, named for their son, Andrew Wilfahrt. (Here is the group's Calendar of Events.)

The group was "launched to educate Minnesotans about equal marriage rights for same-sex couples". One group member put it this way:

“We wondered what a small group of straight people could do to honor our loved ones and make the future a little brighter for those young ones who feel hopeless or marginalized by this amendment,” she said.
The group’s mission is to change Minnesotans’ minds on LGBT equality: “Our main goal is to encourage thoughtful conversation on this issue.” 
One of the group's first speakers will be Randy Roberts Potts, the gay grandson of famed televangelist Oral Roberts. Below is a sermon he gave at All Souls Church in Tulsa, Okla., about his experiences growing up gay at the evangelical compound created by his grandfather:



In spite of their tragic loss, Jeff and Lori have been traveling around the country sharing stories about their son and fighting for full equality for gays and lesbians not just in Minnesota, but in the entire country. Below is a moving speech Lori gave at the Outserve conference in Las Vegas on October 15, 2011:



Related stories:
DADT Cannot End Soon Enough!
Of loaves and fishes by Jeff Wilfahrt
Dear Minnesota,

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3 comments:

Sage said...

Thank you for this. I found the ART site about a week ago and saved it as one of my favorites. Very impressive. Of course, anything Jeff and Lori Wilfahrt do impresses me. There is some spiritual connection I have with these two incredible people that I cannot explain and do not need to.

I am going to share the information you shared in this post with my own readers. Thanks for posting!

Seething Mom said...

Good deal! The more we can spread the word about anything and everything Jeff and Lori are involved in, the better. And you are so right Sage, Jeff and Lori are truly incredible people - nuff said!

Sage said...

They made it to LGBT|POV's coverage of the OutServe conference!!!

http://www.lgbtpov.com/2011/10/tom-carpenter-passing-the-torch-to-a-new-generation-of-lgbt-warriors/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+lgbtpov%2FhMHW+%28LGBT+POV%29