Gay and lesbian officials to meet

A national conference of gay and lesbian public officials meeting in Seattle this weekend will feature what organizers are calling a "coming-out tool kit."

It's a video guide with testimonials from gay elected officials — part of an effort by supporters to encourage closeted gay officials to be candid about their sexuality.

Organizers say that's important because the present numbers don't reflect reality. Thirty years after the first openly gay person was elected to office in Massachusetts, only 305 are helping to shape policy at local, state and national levels. That's a fraction of the more than 511,000 people elected and appointed to public office at those levels nationwide, organizers say.

Officials of the Gay and Lesbian Leadership Institute, sponsor of the conference, said gays in office put a public and human face on homosexuality. They serve as role models to those still struggling with their sexuality by allowing them to see successful people in positions of influence and respect.

"There are parts of our country where 'unwelcome' would be the best thing you can say about coming out," said Dan Baker, a city councilman in Long Beach, Calif., and president of the International Network of Lesbian and Gay Officials, which also is helping organize the conference.

"Part of what we're striving for is to give everybody the tools and training that go with this conference, to ... say to them: You can come out and you can be elected and you can stay in office," said Baker.

The event, at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel and Towers, is expected to draw about 200 gay and lesbian public officials.

The Rev. Fred Phelps of Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., has informed Seattle Police he and fellow anti-gay protesters plan to picket.

The event comes amid rapid political and social changes involving gay rights, from voter-approved constitutional bans now present in 18 states, to the extension of marriage or civil unions for lesbian and gays in Massachusetts and elsewhere in New England.

Chuck Wolfe, the institute's president and CEO, said challenges facing gay and lesbians policy makers are not addressed by such organizations as the National League of Cities and the National Conference of State Legislatures.

"These folks are not able to operate freely without attacks based on the very nature of who they are. It's a chance for them to share with each other and support one another," said Wolfe.

State Rep. Joe McDermott, a Democrat from West Seattle and one of several openly gay elected officials in Washington, said he worried privately that coming out might hurt his long-held desire to run for office. "I look back now and think how unfortunate that I even thought my orientation might make it more difficult serving in public office, and how great that it didn't."

The presence of gays and lesbians in elected office gives greater voice to the gay community on issues that go beyond police, potholes and pensions, bringing influence to such policy matters as domestic partnerships, civil-rights benefits for gays and lesbians and gay marriage, experts say.

Craig A. Rimmerman, professor of public policy studies and political science at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, N.Y., said, "Like the rest of society, we're seeing some slow, gradual progress and greater approval, acceptance and understanding. Of course, that depends on the region of the country you're in, but the barriers are slowly coming down."

Kecia Cunningham, a Decatur, Ga., city commissioner featured in the coming-out kit as the first openly gay African American elected to office in the South, said it's tough enough running for public office without having to hide who you are.

"On a broader scale, [having gays in office] makes for a more accepting and diverse world ... helping to show that all people need to be involved in decision making and that we all bring a voice to the conversation," she said Thursday from her offices in Georgia.

Organizers say the conference is an opportunity for delegates to network, and to share their tales of triumph and defeat in policy making, including on issues important to the gay community.