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Our Next Event - Tuesday, November 11 at 7:30PM
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network - Don't Ask Don't Tell?
With Former Army Sergeant Darren Manzella |
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PFLAG 2008 Annual Family Picnic |
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Neither rain nor snow nor hail nor dark of night can stop the PFLAG Family Picnic! Well, rain at least. We learned that with our huge pavilion and a patio umbrella placed strategically over the grill, we can hold our picnic rain or shine! Lots of folks came and had a great time. Were you there?
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Pictured above are Howard County Executive Ken Ulman with PFLAG Chair Colette Roberts and PFLAG Political Advocacy Co-Chair Dan McCarthy. Photo by Josh Sullivan
all photos © 2008 • PFLAG Columbia-Howard County
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PFLAG Columbia-Howard County is parents, kids, gay, straight, lesbian, transgender
We are everyone! We are family!
(Click on the pictures to meet us) |
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all photos © 2008 • PFLAG Columbia-Howard County
Watch Our Commercial
That Was Broadcast in September on Comcast's Bravo Channel |
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Look For Our Ad on Howard Transit Buses Beginning in September |
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| Our bus ad production crew attends the mounting of the first bus ad on August 31.
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From left: Bob Ford, Pat English, Rob Lance, Josh Sullivan, Steve Charing, Dan McCarthy, Colette Roberts |
All pictures © 2008 • PFLAG Columbia-Howard County |
On November 4, History Will Be Made in California and Florida
Help Us All to Achieve Marriage Equality |
Anti-gay group Focus on the Family has pledged $250,000 to support the November ballot initiative to pass an amendment to California's constitution that would define marriage as only between a man and a woman.
You can help by contacting everyone in your communities and letting them know that we must have their support both in money and effort to counter what Focus on the Family, American Family Association and others will be
doing to invalidate the now-legal marriages of loving same-sex couples.
Please visit the
Equality for All website to read about their work and donate to them.
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You can also donate to
National PFLAG, which will be working with chapters across California on how to educate the public about the importance of marriage equality. There will be a link to the campaign on the PFLAG National website shortly Please help make this the beginning of marriage equality throughout America and not a victory for the anti-gay forces.
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"Inasmuch as marriage is the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife, no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized." This is Amendment 2 that will be voted upon in Florida on Nov.4. Click on the Say No 2 logo to find out more.
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Come Join Us!
Become A Part of Our Great Family of Parents, GLBT Folk and Rainbow Youth |
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About us and where we meet
Why Should You Become a PFLAG Member?
Become a Supporting Member of our PFLAG chapter
Contact Information
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Our Scholarship Program |
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Tuesday, November 11th, 2008, 7:30 PM - PFLAG Meeting
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network - Don't Ask Don't Tell?
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Our meeting falls on the traditional date for Veterans Day and will be marked by a tribute to the men and women in our armed forces and to those who have been discharged under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Army Sergeant Darren Manzella was discharged under that policy. He is now a representative of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network and will be the principal speaker at the meeting.
Darren Manzella, 31, had served two tours of duty in the Middle East in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. A decorated healthcare specialist, Manzella provided critical care on the streets of Baghdad and been praised and rewarded for his work. He returned from his second tour of duty in December 2007 where he served as an openly gay soldier for the entirety of the rotation, to both his colleagues and his command. He had joined the Army in 2002.
Manzella wrote in a letter that, "I don't think most people can understand how hard it is to have to hide their true self; to have to pretend to be someone that they are not; to be scared that you'll be ostracized for being different; to be told that you're wrong if you live a certain life . . . that concerns no one else but yourself. . . . I am proud of myself and of the accomplishments I have achieved in my life."
He told his story to Leslie Stahl on 60 Minutes. That revelation forced the Army's hand to discharge him.
Using his personal experiences, Darren Manzella will describe his service to our country and his battles with "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. From his perspective, he will expose the harmful effects and discrimination of the current law banning open service of gay and lesbian Americans.
Tuesday, December 9th, 2008, 7:30 PM - PFLAG Meeting
Annual Family Holiday Celebration
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We are proud to host Baltimore's own New Wave Singers again this year. They will entertain us with their most excellent holiday music - a program that's sure to get your holiday spirit stirring. Please visit their website by clicking on their picture.
Bring along an appetizer or dessert and join us as we eat and listen to wonderful holiday music. This holiday program has become a PFLAG tradition. Don't miss it!
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Our Film - Under Pressure - Click on the DVD Cover, print the form and order! |
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| We Need Your Help! |
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Your PFLAG chapter is an all-volunteer organization. Everything we do is funded by membership fees and donations.
We advertise our presence in Howard County high school newspapers
We support a GLBT youth group with adult facilitators
We publish and mail a bi-monthly newsletter
We produce monthly meetings on a wide range of important topics
We staff tables at village fairs, expos, community events
We supply printed material to inform and enlighten the public
We host an annual family picnic
Won't you please consider becoming a member or making a donation, or both? Find out how here.
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| About
Us |
PFLAG
meetings are free and we welcome everyone. We provide a safe
and confidential space for everyone. Teens and young people are
invited to participate in our
Rainbow
Youth Alliance,
and new parents are welcomed to meet separately w/another parent for a
confidential discussion. We also have an active Parent Forum that meets regularly on another evening.
We have a great group of lesbian and gay members, as well as kids who have gay parents. We don't just celebrate diversity in our chapter...we are diversity!
Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month beginning
at 7:30 PM at the
Owen Brown Interfaith Center,
7246 Cradlerock Way, Columbia, MD. Most meetings include a speaker and general discussion. There is also time allotted for people to share what
is happening in their lives.
See what our meetings are like.
For additional information please contact Colette Roberts 410-290-8292
or email: Robertscp@aol.com.
PFLAG Mission
Statement
To
promote the health and well-being of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons, their families and friends through:
- SUPPORT
- to cope with an adverse society
- EDUCATION
- to enlighten an ill-informed public
- ADVOCACY
- to end discrimination and to secure equal civil rights
Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays provides opportunity for dialogue about sexual orientation and gender identity, and acts
to create a society that is healthy and respectful of human diversity.
Our Chapter Mission
Statement
The mission of PFLAG Columbia/Howard County is to support parents of gay
children. We also welcome all people, gay,
straight, bisexual or
transgendered, as well as their families and friends. Together, we support
each other, educate the broader community, and advocate for equality.
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| Contacts |
EMAIL:
RobertsCP@aol.com
MAILING ADDRESS:
PFLAG/Columbia
7303 Swan Point Way
Columbia, MD 21045
PHONE:
(410) 290-8292
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