The March

To the Editor:

Thirty years ago on April 2,1995 I marched in Austin, Texas to stop the hate and violence. I was reminded of this March when I found the t-shirt that I had worn. About 5,000 of us from all over Texas marched down Congress Street to the Capital to urge the legislature to pass a hate crime bill that was pending.

On the Capital steps, families of those killed in Texas and survivors spoke against hate. One who had survived showed the crowd his scar from a shotgun blast. He shouted, “If you want family values, try ‘thou shall not kill.”

The Texas Lesbian Conference was held in conjunction with the March. The theme was “Texas Women: Living Out Loud.” State Representative Glen Maxey of Texas, the only openly gay legislator spoke, “We petition the legislature to strengthen the hate crimes law and recognize that no citizen should become a target of violence because of his or her sexual orientation.” At that time, they did not strengthen the bill, but the march was deemed a success because of the number of folks who marched.

All these years later, we are still marching and protesting hate and violence. In these uncertain times, political violence is real. As Pride month ends, let’s stand against violence of any kind whether prejudice or political. “We the People” can make a difference.

Patty Reid La Grange