After months of planning, dozens of email exchanges, a handful of meetings, and much anticipation, Andrew’s Round Table’s debut event kicked off tonight with a meet and greet. The night started with picking up Randy at the airport. As we were anxiously awaiting his arrival I realized he had no idea what we looked like. We, of course, knew exactly what he looked like; although he is taller and even more adorable in person.
From the airport we went straight to The Wilde Roast on St. Anthony Main where Randy met the rest of the people behind Andrew’s Round Table. The night included lots of talking and laughing; and overall was a huge success. It was so great to finally meet Randy; he is so wonderful and happy to be here. I can’t wait to hear him speak in the morning. I asked him how the writing process was for the speech he is going to be giving. He said the speech was a joy to write and beyond that he wouldn’t give us any other details. He didn’t want to spoil it for us, so he literally wouldn’t say anything else about it; which makes me even more eager to hear it. I hope you can all make it to at least one of the events over the next four days, and if you can, bring someone that might benefit from hearing Randy’s message.
All of the event information is on the events tab, or you can go to Andrew’s Round Table for more details. I will be at every event, and I hope to see you there!
Thank you Andrew’s Round Table (ART) for hosted these inspiring events with the speeches of Randy Roberts Potts, and the speeches of Jeff and Lori Wilfahrt (Andrew’s parents) and other friends of Andrew and allies (including Nicole Burg’s inspiring speech at the Minneapolis event). The events were all the more powerful because Andrew’s Round Table is a group of straight (heterosexual) allies against enshrining discrimination into the Minnesota State Constitution against gay (homosexual) people.
ART is a legacy for Andrew Wilfahrt worthy of his courage for equality.
A majority of voters in California in 2008 amended that state’s constitution to provide: “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” One of the attorneys representing the gay couples challenging that constitutional amendment is David Boies, who fought racial civil rights battles decades ago in Mississippi. When a Federal Judge in 2010 found California’s state Constitutional amendment to be unconstitutional under the U.S. Constitution, it was a sweeping victory for David Boies (a heterosexual, liberal Democrat) and his co-counsel Ted Olson (a heterosexual, conservative Republican). But in a speech the day after that victory, Boies was humble and wise enough to invoke the memories of the many people who have fought the battles for gay civil rights “… for a very long time, at enormous cost, sometimes the cost of their lives. This result is for them, more than anybody else.”
Now in Minnesota, in memory of Andrew Wilfahrt, Randy Roberts Potts put a face on religious discrimination. The outcome of the Minnesota ballot initiative in 2012 may come down to whether enough people realize that discrimination within religious institutions is problematic, but outside religious institutions, in the civil context with separation of Church and State, it is wrong for our country.
Vote No! Vote against Minnesota’s marriage amendment in November 2012.