Letter To The Editor: Mother Comes Out In Favor Of LGBT Protections

The following Letter To The Editor was submitted to Patch last week by Laurie Copeland:

After reading the Patch blog in ‘Local Voices’ from Jennifer Bernstein in, ‘, I decided to also ‘come out of the closet’ with my support of ending discrimination here in .  

When I read the blog post, I was surprised to find out that Creve Coeur and St. Louis County do not already offer these basic protections. I was moved when Jennifer mentioned the constant fear that the LGBT community faces, and it struck me…how would I feel if my children were discriminated against because of something that they cannot control? As a mother I cannot even fathom my child or any child whether gay or straight, ever being kicked out or denied access to any restaurant or park in Creve Coeur simply because of whom they love or because of the way they are viewed.  It’s just wrong in my mind.

But, there is hope! Upon writing this piece I was also pleased to see that efforts were already underway to address this issue in Creve Coeur.  Being a resident of Creve Coeur and an ally of the LGBT community, I wanted to take the opportunity to thank her for her courage in standing up against discrimination. I can only hope that more cities continue to address this issue in St. Louis County.

The safety of my children is one of my top priorities. However, I am not naïve enough to think that discrimination could not affect them. I hope that this is never the case, but at least I can rest well knowing that our City would fully protect them.