From: Hot666@aol.com Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 01:19:29 EDT Subject: corrected: Please read :"My Father Is Wrong" :Sen. Knight's son My friend Patria, a musician in LA, who is not usually "political", sent me the following e-mail. It deeply touched me and I wanted to share it with each of you. She shares with me an act of individual courage by the gay son of the author of the Knight Initiative in California This initiative makes Defense Of Marriage Act a ballot issue. Her e-mail was a ray of light in a day darken by the announcement of the death watch the Governor of Penn has set for Mumia. Please read through to the end because you can see how my friend Patria steps up; you will read David Knight showing how personal integrity and self - esteem is built by fearlessly telling the truth (like Munia) and when we let go of rhetoric, people can be are moved to see how we are all linked together. Jim Fouratt Hi Jim I've been reading about this matter for some months, and I rarely send out things of this nature, so please give me a moment of your attention. This is important to me, and maybe to you, too. The upcoming vote/ballot initiative in March, 2000 (in CALIFORNIA) will contain the Knight Initiative which qualified for the ballot and basically reads: "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California". The article (below) is a testimonial from the son of the Senator who authored the Knight Initiative. This editorial (from today's LA Times) is most interesting in that (A) of course you already know politicians are scum, but (B) you can almost directly see the results of a man so incapable of loving and supporting his gay son (although he supported him prior to his "coming out", i.e. when he was in the military, etc.) that he has turned it into a political issue bearing his name. What stellar self-esteem and unconditional love he must possess for his family (?!). I feel pity that his political goals would so obviously and directly affect (and, not to mention be motivated) by his own repulsion toward his son's lifestyle. I am vehemently against the Knight Initiative and ask that you join me in disdain for this ballot initiative. Fellow Californians should all mark your calendars for the March 7, 2000 voting day and help defeat this heinous proposition. I'm asking that you would you please forward this to anyone you feel may be interested? If you are outside of California, please forward this to your west coast friends and ask that they educate themselves on what is happening here in our state, this "land-o-the-free" which is surely and sorely diminishing in these abysmal times. Thank you very much for your attention. patria ( CONTACT StepOutNow@aol.com for more information on how you can help fight the Knight Initiative.) ______________________________________________________________ In a message dated 10/14/99 8:56:53 AM - NO ON KNIGHT PRESS RELEASE PETE KNIGHT'S SON COMES OUT AGAINST THE KNIGHT INITIATIVE; GAY SON OF RIGHT-WING STATE SENATOR SHARES PERSONAL STORY San Francisco, CA --- October 14, 1999 --- Today, in an opinion-editorial in the Los Angeles Times, David Knight, the gay son of State Senator Pete Knight, spoke out against the unfair, intrusive, and divisive ballot measure being sponsored by his father. David Knight talks of his father's rejection of him after he told him he was gay and that he had a life partner. Dave Knight refers to his father's initiative as an attempt to legislate discriminatory restrictions on a significant group of people that he has clearly rejected. The Knight Initiative will appear on the March 7 ballot. It states: Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California. The Knight Initiative threatens hospital visitation rights, inheritance rights and other equal rights and protections that any two people in a committed relationship deserve. It increases the rhetoric of hate and intolerance towards gay and lesbian Californians and their families. And it would inject the government into the most personal decisions -- who we spend our lives with. Once again, David Knight demonstrates what an American hero he truly is. At potentially great personal cost, he has spoken out against his father's unfair attack on California's families, said No on Knight Campaign Manager Mike Marshall. The Knight Initiative is not, as Pete Knight and its backers claim, about defending marriage. It's about attacking families. We need only look at the impact of Pete Knight's beliefs on his own family to see what his initiative is truly about and what it would do to families across the state, added Marshall. ### Copyright Los Angeles Time Oct. 14, 1999 My Father Is Wrong on Gays Culture:The estranged son of state Sen. William 'Pete' Knight opposes Knight's 'definition of marriage' ballot initiative. By DAVID KNIGHT I am the gay son of state Sen. William "Pete" Knight (R-Palmdale). I'm a cabinetmaker by trade, and I lead a quiet, full life. Although I'm not politically active, I feel that my story offers insights on the "definition of marriage" initiative written by my father, which is slated for the March 2000 ballot. My father has authored and pushed a number of anti-gay bills in the Legislature. According to the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Community Center, it is a political and legislative campaign unparalleled in California history. Why is he doing this? I believe, based on my experience, that his is a blind, uncaring, uninformed, knee-jerk reaction to a subject about which he knows nothing and wants to know nothing, but which serves his political career. How can I say this? For one thing, he has never discussed my homosexuality with me, and I know that he never discussed the issue with his gay brother, who died of AIDS three years ago. As far I can determine, he's made no attempt at understanding the issue. Therefore, I have a hard time with the fact that someone in his position is attempting to legislate discriminatory restrictions on a significant group of people that he has clearly rejected. Three years ago, I told my father I was gay and that I have a life partner, Joe. From that moment on, my relationship with my father was over. I can't begin to explain the hurt that has come from this rejection. My father didn't always feel this way about me. When I was at the Air Force Academy, or when he was speaking at my pilot training graduation, or when I was returning from the Gulf War, where I flew fighters for my country, my father was very proud of me. His love for and pride in me, I assume, was because I was his son. I am the same son today. Although I have come to grips with my loss, I am not without a family. My brothers and their families have embraced Joe and me, and we share our lives as most families do (my mother died when I was a teenager). I won't say it wasn't a shock to them, but they kept a dialogue going and have come to understand who I am and whom I love. Most of my extended family and friends have responded similarly. My father seems to want things to remain as he has always known things to be--without change. He can't seem to understand that we as a society are growing and allowing more people the opportunity to share in the ultimate dream of happiness. We are expressing our own family values based on the same basic principles that he so fervently protects. My father's idea of family values is very different from mine. He insists his are right and mine are wrong. I'm deeply sorry that my father feels that he can no longer be a part of my life. I miss him. But I cannot and will not change the person that I am, and I must speak out publicly about what I perceive to be his willful, blind ignorance on this issue. Gay people are forming strong, loving families. Understanding and accepting this will make our communities stronger and safer places to live. - - - David Knight Lives in Baltimore, Md * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Information* on Knight Initiative from Clint Trout *** (edited by me) "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid and recognized in California" The Knight Initiative will make it very difficult for gay and lesbians to 1. ever receive the 1049 rights and privileges (just on the federal level) of civil marriage. 2. never have "equal protection under the law" until all law, including marriage codes, include members of the community. 3. Marriage discrimination threatens the separation between church and state. 4. The KI will threaten adoption, domestic partnership, laws protecting us when our relationships end, hospital visitation, and any other protection for our relationships and our families. This is already happening in the other states where similar legislation has passed. 5. The pro-Knight television and print ads will demonize our community across California. 6. If the initiative passes, especially on such a large margin as it did in Hawaii, it will appear to legislators that California has voted decisively on gay rights issues. 7. The fight against the Knight initiative is an opportunity to organize our community for social justice. 8. A poll, conducted by Decision Research, found that 56% of Californians would vote for the initiative. 40% are against, and 4% are undecided. Those are great numbers to start off with. In fact, very few contested initiatives with less than 60% initial support has ever won in California. I hope you will dedicate your time, organizational resources, and finances to defeating the Knight Initiative. We need only change 3,200,000 minds. Please contact me at StepOutNow@aol.com to find out how you can plug into the movement. You can help right away by contributing to the statewide campaign. Make checks payable in any amount to "Californians for Fairness" state ID # 990089 Treasurer Cary Davidson and mail them to: Californians For Fairness 505 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA 94105. (By Clint Trout, does not necessarily reflect positions of Californians for Fairness) -------------------- ( CONTACT StepOutNow@aol.com for more information on how you can help fight the Knight Initiative.) ______________________________________________________________