Brian30755
New Member
This was in my local newspaper today.....a picture of a billboard with a picture of 5 or 6 people on it with this caption: "We are your neighbors. And.....we are gay."
These billboards are going up in the Atlanta area.
Am I the only one who does not understand WHY the homosexual community wants to keep shoving their lifestyle in our face? Do they honestly think this is going to make me accept their lifestyle? If they do, they are dead wrong. It disgusts me.
What if somebody put up billboards all around Atlanta that said "We are your neighbors. And we are NOT gay." I don't know, I guess I'm just venting, but this kind of stuff really makes me sick.
I went to this groups website, georgiaequality.org, and here's what it said about these billboards:
AP Reports on Billboards - Christian Coalition Responds
Tuesday, 19 July 2005
The Associated Press - ATLANTA
The blue billboard bears a simple image _ five casually dressed men and women standing arm in arm _ and a simple message: "We are your neighbors. And ... we are gay."
The sign, posted on a stretch of nightclubs and restaurants in midtown Atlanta, is part of the first wave of a statewide campaign Georgia's largest gay and lesbian group hopes will change attitudes throughout the state.
"For so long, extremists have used gays and lesbians as a means to further their own agendas," said Chuck Bowen, executive director of Georgia Equality. "The purpose of this campaign is to let people know we're no different than anybody else."
The group's "We Are Your Neighbors" campaign is an 18-month effort that comes on the heels of what gay activists call a bruising year in politics.
Last year, several states, including Georgia, passed anti-gay marriage amendments and many believe homosexuality was used as a divisive wedge issue in the presidential campaign.
"We're tired of being chased," Bowen said. "We constantly had to react to very negative, erroneous misrepresentations of us. Now, we're trying to send a positive signal to let people know who we really are."
The campaign began with 12 billboards in metro Atlanta's Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett and Paulding counties.
The billboards went up two weeks ago and, on Sunday and Monday, the "we are gay" messages were added. According to official traffic counts, more than 8 million people will see the billboards during July, Bowen said.
A second wave of billboards is expected to go up in October in suburban and rural communities throughout the state. Bowen said many of the locations were picked using polling data from last year's election that showed low levels of support for gay issues.
Over 18 months, billboards are planned in 38 counties. The campaign, funded by private donations, also will feature television and print advertisements.
Other billboards feature a firefighter, with the phrase "I protect you ... and I am gay," and a female doctor with the phrase, "I care for you ... and I am a lesbian."
Bowen said the people featured on the first wave of billboards are from out of the state, but that future signs will picture residents of the communities where the signs are placed.
Members of some conservative groups who pushed last year's anti-gay marriage amendment in Georgia see the campaign as a political ploy.
"I think it's just one more step in their agenda to try to mainstream their lifestyle," said Sadie Fields, executive director of the Christian Coalition of Georgia. "I'm certainly not going to question their stated motives, but I don't expect their political agenda to stop."
But supporters say the campaign is more about winning friends than winning votes.
"It's just about people," said David Greenberg, 43, of Atlanta, a speech coach and author who is speaking to the public and media as part of the campaign. "The more people get to know gay people, they realize that we really are just people with similar issues just wanting to have a happy life like everyone else."
Am I the only one who is bothered by things like this? Am I wrong to let it bother me?
These billboards are going up in the Atlanta area.
Am I the only one who does not understand WHY the homosexual community wants to keep shoving their lifestyle in our face? Do they honestly think this is going to make me accept their lifestyle? If they do, they are dead wrong. It disgusts me.
What if somebody put up billboards all around Atlanta that said "We are your neighbors. And we are NOT gay." I don't know, I guess I'm just venting, but this kind of stuff really makes me sick.
I went to this groups website, georgiaequality.org, and here's what it said about these billboards:
AP Reports on Billboards - Christian Coalition Responds
Tuesday, 19 July 2005
The Associated Press - ATLANTA
The blue billboard bears a simple image _ five casually dressed men and women standing arm in arm _ and a simple message: "We are your neighbors. And ... we are gay."
The sign, posted on a stretch of nightclubs and restaurants in midtown Atlanta, is part of the first wave of a statewide campaign Georgia's largest gay and lesbian group hopes will change attitudes throughout the state.
"For so long, extremists have used gays and lesbians as a means to further their own agendas," said Chuck Bowen, executive director of Georgia Equality. "The purpose of this campaign is to let people know we're no different than anybody else."
The group's "We Are Your Neighbors" campaign is an 18-month effort that comes on the heels of what gay activists call a bruising year in politics.
Last year, several states, including Georgia, passed anti-gay marriage amendments and many believe homosexuality was used as a divisive wedge issue in the presidential campaign.
"We're tired of being chased," Bowen said. "We constantly had to react to very negative, erroneous misrepresentations of us. Now, we're trying to send a positive signal to let people know who we really are."
The campaign began with 12 billboards in metro Atlanta's Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett and Paulding counties.
The billboards went up two weeks ago and, on Sunday and Monday, the "we are gay" messages were added. According to official traffic counts, more than 8 million people will see the billboards during July, Bowen said.
A second wave of billboards is expected to go up in October in suburban and rural communities throughout the state. Bowen said many of the locations were picked using polling data from last year's election that showed low levels of support for gay issues.
Over 18 months, billboards are planned in 38 counties. The campaign, funded by private donations, also will feature television and print advertisements.
Other billboards feature a firefighter, with the phrase "I protect you ... and I am gay," and a female doctor with the phrase, "I care for you ... and I am a lesbian."
Bowen said the people featured on the first wave of billboards are from out of the state, but that future signs will picture residents of the communities where the signs are placed.
Members of some conservative groups who pushed last year's anti-gay marriage amendment in Georgia see the campaign as a political ploy.
"I think it's just one more step in their agenda to try to mainstream their lifestyle," said Sadie Fields, executive director of the Christian Coalition of Georgia. "I'm certainly not going to question their stated motives, but I don't expect their political agenda to stop."
But supporters say the campaign is more about winning friends than winning votes.
"It's just about people," said David Greenberg, 43, of Atlanta, a speech coach and author who is speaking to the public and media as part of the campaign. "The more people get to know gay people, they realize that we really are just people with similar issues just wanting to have a happy life like everyone else."
Am I the only one who is bothered by things like this? Am I wrong to let it bother me?