In this edition of WYSO Weekend:
Our program this week is a recognition of LGBT Pride that includes a recap of some recent news centered on the LGBTQ community and stories featuring local Dayton Area residents - proud of who they are, and each with a story to tell.
When Dan and Nancy Tepfer’s daughter came out to them in 1993 they were shocked. While they had always considered themselves enlightened individuals when it came to gay people, they say it took some time for them to accept their daughter’s news. Worried that their daughter would think they were embarrassed or ashamed of her, they pushed themselves to move from their initial fear, to acceptance and, eventually, to activism.
John Gant and Scott Didier have been together for over 20 years and both men have spent that time in service to Dayton’s LGBT community. John was the first openly gay man to serve on the city’s Human Relations Council. Scott also served on the board of the Council, and both of them worked with city leaders to develop Dayton’s anti-discrimination ordinance covering sexual orientation and gender identity. John was instrumental in building Dayton’s annual Pride celebration -- from an annual sit-down dinner into a weekend series of public events that attract several thousand people, each year. But, in this conversation, it’s the family they’ve created together that’s their source of pride.
When gay marriage was legalized in New York State in 2011, Joyce Gibbs and Janice James decided to drive there from Dayton to get married - knowing that their union would not be recognized back home in Ohio. That changed in 2015 when the US Supreme Court recognized same-sex marriage as a legal human right. In their conversation, Joyce and Janice talk about how life was before that historic Supreme Court ruling -- and then how their whole world changed.
