My dad’s gay rights bill [View All]

[davidinalameda]

http://www.advocate.com/html/stories/893/893_liggett.asp

Gay and lesbian Hoosiers made historic progress in the 2003 session of the Indiana general assembly, where I work. No, our legislature didn’t endorse civil unions or pass a hate-crimes law. But one representative did give us our start down the road to equality, before we even asked, by introducing a gay-inclusive nondiscrimination bill. That legislator is my father. I’m an openly gay man and serve as the chief of staff to B. Patrick Bauer, the Democratic speaker of the Indiana house of representatives. In January, I was surprised by the introduction of House Bill 1684—the first-ever proposal to add sexual orientation to our state’s nondiscrimination laws. I was even more surprised when I realized my father was the author of the bill.