NOTE: I just sent this letter via email to Mr. Sheilds as well as the general inbox for the Effingham County Board and to the HRC.
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Dear Mr. Sheilds,
I just read Bill Grimes article about your recent comments concerning civil unions and how you feel that they are “not being worth the paper they’re printed on.” Kudos to Mr. Kade for calling you out for your bigoted statements. To suggest that a civilly recognized union between two people who love and plan to support each other for the rest of their lives is of any less value than that of a heterosexual couple’s is ignorant and hateful. I hope, for your sake, that you recognize how hurtful and demeaning your statement was and that you will publicly apologize to the people of your county (and, by proxy, the rest of the LGBT community across the nation).
I doubt you will because you blatantly admitted your ignorance by stating, “The way we get laws that we don’t agree with is because, one by one, elected officials are silenced because of the fear of being publicly scolded… I just don’t happen to have that fear. I don’t feel any different.”
Not only is this statement ripe with inanity but it shows your inability to listen to your residents and act on their behalf as an unbiased representative.
Please reconsider your point of view. There is nothing wrong with two people agreeing on a lifelong bond acknowledged by the government. Why does it seem to scare you so much? What will the actual impact be on you, your county, the State of Illinois or this country if two men, or two women, choose to join together in matrimony?
Maybe this will help change your mind (because sometimes the possibility of an influx of money helps people with limited vision to change their views on issues they erroneously find questionable). Please read through this report from the Independent Democratic Conference of New York. It should shine some light on what marriage equality could mean to the economy of Effingham since it reports that “New York State would experience a net gain of $184 million within the first three years following the legalization of a Marriage Equality Act.” That sounds like a no-brainer to me. Equality and income all thanks to openness and respect.
I look forward to your response and welcome the opportunity to help you understand how hurtful your words were. May you come to understand that we are all equal and deserve to be treated as such.
Sincerely,
W. Thomas Adkins
Watch the HRC’s New Yorkers for Marriage Equality video below to see what rational, considerate and respectful people think about this issue.
Tommy Karr 