Dear John, This morning, I had the honor of testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee -- one of only three witnesses to provide testimony in support of the Equality Act. I was proud to represent PFLAG and its hundreds of thousands of members and supporters like you, who believe that discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, sex, race and ethnicity, and faith, is just wrong. As a parent, I’m asking you to give what you can to PFLAG National right now to fund the resources needed to make the Equality Act the law of the land -- because my child, and so many other LGBTQ+ people, have waited too long to not live their full truth. Like you, I have multiple identities. I am an African American woman, a Kansan, a person of faith, and a faith leader of the United Church of Christ. I am also honored to serve as a leader on the PFLAG National Board of Directors. But of all my identities, the most important will always be as a mother to a trans non-binary child. At age 14, Bryan came out to us, never doubting they would be loved and accepted for who they are by me and my husband, or the faith community we call home. But Bryan wanted to be fully out to everyone, and things were very different back then. We made Bryan keep a secret, not because we were ashamed, but because we were afraid for their safety. Black and LGBTQ+ in a predominantly white school in the Midwest? You bet we were afraid. Our mistake was not understanding the impact of how hard it was for Bryan to live that dichotomy -- loved and free at home and at church, harassed and hiding at school. It took its toll. I testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee today because I don’t want any LGBTQ+ person, person of color, person of minority faith -- or any person -- to ever be made unsafe by discrimination. Swift passage of the Equality Act will ensure that all people are equal under the law. Supporting the Equality Act is a way for me, as a person of faith, to affirm God's love for every single person, ensuring that all people -- inclusive of people who are LGBTQ+ -- have the right to access food, clothing, shelter, education, and so much more. We should all be able to agree on this one thing: the law should treat all of our children -- God’s children -- equally. Every single one of us would go to the mat for our children; none of us wants them to be turned away or discriminated against for any reason. I was proud to represent PFLAG today on behalf of all parents of LGBTQ+ children -- but there’s more work to be done in the coming weeks to get this life-saving bill passed and into law. Please donate to PFLAG National right now, and your gift will be put immediately toward advocating to make full protections for our LGBTQ+ loved ones no longer just a dream, but a reality. From my family to yours, thank you for taking this critical next step toward equality for all. Warmly,  Dr. Edith Guffey, MSW
PFLAG National Board Member
Conference Minister of the Kansas-Oklahoma Conference of the United Church of Christ | 
