My name is Tim Winter and I am a small farmer in Boone County, Iowa. My family and I decided to attend the Rally to Resist on Sunday, March 5 at the State Capitol in Des Moines. There were at least 2000 people who attended the rally which lasted over an hour. There were speakers who spoke on many different issues and legislation that will have a negative effect on the LGBTQIA2S+ community that are being introduced and passed by Iowa’s GOP. The most notable for me was to hear Christopher Schwartz openly talk about the death of his husband, Logan Buckley and what led up to it. Logan was a Facebook friend of mine. Christopher showed incredible strength and courage in enduring and sharing the tragedy of Logan’s death. This is one of the few times the crowd was silent. Most of the time there was applause, cheers and camaraderie amongst the group. There were a few jeers as well, as when Governor Reynolds name was spoken. People were carrying signs everywhere and were incredibly creative. My favorite was; Iowa’s GOP Has Created the “Great Flee of 23”. Overall, the rally was about coming together and showing support for people who the GOP has marginalized and are trying to discriminate against with the backing and strength of the State. You see, my family doesn’t look at this as a LGBTQ+ community problem but rather our entire community issue. These are our friends, neighbors, family and people we care about and we are all different members of the same community. I know I can never fully understand what it feels like to be targeted mercilessly or knowing there are people out there who would deny my existence or want to see my existence taken away. I do know that people only want to live their lives as who they are and the GOP and Governor Reynolds want to take that away from them. That’s discrimination and it’s not right. I hope you agree with me.
