Gay Marriage Debate Comes to Norristown

It's not often that council chambers in Norristown Municipal Hall plays host to a national-level debate, but that was the case Tuesday evening as commenters took to the microphone to discuss marriage equality.

The issue isn't a matter for Norristown Municipal Council (marriage is a state issue and the municipality cannot adopt any ordinance addressing it), but it was raised when longtime community activist and Town Watch coordinator Doris Smith Starks addressed it in her public comments.

At issue was a statement by Councilwoman Mary DeSouza that was circulated by some residents via social media and email. In it, DeSouza expresses her opposition to comments Smith Starks made earlier at an April 4 Montgomery County Commissioners' meeting opposing gay marriage. 

"Marriage to me is very dear and sacred," she said. "Being a widow of 15 years, I do take marriage very serious between a man and a woman and a creation of God."

At that meeting, Smith Starks referred to her bible as the defining authority for marriage and read scripture supporting her claim that the union was created by God and meant to be solely the province man and woman for the creation of family. She also referred to homosexuality as a sin and an abomination against God.

[Hear Doris Smith Starks' full comments from the Montgomery County Commissioners' meeting and comments from Tuesday's Norristown Municipal Council meeting in our media section.]

DeSouza, an out-lesbian in a committed relationship, took umbrage with Smith Starks identifying herself as a coordinator for Norristown's Town Watch when she made those statements. Though Smith Starks is not an employee of the municipality, she is provided resources and an office in municipal hall for her work with Town Watch and a municipal badge that she regularly wears to public events. According to DeSouza, many residents don't know Smith Starks is not an official representative of Norristown and may think that the municipality condones her statements. DeSouza opined that council was taking no steps to address the issue.

DeSouza's comments were published on a website maintained by the Victory Fund, a national, grassroots political organization working to elect LGBT leaders to public office. According to DeSouza, the comments were part of a multi-page questionnaire she submitted to the group, but she did not authorize the publication on the website. The Victory Fund later removed much of the wording of the statement, though DeSouza said she did not ask them to do so.

The controversy over DeSouza's reaction to Smith Starks' statements spread via social media and some residents objected to what they saw as an "attack" on Smith Starks.

At Tuesday's meeting, Smith Starks took to the microphone to address the issue and said that her statements were not meant to represent the municipality or the Town Watch program and were her personal opinions on the matter based on her religious beliefs. She confirmed that she is not compensated for her work with Town Watch.

"I do what I do for the Town Watch and the block captain's organization because I live here and I love this town," she said.

She also addressed her statements made at the county commissioners' meeting and took exception to her words being called "hate speech."

"This was not a hate speech," she said. "It was nowhere a hate speech."

Following Smith Starks comments, two more Norristown residents took to the microphone – Arthur and Stevie Martin-Chester – to defend DeSouza and refute accusations posted on Facebook that DeSouza's statements were racist in nature. 

"I'm a Christian," said Arthur Martin-Chester. "I'm also a gay man... I'm overwhelmed that anyone would call my friend Mimi a racist."

"No, I don't think she's a racist," said Stevie Martin-Chester of DeSouza. "We have to be very careful about – just because we disagree and we're two different colors, she's white, I'm black, I dispute what she says, so she's a racist. We're too quick to call 'racist.'"

The couple expressed their love and affinity for the Norristown community and their belief in God; but Arthur made a point of explaining the distinction between religious beliefs and law.

"Each one of you has put your hand on the bible and sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of Pennsylvania and all those laws," he said. "But none of you have put your hand on the Constitution and said that you would uphold the bible."

DeSouza, for her part, says she has no qualms about anyone's freedom of speech or freedom of religion. She just wants those same rights for the LGBT community.

"It's still one of the last frontiers for true equality in the United States – lesbian, gay, transgender rights," said DeSouza. "We fight it everyday."

"I know lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender people in Norristown, in Pennsylvania and so forth, who've been discriminated against and have no legal recourse," she pointed out. "Whether it's housing, employment, healthcare, rental properties, being able to have visitation rights in hospitals, planning purposes for funerals or family medical leave act – there's so many things that other protected groups take for granted because they're now protected under the Constitution that lesbians, gays, transgendered, bisexuals do not have. So we continue to fight."

DeSouza said she hopes everyone will realize that the civil rights movement still continues today.

"I just want to make it clear to people that there's still people fighting today for what people were fighting for [decades ago] – basic civil rights."