Dear Delaware Stonewall PAC Members,
As your newly elected President, I am writing to introduce myself, provide an update about the Executive Board’s activities, and encourage you to renew your support of our organization.
First, an introduction. My partner of sixteen years, Christopher, and I moved to Delaware in 2018/2019 to seek a change-of-pace from Washington, D.C. We’re both originally from Arkansas, so we craved the First State’s sense of community (without the rabid bigotry). As a civil rights attorney for the Delaware affiliate of a national public interest organization, I have learned that even the “Delaware Way” sometimes comes up short, but we Delawareans share an optimism for our future and invest in each other’s potential to thrive. While new to Delaware, I am no stranger to politics and LGBTQ+ activism; I have been involved in progressive politics for over two decades, have successfully managed and worked on local, state, and national campaigns, and have served on two LGBTQ+ political organizations’ boards. I have a deep commitment to serving our community and am eager to share my skills with this organization. Thank you for entrusting me with this duty.
The past several months I have worked with our Executive Board to plan for the exciting year ahead. As you know, 2020 was the first time in Delaware’s history that openly LGBTQ+ candidates were elected to the General Assembly. We are proud of Rep. Morrison and Sens. Pinkney and McBride, and their allies, for forming the first LGBTQ+ Caucus and pushing for reforms that make our state more welcoming and inclusive. Stonewall continues to monitor legislation that directly impacts our community and is hopeful for advancements on protections for students and the elderly, criminalization of LGBTQ+ biased-based hate crimes, and, most importantly, becoming the first state to constitutionally enshrine equal rights based on sexual orientation.
We are also eager to recruit and support more LGBTQ+ people and allies to run for office in the coming 2022 midterm elections. With your support, we will have the ability to contribute to strong advocates from every corner of the state and help ensure that they have the resources they need to run their pro-equality campaigns. To help in that endeavor, planning for our annual summer funder is well underway. The event is scheduled for August 13, 2022. Please save the date!
We need your support–through membership, your social network, and your contributions. Renew your membership, invite your LGBTQ+ neighbors to join, and buy a ticket to our annual can’t-miss event. Better yet: join the host committee!
I am always an email, phone call, or text away. Please don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m excited to see what we can do together.
Sincerely,
Dwayne J. Bensing
Delaware Stonewall PAC, President