Public  Statement by Metropolitan Community  Churches

International Church Group Expresses  Support for Largo, Florida Transgender City Manager Steve  Stanton

Remarks by Rev. Nancy L.  Wilson, Office of the Moderator

On  behalf of the friends and members of Metropolitan Community Churches, I call  upon the City of Largo, Florida, to provide full legal and employment protections to transgender City Manager Steve Stanton.

On Tuesday (Feb.  24), a news tip was passed to a reporter at the St. Petersburg Times that Largo,  Florida City Manager Steve Stanton would begin the final stages of gender  transition this year. In response, five of seven City Commissioners adopted a  resolution to suspend her from her job, as a first step in terminating Stanton's  employment.

Steve Stanton has served Largo for 17 years,14 of those as City Manager. She has received overwhelmingly positive reviews in managing the  city's more than one thousand employees. It was Ms. Stanton's intention and  desire to continue to serve the city of Largo during her gender transition, and  to do so openly and honestly, with the support of the Mayor and the city's Human Resources
Department.

In light of the city's actions against Steve  Stanton:

• I call on all people of goodwill everywhere to join me in  applauding the courage and leadership of Steve Stanton, and in expressing  outrage at the discrimination and transphobia shown by the City of Largo, which bills itself as "City of Progress." 
• I encourage all  people of faith to offer prayers of support for Steve, her spouse, and  their son.
• I join the growing chorus of voices asking the city  officials of Largo, Florida to demonstrate a commitment to diversity and  exhibit leadership that is ethical, just and  compassionate.
• And I encourage the lesbian, gay,  bisexual, and transgender communities, along with our friends and allies, to  contact the Largo City Commissioners at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to express support for Steve Stanton and to request that  she be reinstated immediately to her
  position as City  Manager.

Today, I embrace the words of  Largo  Mayor Pat Gerard, who said, "We have a choice to make: We can go back  to intolerance or we can be the city of  progress." 

Decades ago, Rev. Troy Perry, founder of  Metropolitan Community Churches, set a  powerful example by standing for the dignity, value and worth of all life, even  in the face of societal bigotry, misunderstanding, and personal sacrifice. Rev.  Perry's example, along with his vision to live our faith through a commitment to  social justice, birthed a revolution in faith communities around the  globe. That spiritual revolution continues to grow far beyond the doors of the church to the seats of leadership in our world.  "As leaders," wrote Stanton on a city hall website, "we all spend time in the arena, fighting the good fight and trying to do what is right."

I am proud that  Metropolitan Community Churches, too, has a long and distinguished history of  "fighting the good fight." In this spirit, I applaud Steve Stanton and her  courage, and pray that each of us might follow her example in standing for that  which is right and just.

Rev. Nancy L.  Wilson
Moderator
Metropolitan Community  Churches

To  stay informed of developments in the developments, please visit Equality Florida (http://www.eqfl.org) or the National Sexuality Resource Center at the San Francisco State University (http://nsrc.sfsu.edu/). You can also sign an online petition at http://nsrc.sfsu.edu/petition.cfm.