By Mary Alice Murphy
(Editor's Note: This writer was late due to not looking at her calendar, so the first speaker will be summarized at the end.).
The first panelist, Faye McCalmont, spoke about the challenges and threats faced by her son, who is gay. She told the Beat after the event that her story was similar to that of Western New Mexico University President Joseph Shepard's.
Shepard said when his and his wife, Marcela's, son David was born "his behavioral patterns were different. You've read that maybe it's genetics, maybe it's nurture. In David's case, it was definitely genetics. He had a preference from birth. His feminine side manifested itself. I encouraged Little League, but he wasn't at all interested."