Once a month, about two dozen Kennedy Space Center (KSC) employees file into a conference room to talk about LGBT issues. Groups like this are not uncommon in businesses around the country, but they represent a big step for the historically gay-unfriendly KSC.
The KSC LGBT Support Group was formed in May.
“We had 25 people the first time, it filled the room, and that was a big surprise to us,” said Eric Perritt, an openly gay KSC employee who is a regular participant.
On Aug. 18, The Center interim executive director Randy Stephens spoke to the group, marking the first time an LGBT leader from Orlando was given the stage at Kennedy Space Center.
Stephens gave a brief history of The Center, starting back in 1978 when it was a gay men’s crisis help line. He detailed his current efforts to expand The Center’s events and programs.
“We can make a difference and take care of some of the people in this community who everyone else is ignoring,” he told the group.
Then, he fielded questions on a number of topics, ranging from Proposition 8 in California to the types of support groups that currently use The Center as a meeting place.
Past guests at the KSC LGBT Support Group have included PFLAG and the Beagles Group, a gay group under the umbrella of The Boeing Company. Boeing is a major contractor of the KSC, and was described by group members of the most gay-friendly contractor currently working on the property.
