Bob Szwajkos, a Bucks County lawyer, disclosed he’s gay in a public meeting of the Newtown Township Supervisors in support of a “Love Is Love” resolution that the board had voted down.
Having lived fearful and closeted most of his life, Bob Szwajkos came out as gay 20 years ago.
“It was painful,” said Szwajkos, 72. “Members of my family still won’t speak to me.”
Earlier this month, when the Newtown Township supervisors voted down a “Love Is Love” resolution, a statement to recognize and support LGBTQ kids, Szwajkos (pronounced SWI-KOS) knew he had to say something.
“I couldn’t sit back,” he said.
The Rochester, New York, native is a lawyer with Curtin & Heefner in Morrisville. He has a distinguished legal career. As a young man, he handled the mammoth Penn Central Railroad bankruptcy. Also, he settled the estate of Philadelphia “House of Horrors” killer Gary Heidnik. He’s a member of the town council in neighboring Newtown Borough.
The Newtown Township supervisors met again last week. What could he say to persuade them to pass the “Love Is Love” resolution? It wasn’t on the agenda. He had to persuade.
“I know what these kids face, even today,” he said.
When he got to the meeting, a group of gay, bi and trans kids who attend Council Rock schools were there. They spoke out, too, one kid saying she was risking her college fund by outing herself at the televised meeting.
Szwajkos approached the podium. Declaring one’s sexual orientation, even in an era of legal gay marriage, is risky. You just never know what squirrelly figure is listening.
“I wasn’t really sure how much to disclose,” he said.
He disclosed a lot. He stood before the supervisors. He seemed nervous. The room fell silent. He began simply.
“I am Bob Szwajkos,” he told them. “I am a resident of Newtown Borough. I’m a gay man.”
He proceeded calmly, his voice growing stronger.
“I lived the straight life, and now I am proud to be a member of the LGBT community. The gay community supports itself — because nobody would support us before. We’re here to ask you to support us.
“I am hoping this board will … show support for a segment of our population who face tremendous challenges simply because of their sexual identity. I am here because I can talk the talk, because I walked the walk.
“I’m a member of this LGBT community, and I’m as proud of that as I’m proud of my Polish heritage, or the fact that I’m an attorney, I’m an athlete, I’m a contributing member of my community …
“I’m out. I’m proud that I’m out. And I’m proud that I have support in my community. I wouldn’t be here without that support. I’m as equal as anybody else under the law. And I’m entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, as these children are. I do not have to fight for equality, because I am equal, as they are. We will fight intolerance.
“What have I seen in my lifetime? In 1956, President Eisenhower signed an executive order deeming gay people ineligible to serve in the federal government. Frank Kameny, the godfather of the gay pride movement, who I met before his death in 2011, graduated first in his class from Harvard, and was hired by the U.S. Army Map Service. He was outed and fired. He took his case to the (U.S.) Supreme Court twice, and the Supreme Court said there is nothing wrong with discrimination with sexual orientation. That was in the early ’60s.
“Thereafter, in the early ’60s, we had the first gay pride parade around Independence Hall — before Stonewall. ... The Lavender Scares drove scores of people from the federal service. Many lost all they had. It was not until 1970 that homosexuality was removed from the list of mental illnesses.
“When I grew up, I could have gone to jail because I was gay. I could have been institutionalized because I was gay. It was tough growing up.
“From the time I was born until the time I was an adult, I faced fear of being outed. After I came out, after losing my family, parts of my family will never talk to me again because I’m gay. That’s a tough burden to wake up to every day.
“I have lost good friends in the last six months from suicide, drug overdoses, and several friends who’ve gone missing, can’t find them. Gay friends, who as adults cannot exist, due to the experiences they’ve had.
“This board failed this group of young people. The statistics are haunting. They have the highest rate of suicide. They have the highest rate of attempted suicide. They have the highest rate of homelessness. They have the highest rate of sex trafficking. We cannot abandon these youth. These are our children. Our friends’ children. Our nephews, our nieces, our friends. The next leaders of our community. Please don’t fear them. Please pass this resolution.”
The room erupted in applause.
The supervisors, caught off-guard by the blowback, quickly reintroduced, revised, voted and adopted the “Love” resolution.
Afterward, the Council Rock kids surrounded Szwajkos like an elder statesman, chatting and posing with him for pictures.
“I don’t think they (the supervisors) really understood what this sort of thing means to these kids, to us,” he said. “It means a lot.”
Columnist JD Mullane can be reached at 215-949-5745 or at jmullane@couriertimes.com.
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