In a silent moment at last night’s Whitefish Council meeting after Mayor John Muhlfeld called for a final consent vote on the non-discrimination ordinance protecting LGBT civil rights in our community, all hands rose high in approval.

There was no debate, no argument, no angry voices and no shouts or cheers of support. Just that moment of sacred silence that confirmed our city’s conviction that we all be treated equally under the law and reaffirming our allegiance to the Constitution’s Bill of Rights.

I am so proud of our town and of our city council members for their commitment to these principles and grateful to the many citizens who supported this proposal over the past year.

On a personal level, I am most proud to live in a community that announces:

“You are welcome here —

Whatever the faiths you have known, or the flags of your heritage —

Whoever you are, whatever the circumstances of your life and whomever you love —

And, whether you ran in here on little feet today, or walked in briskly, or ambled or rolled in —

Whether you agree or disagree, have doubts or certainties, lean left or right or like the middle —

You are welcome here.”

— Ina Albert, Whitefish