The issue is complicated and controversial, and conversations are often deeply personal. What one person finds offensive, another person might find meaningful. Perspective matters, and we gain a better understanding of another’s perspective when we talk open and honestly with each other about what we value.
This guide is written for a group to use in a deliberative forum facilitated by a neutral moderator. The guide includes three approaches to the issue, but they are meant to prompt, not limit, discussion.
We hope everyone who attends a forum finds a voice that matches their own, and if forum participants hold diverse perspectives, the deliberation will be rich and meaningful.
The purpose of the forum is not to change your mind about how you feel about the issue.
Rather, we hope that by the end of the forum you understand better why someone who has a different perspective sees the issue that way. If we listen closely enough, we might find some common ground for action.