I am often asked why we chose to retire in Baton Rouge. The short answer is that Baton Rouge is a wonderful community of good and kind people, great culture, fantastic food, rich history and Southern hospitality. Having traveled in 90 countries and all 50 states, we realize how very fortunate we are to call Louisiana our home.

A coach must constantly stress to his team, “Do not let being good stop you from being better.” That certainly is applicable to our fine city, too. To make our city better, we must understand that community involvement is imperative to make a successful community. When we come together and put aside petty differences, the results are astounding. If we react and respond, we can solve any problem.

Now, I ask you to act. Shreveport, Jackson, Mississippi and others have adopted nondiscrimination ordinances prohibiting discrimination of any person based on race, creed or sexual orientation. However, since 2008, our city has been unable to pass a simple resolution such as the One Baton Rouge Resolution, which was to go on the city’s website and proclaim we are an open and welcoming city. So the bottleneck appears to be the traditional inertia, resistance to change and the attitude of “it’s always been done that way” that is holding us back.

Mankind has never advanced a centimeter by being bigoted, fighting, hating and killing. The only notable advancement we have ever made is by being brothers and sisters at labor toward a common goal and recognizing that the best potential of me is we.

There might be some who wonder why I would write this letter. My answer would come through a quote by Martin Luther King Jr. when he said, “Many voices and forces urge us to choose the path of least resistance and bid us never to fight for an unpopular cause.”

Please let the Baton Rouge Metro Council know that you care that all of God’s children should be treated with dignity.