Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan must choose today whether he is on the side of tolerance and compassion or on the side of discrimination and hate.

Hundreds of people who spent long hours packing Anchorage Assembly meetings this summer to argue about a proposal to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation are taking their cases to Mayor Dan Sullivan.

Sullivan's deadline arrives today for deciding if he will veto the compromise ordinance passed by a 7-4 Assembly vote last week. If he does veto, the Assembly would need an eighth vote to make the ordinance become law over the mayor's opposition.

"He's getting inundated" with e-mails and phone calls, the mayor's spokeswoman, Sarah Erkmann, said Sunday.

Most are urging a veto, perhaps by as much as a 4-to-1 ratio, Erkmann said.

The Anchorage Baptist Temple's Rev. Jerry Prevo, an ardent longtime opponent of the new ordinance and similar proposals over the past 30 years, provided a link to the mayor's e-mail address from the church's Web page and a related one for SOS Anchorage, an organization he formed several weeks ago to oppose the measure.

"It is important that you let the mayor know what you would like for him to do," Prevo's Web message says. "Some of you may have already sent an e-mail, but if (you) have not sent one to the e-mail address below, please do so right away and encourage all of your friends to do likewise."

I have said this before, but it bears repeating, this first vote by Dan Sullivan will determine his chances of being re-elected when his term comes to an end. A vote against this ordinance will send a strong message to the voters that Sullivan is controlled by the wishes of Jerry Prevo and his hate filled church, and does not give a shit about the wishes of the people of Anchorage. Remember that the majority of those red shirted sign holders outside of Loussac Library were bussed in from outside of Anchorage.

Jerry Prevo has long stood against the rights of anybody who does not think like he does, or hate like he does. His homophobic rantings are a disgrace to the real Christians in our community.

If Sullivan vetoes this bill it will end up on a ballot, and the people of Anchorage WILL get the chance to vote on it. When that happens Sullivan will see how easily it passes and that will be an indication of how the vote will go against him in the next Mayoral election.

The people of the LGBT community have been discriminated against for too long and it is time to provide them the same protections afforded to the rest of the citizens of Anchorage.

If you are a citizen of Anchorage and want to let the Mayor know how you feel, you can contact his office here.