Alice Hoglan has been relatively silent on political issues for the last six months. That’s not unusual for the self-described “apolitical” person.

But the six-month anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that sent planes crashing into New York’s World Trade Center, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and a field east of Pittsburgh has made her want to be more visible and vocal.

It was the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania that placed the tragedies of Sept. 11 squarely in her lap. Her son, Mark Bingham, was among the group of passengers credited with challenging the terrorists who took over that plane and diverting it from its intended target.

“I am really proud that Mark was involved,” she said, beaming, eyes glistening. Hoglan was in Washington. D.C. March 9 meeting with representatives of the Human Rights Campaign before going to the White House for the six-month anniversary of the terrorist attacks.

On Sept. 11, and on the day 10 years earlier when her son told her he was gay, she said she experienced similar emotions.

“There were certainly parallels in the announcement that he was gay and the phone call to tell me that his plane had been hijacked,” Hoglan said.

“He came out to me in 1991. He was in college at Berkeley. He invited me to go out for the day so we took a drive up to wine country and he told me that he had a new roommate.

“I didn’t think much of it. We enjoyed our time together. Then, at the end of the day when the sun was streaming through the windshield on our faces, he said, ‘Mom, there’s something I wanted to tell you before the sun went down.’ He said, ‘Mom, I’m gay.’

“At first I was shocked. Then we talked for awhile and I realized how important it was to him that I react in a way that showed support for him,” Hoglan said.

“When he called that day (Sept. 11), he said, ‘Mom, this is Mark Bingham. Our plane has been hijacked.’ Because I love my son, I did not want him to see how negatively I took that news. I had to show him that I love him and could support him.”

Moments later the phone disconnected.

Hoglan is looking beyond the six-month anniversary of her son’s death at what she can do to make a difference.

“It was pretty easy for me to get past the shocking news (that he was gay) because I love my son. It was not difficult to make the transition into being supportive of gay issues,” she said. Hoglan plans to take a more active role to learn about the advocacy work for equal rights for gay Americans via the Human Rights Campaign.

“One of the things I want to do is start this journey to talk with other mothers who are grappling with hearing this news. I want to tell them to love their children and embrace them, let their love be unconditional and celebrate them,” she said.

“I want to talk about gay issues because I lost Mark.”

And because she is a flight attendant, Hoglan plans to become more active and vocal on issues of airline safety.

She has not spoken out until now because she wanted to learn more in order to discuss issues intelligently.

“I want to be credible, cogent and correct when I speak, so I’ve erred on the side of being conservative,” Hoglan said.

She is critical of measures taken by the Federal Aviation Administration and the airline industry to improve security. She said the industry must be more consistent in screening all passengers and all bags in order to be effective. Random searches only give the public the impression that air travel is safer.

“That perception is dangerous,” Hoglan said.

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