Gay Democrats' New Visibility

While little has changed in the GOP political world for gay Americans - we are still viewed and treated as a threat to morality and even Western civilization - it has been nothing short of a revolution for gays involved in Democratic political circles.  This bold new world was highly visible at the just ended Democratic convention in Charlotte.  Even in Virginia (hardly a state in the forefront of anything progressive) one can see the change and the boyfriend and I have often been sought out to be on host committees as an openly gay couple.   I'm sure that in local GOP circles that include anti-gay bigots like Scott Rigell, George Allen and Ken "Kookinelli" Cuccinelli we'd be directed to hide our unfortunate "lifestyle choice" assuming we were self-loathing enough to support a political party that seeks to stigmatize us and keep us legally inferior.  A piece in the New York Times looks at the new world of Democratic political activism.  Here are excerpts:

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After years of struggling for attention and recognition from the nation’s political parties, gays and lesbians have catapulted to the forefront of the Democratic convention here, prominent on the stage, in speeches, in the platform and at parties that go on after the proceedings have finished.

The turnaround has surprised even gay leaders, who just four years ago were frustrated in their attempt to get same-sex marriage mentioned in prime time. Many spent the first two years of the Obama presidency criticizing President Obama for failing to move to fulfill a campaign promise to eliminate the ban on gays serving openly in the military. 

Eric Marcus, an author who has written extensively about gay history, said: “I used to think I was bold in being as out as I am, but now I feel like our straight supporters have zoomed past me in their enthusiasm and their out-ness about being pro-gay. They’re actually wearing their pro-gay agenda as a badge of honor. What a transformed world from my youth.” 

One of the Democrats’ first acts was adopting a party platform that for the first time endorsed same-sex marriage. Gay rights — whether they be same-sex marriage, the lifting of the ban on gays in the military, or anti-discrimination measures — have been mentioned in nearly every speech, including one by Michelle Obama.

The higher profile of gays extended beyond the arena. It was not uncommon to see same-sex couples walking hand in hand down Tryon Street, in the heart of Uptown. Parties sponsored by gay and lesbian groups have become as sought after as the ones sponsored by Google and by the Illinois delegation. 

The contrast with the Republican convention last week in Florida was striking. In Tampa, there were no openly gay people speaking from the stage, and minimal discussion of gay issues, though there were small contingents of gay delegates and celebrations in more obscure venues. That said, gay delegates there noted that unlike past conventions, there was no chorus of attacks on gay rights from the stage. 

There's much more in the article, but the highlights above make the point: with the younger up and coming generations supporting LGBT rights and same sex marriage by large majorities, the Democrats seem to have eagerly grasps the future whereas the GOP remains mired in trying to recreate a past that in many ways never really existed.  By focusing almost solely on the demands of angry white conservatives (many of whom will have literally have died off in a little more than a decade, the GOP to me seems to have a death wish.