I will admit that I am impatient by nature and like immediate results as opposed to a slow steady progress approach - especially on gay rights issues. I am also pretty direct by nature - as you may have guessed from some of my commentary - and I agree that it is time for our supposed political allies to deliver. On the issue of gay rights, my desire for action my stem in part from my many years in the closet and my desire to see needed changes in my lifetime. In addition, changes in federal legislation are critical for those of us living in backward states still largely controlled by politicians with a Christianist mindset. The issues I want resolved are the following: (1) hate crimes based on sexual orientation, (2) an employment anti-discrimination act including sexual orientation, (3) a repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” and (4) same-sex marriage/domestic partnerships.
With the upcoming Democrat debate on gay issues hosted by HRC and Logo, Newsweek has two articles worth checking out. Are they wonderful articles? No, but at least they are appearing in a widely circulated national magazine, thereby hopefully causing potential straight allies to understand why these laws are needed. Here are the links: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20124556/site/newsweek/ and http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20121789/site/newsweek/ Here are a few highlights:
Aug. 5, 2007 - In a crowded primary field, every vote counts. So it’s probably not surprising that six of the eight Democratic presidential contenders for 2008 plan to participate in the first debate devoted entirely to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues on Aug. 9 in Los Angeles. (Senators Joe Biden and Chris Dodd declined to attend, citing scheduling conflicts) Still, the event’s sponsors, the Human Rights Campaign and Viacom’s Logo cable TV network, are touting the event as an historic opportunity for the gay community to raise its issues on a national stage. The forum, moderated by Margaret Carlson of Bloomberg News, will run from 9-11 p.m. ET on Logo and Logo.com. (The sponsors say they invited GOP candidates to participate in their own gay debate, but that none signed on.)
While gay and lesbian voters have largely been a reliable voting bloc for Democrats at least since the ‘80s, some activists say their community is taken for granted by the party. Privately, political strategists say candidates walk a fine line between being progressive on gay issues and possibly alienating some conservative voters, including some Democrats. NEWSWEEK’s Kendyl Salcito spoke with John D’Emilio, a historian of gay history and professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, about the upcoming event. Excerpts:
Only about four percent of the voting population is gay. Is the focus of a “gay debate” too narrow? Well, four percent self-identified as gay or lesbian or bisexual. There are two points to make about that. First, there are still people who won’t self-identify, so the figure is probably a little bigger—maybe six percent. And we know that the six percent is not equally distributed around the country. Urban areas are more likely to have a higher percentage than rural ones. You’re going to have larger populations in the state of Massachusetts than you’re going to have in North Dakota. So in some states this forum might make a bigger difference than in others.
