In issue 19
Making Politics Gay Again
SAY ANYTHING
The rightwing nuts will do whatever must be done to keep us from getting married and joining the military, from the ridiculous ramblings and misinterpreted twists on what really happened to the people the actors in the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) “Gathering Storm” video are playing to the even crazier ramblings of Rep. Michele Bachmann’s (R-Minnesota) and her pro-family (anti-gay), pro-liberty (anti-Obama reeducation camps) and pro-gun (“I want people armed and dangerous”) creationist agenda. Some of the most ridiculous statements made in the defense of national defense and tradition come from Traditional Values Coalition’s Louis Sheldon and Andrea Lafferty, who think the Military Readiness Enhancement Act of 2009 should be renamed Legalization Of Sodomy On The Battlefield And Barracks Act. The MREA was introduced to eliminate the ban on gays and lesbians serving in the military, but Sheldon and Lafferty see it differently. According to them the bill will result in “unrestrained drug and sex antics committed by young male homosexuals,” barebacking parties “and other forms of homosexual orgies.” Have they been looking into a crystal ball or reading back issues of gay military porn fetish magazines? As a man who spent my teens and early twenties on military bases, I can tell you… Never mind, this isn’t that kind of magazine. In spite of these people, recent legislative victories toward equal marriage and hate crime legislation appears to be proving them impotent.
HOME OF THE DEPRAVED
Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Florida 23rd District) highlighted just how far, and how inappropriate, some people’s opposition to protecting the rights of LGBT people can be. In a speech on the House floor Rep. Hastings read a dirty laundry list of confusing, titillating and some disgusting sex acts (I think they’re disgusting – I’ll let you know when I find out what they are) that were considered for amendment to anti-discrimination legislation being discussed in the Rules Committee. Some of those that would not be protected include: “apotemnophilia, asphyxophilia, autogynephilia, coprophilia,…kleptophilia, klismaphilia, necrophilia, partialism, … telephone scatalogia, toucherism, … or zoophilia.” While calling out the childishness of those who spent a lot of time in the library and on the internets to come up with this list, Hastings clearly seemed to think the proposed amendments and their authors showed clear disregard for equality and the seriousness of the debate. The hate crimes legislation being discussed did not specifically provide protections for LGBT people, but Hastings’ statement sure seemed to show he stands on the right side of the argument.
WE CONVERTED SPECTER
Well, we did it backwards the first time. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pennsylvania) was a Democrat until he was lured away from the party in 1965. Specter apparently made enemies when he prosecuted magistrates that allegedly extorted money from men arrested in vice squad stings. In a C-Span interview Specter said, “They went after gays… the vice squad would go and arrest them and take them before magistrates who would extort large sums of money to discharge them or then if they didn’t pay off, to hold them…” The man’s moral compass was pointed in the right direction then; we’ll see what direction his recent switch to the Democratic Party brings. If Al Franken succeeds in his ongoing bid for Minnesota’s Senate seat, as it appears he will, Democrats will hold the all-powerful 60-seat majority, which will be like the three Rings of Power coming together for President Obama. Or not.
OUTRAGE
I have been eagerly anticipating the release of the movie Outrage since it was announced on Mike Rogers’ BlogActive.com. The film debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival nearly two weeks ago and appears to contain some real bombshells. Rogers, who brought us the outings of such gay-loving Republicans as Reps. Ed Schrock, David Dreier, James McCrery, Mark Foley, Sen. Larry Craig and a whole cast of staffers, makes an appearance in the film. According to a report following the film festival, the movie outs “the current governor of a major U.S. southern state, the campaign manager of a U.S. president, a senior West Coast congressman, a former mayor of New York City…” Rogers’ web site suggests the movie effectively outs our own governor, Charlie Crist, as well as former New York Mayor Ed Koch. I wonder, what will this mean for Crist’s potential Senate bid? Some reviews of the movie suggest that much of the information revealed has been known and is merely a regurgitation of internet rumors, while others laud it for calling out the hypocrisy of people who are gay and use their office to deny LGBT people their rights. I can’t wait to see it for myself and I encourage you to do the same.
