A Long Way from Safe
by Richard J. Rosendall | July 17, 2008
Progress in America and Europe shouldn’t keep us from remembering that in many other countries the cause of gay rights is under siege—often violently. [read article]
What's New?
Obama and Gay Marriage
by Dale Carpenter | July 16, 2008
Obama's explanation for why he opposes both gay marriage and the proposed California amendment banning it can't be squared as a matter of logic. For all the hype about hope, Obama is still a calculating politician. [read article]
Obama’s California Contortion
by John Corvino | July 10, 2008
Barack Obama is against gay marriage, but he's also against California’s effort to overturn it. Reconciling those positions is a stretch, but it can be done. [read article]
Let Liberty Ring!
by Jennifer Vanasco | July 3, 2008
Independence Day is a good time to remember that the gay-rights movement, far from being radical, is an expression of America’s core value — the quest for liberty. [read article]
Unity, or Else What?
by Paul Varnell | June 27, 2008
Individualism is an essential element of gay culture—one which calls for ‘unity’ too often seek to stigmatize or suppress. [read article]
Diversity…or Divergence?
by Paul Varnell | June 23, 2008
The gay population is changing in ways that bridge ethnic, cultural, and racial divides. But other gaps—between gay men and lesbians, or gays and bisexuals—may grow. [read article]
Gay Marriage Is Good for America
by Jonathan Rauch | June 22, 2008
Retaining same-sex marriage in November's statewide constitutional initiative would benefit straight as well as gay Californians. [read article]
California's High-Stakes Gamble
by Dale Carpenter | June 21, 2008
The vote in November on whether to retain gay marriage in California could be a great leap forward or a devastating setback, but it won’t be less than momentous. [read article]
Patience, Please
by Richard J. Rosendall | June 21, 2008
The way to advance gay marriage now is by laying groundwork and telling our stories—not by filing lawsuits we’ll lose. [read article]
Defending Drag Queens
by John Corvino | June 15, 2008
It’s true that drag queens can reinforce gay stereotypes. But the answer is to combat the ignorance, not to condemn the drag. [read article]
What California Did
by Paul Varnell | June 10, 2008
Celebrate, yes. But the recent triumph of gay marriage in California will be a flash in the pan without a carefully thought-out campaign in November's initiative. [read article]
Gay Pride—Again? (Sigh)
by Paul Varnell | June 4, 2008
Gay pride parades aren’t altogether obsolete yet, but a stronger emphasis on community service would give us more to be proud of. [read article]
The Gay (Im)moralist?
by John Corvino | May 29, 2008
Believing in, and arguing for, a culture of responsibility isn’t the same as puritanism. To the contrary: healthy pleasure is a central moral value. [read article]
A Risk, Not Just a Right
by Jennifer Vanasco | May 27, 2008
We should celebrate marriage not just as an abstract civil right but as one of the bravest personal commitments most people ever make. [read article]
California’s Potential
by Dale Carpenter | May 22, 2008
Though unlikely to set off a legal avalanche, the California supreme court's recent ruling raises the bar for other states that prohibit gay couples from marrying. [read article]
Behind ‘Enemy’ Lines
by John Corvino | May 15, 2008
On a recent visit to Focus on the Family's Colorado headquarters, the author found fundamental disagreements, yes—but also opportunities for dialog. [read article]
Marriage Fretting on the Left
Posted on July 23, 2008
Over at The New Republic's "The Plank" blog, IGF contributing author James Kirchick cast a critical eye at Liberal Silliness on Gay Marriage, which includes those progressives who don't understand why gays want to get married because, in their enlightened view, marriage remains a sexist, racist, oppressive institution. Example: Courtney E. Martin, author of Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters: The Frightening New Normalcy of Hating Your Body, acknowledging that gay couples should have the same legal rights endowed by marriage, yet can't help but wonder:
"But do these rights really trump the woman-as-property history and discriminatory present (on a state by state basis, of course)? Why do so many of my gay friends have such faith that they can transform the institution when I'm still so unsure?"
Replies Jamie:
"I answer a resounding 'Yes' to the first question and don't much care about the second because I don't see how marriage needs to be 'transformed' other than that it should be opened to homosexuals.
Of course, his post elicits some typical responses from offended liberals, including this gem: "Fire Jamie Kirchick. Nobody likes him."
-- by Stephen H. Miller
It's Called Playing Hardball
Posted on July 22, 2008
Although John McCain became the certain GOP presidential nominee months ago, James Dobson, head of Focus on the Family, the richest and most powerful of religious right organizations, has refused to endorse him. And by refusing to offer McCain a free ride, he succeeded in pushing him to make concession after concession to social conservatives. That explains, in no small measure, McCain's initial response opposing adoptions by same-sex couples. Having achieved what he wanted, Dobson is now considering, at this late date, providing his endorsement.
In contrast, although Barack Obama opposes same-sex marriage, and for months failed to publicly express opposition to California's same-sex marriage-banning initiative (only doing so on July 1), as soon as he clinched the Democratic nomination he was unconditionally endorsed by the Human Rights Campaign and most other inside the beltway Democratic GLBT fundraising vehicles. And the amount of political capital Obama has pledged to spend on behalf of gay equality even when push comes to shove, as opposed to much feel-good political rhetoric, remains remarkably slim.
-- by Stephen H. Miller
Military Gay Ban to Crumble?
Posted on July 21, 2008
Majorities of Democrats, Republicans and independents alike now believe it is acceptable for openly gay people to serve in the U.S. armed forces, which they can not do under the military's don't ask, don't tell (DADT) policy, which congress passed (thanks to former Sen. Sam Nunn, Sen. Robert Byrd and others) and Bill Clinton signed into law.
A new Washington Post-ABC poll says 75% of Americans now support allowing gays in the military—compared to 44 percent in 1993. That support cuts across party identification to include a majority of Republicans. Even 57% of white evangelical Protestants now support allowing openly gay service members in the military.
Given the bigger majorities Democrats are certain to enjoy in the Congress that convenes in January 2009, failure to remove this discriminatory measure, which undermines America's ability to defend itself and wage the war on terrorism, is utterly unacceptable. But will a President Obama, coming into office with the poorest presidential relationship with the U.S. military brass since Bill Clinton, be willing to push for it?
-- by Stephen H. Miller
A Bit Late, McCain Realizes It's 2008
Posted on July 16, 2008
I've been traveling all week and will be on the road for another. Jon Rauch is also away, so blogging is going to remain skimpy for awhile. Still, I wanted to take note of the brouhaha over John McCain's thoughtless response to a question about gay adoption as reported in the New York Times:
Mr. McCain, who with his wife, Cindy, has an adopted daughter, said flatly that he opposed allowing gay couples to adopt. "I think that we’ve proven that both parents are important in the success of a family so, no, I don’t believe in gay adoption," he said.
And , after a stinging response from libertarians and limited government, big-tent conservatives (and, of less importance, LGBT Democratic activists), his campaign's statement to Andrew Sullivan revising and extending McCain's comments:
"McCain could have been clearer in the interview in stating that his position on gay adoption is that it is a state issue, just as he made it clear in the interview that marriage is a state issue. He was not endorsing any federal legislation.
McCain's expressed his personal preference for children to be raised by a mother and a father wherever possible. However, as an adoptive father himself, McCain believes children deserve loving and caring home environments, and he recognizes that there are many abandoned children who have yet to find homes. McCain believes that in those situations that caring parental figures are better for the child than the alternative."
(The New York Times story is here.)
McCain's "clarified" position remain intentionally mushy, and if his original intent was to placate the anti-gay religious right, he's now managed to tick them off all the more. But it does represent some sort of progress that he was made to realize his earlier position, which was entirely consistent with the GOP's traditional dismissal of gay citizens and gay voters, in 2008 will no longer fly.
-- by Stephen H. Miller
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