If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
The Blog
My own fears were not about the people I loved rejecting me. They were all fears about those outside of my immediate circle of trust and love.... In naming and befriending my fears, their power to confine and define me was deflated.
As the Washington Post pointed out, you can be a gun-rights activist in the old Dominion and get a judgeship in Virginia, but you can't be a gay rights advocate and get approved by the the same assembly in Richmond.
Obama's position on marriage equality changes the policy debate on this issue, probably permanently. Not only is it good to see that the president supports equality for all Americans, but Obama's statement throws down a challenge for future bigots and enshrines marriage equality as the Democratic position.
There are panoply of reasons to back the reelection of President Obama and oppose Mitt Romney, but last week provided one of the starkest contrasts be...
We are fighting in court to overturn DOMA and assure that gay and lesbian married military couples receive the same benefits from the Pentagon and the Department of Veterans Affairs that their married straight comrades take for granted.
The president's statement certainly qualifies as his "profile in courage" moment. To take on one of the hot-button social issues less than 24 hours after North Carolina voted in opposition of same-sex marriage was indeed courageous.
While many were rightly cheering President Obama's statement and what it will do to advance fairness and equal treatment under the law for all Americans, the U.S. House of Representatives was busy trying to score cheap political points at the expense of gay and lesbian couples.
I personally haven't "just concluded" that gay and lesbian Americans should be treated fairly and equally. I concluded this a very long time ago, when the most loved person in the world to my wife and myself, our young son, told us that he was gay.
Considering what is happening to the Republican party today, Gerald Ford couldn't win a primary in his old congressional district.
While repealing "don't ask, don't tell" was of course a step in the right direction, our military and political leaders failed to complete the journey, leaving gay and lesbian soldiers unprotected from anti-gay discrimination and abuse.
A single question will structure forthcoming, gay-themed military documentaries: do straight soldiers, who may or may not be homophobic, and whose disdain for open declarations of gay identities may or may not have religious roots, need to alter their beliefs and become pro-queer?
I have many differences with Romney, as well as Obama -- but today, Romney gets a salute from me for hiring Richard Grenell.
Last Saturday, April 14, 2012, I came across a troubling post in one of the groups I belong to on Facebook. A soldier in the United States military wrote, "I was just shoved across the dance floor by my command sergeant major for being gay...lovely end to my active duty career."
Although Brandon and I live in Washington State, which now has marriage equality, if we were to marry the certificate would carry no value when presented at my post. Simply because of our sexual orientation, my marriage would go unrecognized.
Repeal of DADT was a monumental achievement, but it did not level the playing field for gay and lesbian service members, veterans, and their families. It's time to end these discriminatory laws, finish the job, and honor all military families.
