Do Americans prefer gay men and lesbians to homosexuals?

5 comments February 12th, 2010

 

A recent poll suggests that some folks seem not to understand that “gay” and “homosexual” are synonymous terms.

Read about it HERE.

The curious case of the attack dogs that didn’t bark

5 comments February 7th, 2010

 

Frank Rich TAKES NOTICE of the generally muted response by right-wingers to a declaration by Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that gays should be allowed to serve openly in the U.S. military.

An excerpt:

As more gay people have come out — a process that accelerated once the modern gay rights movement emerged from the Stonewall riots of 1969 — so more heterosexuals have learned that they have gay relatives, friends, neighbors, teachers and co-workers. It is hard to deny our own fundamental rights to those we know, admire and love.

But that’s not the whole explanation for the scant pushback in Washington to Mullen and his partner in change, Defense Secretary Robert Gates. There is also a potent political subtext. To a degree unimaginable as recently as 2004 — when Karl Rove and George W. Bush ran a national campaign exploiting fear of gay people — there is now little political advantage to spewing homophobia. Indeed, anti-gay animus is far more likely to repel voters than attract them.

Pro-family guy wants homosexuality outlawed

3 comments February 3rd, 2010

 

Peter Sprigg, senior fellow for policy studies at the Family Research Council, SAYS gay behavior should be a crime.

I probably should mention that this guy also is an ordained minister, which means he’s on the side of Jesus in this matter. And we all know what Jesus said about homosexuality: nothing, zip, zilch, nada, zero.

UPDATE: In a related matter, Colin Powell SAYS he’s in favor of repealing the don’t-ask-don’t-tell policy regarding gays in the military.

Cindy McCain boldly differs with hubby on gay marriage

17 comments January 21st, 2010

 

Politics, as they say, makes strange bedfellows.

And such seems to be the case with John and Cindy McCain. He’s against gay marriage, and she is CONSPICUOUSLY campaigning for its legalization (as in the poster photo above).

By the way, “NOH8″ is a symbol meaning “No Hate” and expressing opposition to California’s Proposition 8, which bans gay marriage.

The conservative case for gay marriage

3 comments January 12th, 2010

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   Ted Olson, who served as solicitor general in the Bush administration, SAYS right-wing arguments against gay marriage are antithetical to conservative values.

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   An excerpt:

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   Many of my fellow conservatives have an almost knee-jerk hostility toward gay marriage. This does not make sense, because same-sex unions promote the values conservatives prize. Marriage is one of the basic building blocks of our neighborhoods and our nation. At its best, it is a stable bond between two individuals who work to create a loving household and a social and economic partnership. We encourage couples to marry because the commitments they make to one another provide benefits not only to themselves but also to their families and communities. Marriage requires thinking beyond one’s own needs. It transforms two individuals into a union based on shared aspirations, and in doing so establishes a formal investment in the well-being of society. The fact that individuals who happen to be gay want to share in this vital social institution is evidence that conservative ideals enjoy widespread acceptance. Conservatives should celebrate this, rather than lament it.

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   UPDATE: It says HERE that divorce rates are higher in states that have banned gay marriage.

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Satirical spin on protecting institution of marriage

4 comments January 3rd, 2010

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It’s been a decade of dramatic gains for gay rights

3 comments December 16th, 2009

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   While progress toward equal rights for homosexuals may seem painfully slow for the individuals and families most directly affected, there’s no denying that the situation is far better than it was just 10 years ago, as Sarah Netter of ABC News notes HERE.

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   An excerpt:

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   When the last decade ended, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community was still reeling from a series of early gay marriage defeats and the beating death of Matthew Shepard, a Wyoming college student targeted because he was gay.

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   Now, gay Americans can marry in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, Iowa and — starting on Jan. 1 — New Hampshire. Various incarnations of legal unions short of marriage are recognized in several other states.

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   “When you’re being denied your equality, nothing short of full equality is good enough. And so, it is hard to be patient,” [activist Jennifer] Chrisler said. “Having said that, we are so much further than we were 10 years ago. And even five years ago, when we thought things were so hard.”

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Homophobes are a dying breed

2 comments November 6th, 2009

 

 As we’ve pointed out here before, opposition to gay marriage is much more common among older Americans than younger folks.

 Eventually, then, most of the homophobes will just die off.

 HERE’s a chart that dramatizes the demographic gulf on the issue.