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It’s A Mixed Up, Muddled Up World of Gay Rights and Wrongs
Here’s an idea. Let’s make Larry Craig ambassador to
Iran. According to Iranian President Ahmadinejad, there are no homosexuals
in Iran, so Craig would fit right in. Of course, if he got caught playing
footsie in a men’s room there, the senator from Idaho would risk being
executed—which is the only reason Ahmadinejad can cite a dearth of gay
people in his country.
As Jon Stewart noted on The Daily Show, there really isn’t
much difference between the population of Iran and America’s political
conservatives. Neither have any homosexuals—“just a lot of dudes who
like f—ing other dudes.”
It is with a mixture of grins and groans that many of us
greet the recurring stories of officials who are so fearful of the
public’s reaction to their sexual orientation that they remain locked up
in their closets until they wind up in the wrong restroom at the wrong
time. We may feel empathy with these politicians because so many of us
have experienced our own embarrassing sexual encounters or sexual
peccadilloes, and almost all gay people can sympathize because we
appreciate how difficult it is to come clean of the closet even in the
best of situations. Many of us also don’t believe that law enforcement
agencies should waste taxpayer money staking out public lavatories in
hopes of finding a stray Republican.
But even if the law called off its dogs, you can be pretty
sure that most of these guys would be hounded into reality sooner or later
(think ex-Rep. Mark Foley). In addition to their secretive quests for a
sex life, they have to contend with a growing legion of frustrated gay
journalists who are quite willing and able to force them out. It would be
easier to oppose such public outings were it not the case that many of the
homosexual politicians in hiding are so self-loathing that they crusade
for legislation and support policies to deny their fellow/sister GLBT
people an equitable place in society. It’s one thing to hide, another to
deride.
Take the case of Florida Republican State Representative Bob
Allen. Just weeks before Larry Craig’s arrest, Allen was nabbed in a
restroom at a park in his hometown of Titusville and charged with offering
$20 to an undercover male officer for oral sex. Investigators said Allen
went in and out of the restroom repeatedly before approaching the officer.
Allen, who is fighting the charge, has said that he is not
gay and was simply checking on a facility his leadership as a legislator
helped construct. (That’s about as probable as Craig’s contention that
he was reaching under the lavatory stall to pick up a scrap of discarded
toilet paper.) Allen has been a strong opponent of gay rights, which has
helped earn him a commendation by the Christian Coalition for supporting
its views 92 percent of the time. In a recent session of the Florida
legislature he actually sponsored a failed bill that would have tightened
the state’s prohibition on public sex. (Don’t you just love irony?) He
also has supported amending the state constitution to ban same-sex
marriage and has opposed a bill to curb harassment of gay students. Until
his arrest Allen was a co-chair of Sen. John McCain’s presidential
campaign in Florida; he has since resigned the role.
From what several online blogs are saying, we can expect two
more Republican senators and at least as many GOP congressmen to be
formally outed very soon. (If you want names and some juicy details, visit
the Pensito Review website, which is already pouncing.)
Clearly, there is a big problem of hypocrisy within the ranks
of elected Republican officials. No wonder their presidential candidates
all declined to partake of a recent forum on gay-related issues proposed
by the Human Rights Campaign. Of course, the major GOP candidates also
failed to find time in their busy fundraising schedules to appear at
recent debates sponsored by black and Hispanic groups, so I don’t feel
too bad about the way they stood up the gay community.
When it comes to gay rights, it’s definitely “a mixed up,
muddled up, shook up world,” as Ray Davies sang in his lyrics for The
Kinks’ song “Lola.”
Whereas in the United States (the so-called leader of the
free world) it often seems like gay issues take a step backwards for
almost every move forward, significant advances are being made in some
surprising locations around the globe. While the Commonwealth of Virginia
continues to be almost as regressive as Iran, enacting law after law to
deny the rights and even the existence of gay people, numerous Latin and
South American countries (places many U.S. residents regard as backwater
“Third World” lands) are showing their sophistication by making major
inroads on gay equality.
Perhaps most impressive is Colombia, where the Constitutional
(Supreme) Court in February granted same-sex couples who have lived
together at least two years most of the same rights to inheritance,
social-security benefits and spousal medical benefits as married couples,
pushing the traditionally conservative Catholic nation into the forefront
of the gay rights movement in Latin America. The Colombian Congress has
followed the ruling with similar legislation, endorsed by President
Alavaro Uribe, who is a close ally of our President Bush.
Can you imagine Virginia (or most any state south of New
England) being so fair-minded and progressive?
While Colombia may be the most notable, plenty more of our
southern neighbors are making strong strides.
According to a recent listing by The San Francisco Chronicle,
Mexico City now recognizes inheritance and some pension rights, while
same-sex civil unions are legal in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila.
The southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul and the Argentine
province of Rio Negro have also legalized same-sex civil unions.
The huge Brazilian city of Sao Paulo allows same-sex couples
to adopt children, while Rio de Janeiro grants public employees who are in
stable same-sex relationships the same rights as married civil servants.
Buenos Aires, Argentina grants same-sex couples the right to enter into
civil unions and receive social security and inheritance rights.
Throughout much of the rest of the world, more and more
countries—from South Africa to Catholic-dominated Spain—have legalized
gay marriage and domestic partnerships.
Now, if we could just get such backwards lands as Iran and
the United States to start catching up.
Bill Sievert can be reached at billsievert@earthlink.net.
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