Change of Heart. The ACLU Lesbian & Gay Rights Project has found several former state legislators who voted for Florida's gay adoption ban 25 years ago, and who now wish to recant. Nine former Florida legislators - including a former Speaker of the State House of Representatives and a former President of the State Senate - have signed ACLU statements saying, "In 1977, we were among the state legislators who helped pass Florida's law prohibiting gay people from adopting children. We now realize that we were wrong. This discriminatory law prevents children from being adopted into loving, supportive homes - and we hope it will be overturned." This is reminiscent of a statement made by the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Lewis "throw in the towel" Powell, who - after retiring from the bench - publicly regretted his tie-splitting vote in favor of upholding state sodomy statutes which turn same-sex partners into criminals. If nothing else, these conversions show that, ultimately, hearts and minds can be changed - perhaps by seeing more of life than by any particular argument. Better late then never, I suppose.
No Change of Heart. One person who hasn't changed his views -- despite some misleading reports, is Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carolina. Last month, at a Christian conference called Prescription for Hope, he was moved to proclaim he was "so ashamed that I"ve done so little" about the AIDS pandemic, adding that "I have been too lax too long in doing something really significant about AIDS." Just what he thinks he ought to have done is a scary thought, given that the March 6 Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal reports that, when it asked whether he was recanting his past criticism of homosexuality, Helms was adamant that he was not. "I"d make myself sick if I did such a thing, because I don't have any idea of changing my views on that kind of activity," said the senator.
Many conservatives decry the fact that for years gay activists claimed, erroneously, that heterosexuals were equally at risk from AIDS. What's forgotten is that Helms and his cohorts had made it illegal for the government to fund any AIDS educational campaign that treated gay sex as anything less than an abomination - meaning that generalized message were the only ones that could be promoted. So, if Helm's is "ashamed" he did so little, but still hasn't changed his views about gays, what does he wish he could have done for (or to) us?
California Dreamin". As I predicted in my March
4 posting, Dick Riordan went down to defeat in California's
gubernatorial primary, bested by conservative Bill Simon Jr.
Riordan, a strong gay rights supporter, was thwarted by his
reputation as the ultimate Republican In Name Only -- with a
history of contributing to and endorsing liberal Democrats like
Gov. Gray Davis and Sen. Dianne Feinstein - whom he supported over
Log Cabin-endorsed Tom Campbell in 2000. How anti-Republican a
Republican was Riordan? Robert Novak writes in his March 7 column
that when he visited him shortly after his 1994 election as L.A.'s
mayor, Riordan "pointed with sardonic pride to a campaign button
bearing the letters RINO. ... That attitude led to the humiliating
end of Riordan's political career Tuesday."
But what to make of Bill Simon, a devout Catholic who has made
several pilgrimages to Lourdes? According to the March 7 Los
Angeles Times, Simon avoided discussing social issues in the
days following his primary victory - with one exception. He stated
he would have vetoed a bill that Davis signed last year expanding
domestic partnership rights. "I don't think it's appropriate for
the government to enter into legislation that has to do with sexual
orientation," Simon said. Not a promising sign. To reiterate, the
long-term strategy is to find (or convert) Republicans who are in
tune with the party's base on a number of issues (school choice,
gun ownership) but who understand that the right to live free of
discrimination perpetuated by your own government - which includes
the right to have your spousal relationships legal recognized - is
on a par with these liberties.