Both the liberal New York
Times
and the conservative Christian Focus on the
Family
predict the Supreme Court will strike down same-sex sodomy laws,
but not statutes that apply to both same-sex and opposite-sex
sodomy. Four states, including Texas, specify that only same-sex
couples are forbidden to engage in these acts while heterosexuals
are free to do so. Nine other states forbid "deviant" sexual
practices whether engaged in by straight or gay couples.
While it would be best if all bedroom laws regarding private, adult consensual sex were found constitutionally impermissible, I'm not in the camp that sees striking down only the same-sex laws as a setback. Extending the principle that, under the constitution's equal protection guarantees, gays can't be singled out for special discrimination without a rational, or perhaps even a compelling, reason to do so would take us further along the road toward true equality under the law. It would even provide justification for overturning the remaining sodomy statutes state by state if it could be shown that, in practice, they are only used against gays. So while conservatives would claim getting rid of the laws in just four states as a partial victory, it could lay the groundwork for the ultimate defeat of all laws that relegate gays to the status of second-class citizens.
Why I Support School Choice.
A chilling case from Arkansas on what can happen when public school teachers and administrators are bigots. After 14-year old Thomas McLaughlin of Jacksonville, Arkansas was overheard telling a fellow student he was gay, administrators called his mother. An assistant principal then made him read aloud a Bible passage condemning homosexuality. Here are the local reports from the Arkansas Times and the North Pulaski Leader (yes, it's also all over the gay press, and in the New York Times).
A personal aside: As a kid in Ohio in the early sixties, a teacher once demanded that I eat bread during Passover before letting me leave the lunchroom, while all the other teachers -- including my own -- sat at the teacher's lunch table, averting their eyes to this scene. So I know a little something about public school bigotry.
Good for Me, But Not for Thee.
Norah Vincent, a past IGF contributing author, weighs in on why
the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation is wrong to try
to silence TV host Michael Savage. The title of her L.A. Times
column:
'Rights Just for Us': The Gay Left's Self-Serving Agenda. She
writes:
GLAAD's Web site is a classic display of the gay left's endemic schizophrenia and myopic selfishness. At the top of the page, the group urges constituents to agitate... on behalf of gay rights to privacy. Immediately below, it applauds its own devious attempt to deny Savage his right to free speech.
Hardcore!
Fantasy Island?
The Advocate has an article about travel
to Cuba
which, strangely enough, encourages readers to visit the country
"before it becomes like every other tourist destination" (i.e.,
before it's freed from Castro's tyranny).