First published on May 7, 2004, in the Chicago Free Press.
In the middle of April, Vice President Dick Cheney addressed the National Rifle Association to endorse preservation of the Second Amendment, which asserts - in case you've forgotten - "the right of the people to keep and bear arms."
Even before Cheney had spoken a word, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation rushed to issue a press release pointing to what it said was an inconsistency in the Bush administration's position: "As the administration appears to support the Second Amendment, on the one hand, it is attempting to deface the Constitution by promoting an anti-gay Federal Marriage Amendment on the other hand, forever enshrining second-class citizen status for LGBT people."
Fair enough. Wanting to preserve a constitutional right does not seem quite consistent with wanting to add an amendment to inhibit a right. But GLAAD did not stop there. It went on to quote spokespeople for various gay groups attacking the NRA, firearms, and firearm ownership. For instance:
- Gay Men of African Descent: "The NRA and its members represent the devaluation of human life on a number of levels. The organization perpetuates a culture of violence that in no small way affects vulnerable communities (i.e., communities of color and the LGBT community)."
- Mano A Mano: "It sends a very clear message to those that would suffer under the policies that the NRA advocates that this administration does not care about us or the issues that daily (affect) our lives."
- The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs: "Firearms are America's true 'weapons of mass destruction.'...Firearms are increasingly used in anti-LGBT hate crimes and have long been the scourge of urban and other communities."
GLAAD itself does not argue that guns and gun-ownership are bad. But by quoting exclusively and extensively the anti-gun positions of other groups, GLAAD clearly indicates which side it is on. And thereby it also demonstrates that it is not really worried about inconsistencies.
Each of the groups GLAAD quotes seem to believe personal gun ownership should be banned or regulated into meaninglessness - negating the Second Amendment - but the Constitution should not ban gays from marrying. In other words, they are saying that it is right to be inconsistent but the administration has the wrong inconsistency.
So GLAAD is not being honest here. If it were really concerned about inconsistency, the way to remove the inconsistency is to say, "Yes, we fully support people's right to own guns and we support the right of gays to marry. We don't want to take away rights from anybody and neither should the administration." Did GLAAD breathe a word of that? Not a peep.
But there are quite a number of gays and lesbians who hold exactly that view. Among them, the libertarian Gays and Lesbians for Individual Liberty, most Log Cabin Republican clubs, and, most conspicuously, the members of the more than 40 Pink Pistols clubs - gays and lesbians who meet regularly to train in firearm use and practice target shooting. Did GLAAD quote any of them? Don't be silly.
Since its inception GLAAD has demanded "fair, accurate and inclusive" coverage of gays from the mainstream media. But GLAAD seems to feel itself under no obligation to be "fair, accurate and inclusive." It is perfectly willing to promote a highly distorted impression of the range of opinion in the gay community, perfectly willing to include and exclude according to its preference. How convenient.
When I asked GLAAD about their one-sided approach their reply was, more or less, that they included the groups they wanted to include and they can do whatever they want, thank you very much, good-bye.
But it is a great shame that GLAAD rejected an excellent opportunity to show the large number of Americans who support personal gun ownership that gays are not their enemy, that we share their concern for personal rights, and that just as our regard for consistency leads us to support their rights the same regard for consistency could lead them to support ours as well as their own.
And, of course, GLAAD could also have made the excellent point that some gays not only support gun ownership out of a regard for philosophical consistency but own guns themselves out of a concern for personal safety or because, like other gun owners, they find target shooting enjoyable recreation.
But no. GLAAD knows how to create and reinforce divisions, not break them down. It knows how to make enemies. It does not know how to reach out and make new friends, though we certainly need some at this point.
It is striking that GLAAD, here as so often, portrays gays only as victims, unable or unwilling to take measures to prevent physical assaults, instead of men and women capable of taking responsibility for their own safety and doing something proactive to protect themselves. So GLAAD certainly knows how to promote outdated stereotypes about gays.
And, of course, send welcome news to gay bashers.