Cathy Young, writing in the Boston Globe, takes a look at how "Antigay Bigotry Is Tainting the GOP." Of Gerald Allen, a Republican representative in Alabama's legislature who wants to ban books with gay content from his state's public libraries, suggesting "we dig a big hole and dump them in and bury them," Young comments, "If this guy didn't exist, a left-wing journalist would have to invent him as a walking stereotype of a 'red-state' bigot."
Of attempts by right-wingers to roll back domestic partner
benefits, Young writes:
The attempt to legalize same-sex marriage through judicial fiat and civil disobedience was, it is increasingly clear, a bad idea. However, if conservatives want to show that it's possible to be against same-sex marriage but also against intolerance and discrimination, they're not doing a very good job so far.
Both the left and the right have their contingents of haters,
and if I don't cover the rapid-right extremists in the GOP as often
as some would like, it's because that's about all that
most "mainstream" gay news websites do cover. The truth is, the
rational right plays a vital role in this country, keeping the left
from going too far with its hubris for social engineering. But
trusting either the left or the right to defend the full range of
individual liberties and personal freedoms is a dubious
proposition, which is why gay engagement with and participation in
conservative circles, even when not welcomed with opened arms,
remains so necessary.
--Stephen H. Miller
Update: For a humor break, read "Lawpsided" on the Alabama brouhaha, or why "Reading is for sissies!"
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