IGF CultureWatch

In California, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill that allows registered domestic partners to file joint tax returns and have their earned income treated as community property for state tax purposes. There is now virtually no distinction between the rights of married couples and those of domestic partners under state law.

DPs, however, are denied the federal spousal benefits, and must file separate federal tax returns. The same also is true of same-sex couples legally married in Massachusetts, thanks to the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

Last year, Schwarenegger vetoed a bill that would have provided for same-sex marriage outright in the Golden State, citing the defeat of same-sex marriage when the electorate voted on this issue. But if the domestic-partner route becomes virtually the same as marriage (at least at the state level), then the cultural shift that deflates popular opposition to the "m" word is well underway.

I had missed this watching news coverage of the Wisconsin high school student who shot his principal dead:

[Eric] Hainstock said that a group of kids had teased him by calling him "fag" and "faggot" and rubbing up against him, the complaint said, and the teen felt teachers and the principal wouldn't do anything about it.

So Hainstock decided to confront students, teachers and the principal with the guns to make them listen to him, according to the complaint.

So Friday morning, he pried open his family's gun cabinet, took out a shotgun and then took a handgun from his parent's bedroom, the complaint said.

If true, it of course dosen't excuse murder. But the blind eye that educrats give rank homophobia in their schools is also inexcusable.

Much of my weekend time (and much during the week) is still being taken up with an ongoing parental health issue, so I'm a bit behind getting to the Mark Foley brouhaha. Anyhow, Gay Patriot does an able job of providing further links.

I agree that this "scandal" is fairly tepid [update: not! see below]. But closeted politicos, get a clue! Lying and hiding makes you do really stupid things, and will often lead you to wholly inappropriate targets of your affection. And your enemies are just waiting to pounce, given the opportunity.

More. OK, now with the news of Foley's more explicit IMs to several male pages, it's a bit bigger scandal, with John Kerry declaring of Foley's come-ons, "Every parent in America is disgusted and disturbed by it."

Query: We rightly distinguish between pedophiles and gays; should we do the same with ephebophiles (those primarily attracted to adolescents)?

Foley was a moderate Republican who, while never "out," appeared at Log Cabin events. It's interesting that his Palm Beach district is now expected to go Democratic, as is the Tuscon, Ariz., district of retiring, openly gay Rep. Jim Kolbe.

It's not surprising that debate over an anti-gay-marriage amendment in Wisconsin turned violent:

Videotape shows a man in a suit pushing one opponent of the amendment and then punching another. The tape shows the man walking out and then returning and throwing ketchup bottles and other objects.

Opposition to same-sex marriage is based on a visceral reaction, characterized by gut emotion rather than reason. Which is why changing minds requires persistent appeals to the heart as well as the head. Either that, or training for fisticuffs.

Meanwhile, in California, Gov. Schwarzenegger faces a political test.

The increasinly dubious Duke lacrosse rape charges have a gay angle, but it's not what you might think. From the blog Durham in Wonderland (via Instapundit), we learn that prosecutor Mike Nifong, who persists in what increasingly seems like a witch hunt against the students (accused of raping a black stripper), is in league with black Christian-right activist Victoria Peterson, known for her fierce antigay rhetoric. Blogger KC Johnson relates:

In August, the district attorney announced that he was "very pleased" that Peterson had agreed to found and co-chair his citizens' committee, a development that "made me feel good."...

The state and Duke Democratic parties are fully aware that the Nifong/Peterson axis contradicts the party's basic principles, but don't care enough about those principles to stand up for them in this instance, lest doing so risk alienating the party's African-American base....

Regional and campus GLBT organizations likewise proved unwilling to challenge Peterson. Gay rights groups have an (appropriate) reputation for sensitivity to anything resembling homophobic statements, especially by figures in power or those with access to figures in power. Equality NC didn't reply to my questions; Triangle Community Works responded that because of its non-profit status, "We don't have a statement regarding Ms. Peterson."...

What happens when political realities and ideological commitments appear to clash? The pairing of Nifong's flagrant violations of civil liberties in the lacrosse case and Peterson's outrageous homophobic statements struck me as irreconcilable with the principles laid down in the state party's platform....

Neither N.C. Democrats nor the state's gay rights groups will be well-served by fair-weather fidelity to their basic principles. I suspect that these organizations will look back with shame at their silence regarding the Nifong/Peterson axis.

Once again, left-wing coalition-building with feminists and racial activists trumps all.

The IRS's attempted crackdown on a liberal church that in 2004 preached Jesus would support Kerry over Bush could have broad ramifications, as reported in the Washington Post:

Religious leaders on the right and left have expressed fear that the dispute could make it more difficult for them to speak out on moral issues such as gay marriage and abortion during the midterm election campaign. …

Under federal tax law, church officials can legally discuss politics, but to retain tax-exempt status, they cannot endorse candidates or parties.

I think Americans are taxed too much for nonproductive (and, often, counterproductive) government schemes. And I'm ok with truly charitable organizations, whether faith-based or not, getting a break for serving the public good (such as operating soup kitchens and otherwise helping those in need who are not being helped by behemoth government bureaucracies). But why should organizations that want to take part in partisan political battles get special treatment just because they are religiously oriented?

Newly published promotional excerpts from former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey's autobio detail how he "forced himself to take on girlfriends" while having anonymous gay encounters of the seedier kind. It's all very sad, but McGreevey's choices (including his two marriages) were to a large extent fueled by his relentless political ambition.

You can only wonder how many other closeted gay men still choose to make these sorts of "compromises" each and every day.

More. Golan Cipel gives his side of the story in the Daily News:

"I wasn't his lover," Cipel, 37, said. "I didn't have sex with him. I never heard anything from him saying that he loved me. The only things that happened were sexual harassments. And unwanted sexual advances and assaults." ...

In his book, McGreevey writes: "I took Golan by the hand and led him upstairs to my bed. We undressed and he kissed me. It was the first time in my life that a kiss meant what it was supposed to mean. ... I pulled him to the bed and we made love like I'd always dreamed: a boastful, passionate, whispering, masculine kind of love."

So, who is telling the truth? (Or, alternatively, why should anyone care?)

The Commonwealth Coalition of Virginia, organized to oppose the anti-same-sex-marriage/plus state constitutional amendment on the ballot this November, has released its first video ad (web-only, for the time being). Rick Sincere has posted it (via YouTube) on his blog.

Looks like a strong, professional effort that rightly makes the point that an assault against the civil liberties of one group can spill over to others (watch out, unmarried heteros!).

Gay political lobbies should stand by the incumbents who stand by them (that is, us). So without doubt Log Cabin was right to vigorously support Sen. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island in his successful but bruising GOP primary battle against Cranston Mayor Steve Laffey.

On the other hand, Chafee's opposition to pro-investment tax cuts is a point on which fiscal conservatives can reasonably take issue, so it's not surprising that the Club for Growth lobby backed Laffey. And, while the campaign was brutal, I'm not sure what's accomplished when Log Cabin, in a post-election release, called the Club for Growth's attacks on Chafee "a vicious effort," thereby poisoning the waters further between the two.

Club for Growth is not an anti-gay group, although (and alas) many candidates who most strongly support letting people keep more of their own money are often conservative on social issues. But for those of us who would like to see more candidates with libertarian/limited government views on both social and fiscal matters, leaving the door open for LCR and CFG to work together on future races would seem like a good idea. Here's hoping.

More. GayPatriotWest reaches a very similar conclusion, uring that "When Log Cabin's new leader takes office, he (or she) needs to reach out to mainstream Republican groups like the Club for Growth."

Ryan Sager's new book, The Elephant in the Room, persuasively argues that:

as the nation's population and electoral map shift South and West, the current Republican Party increasingly favors southern values (religion, morality, and tradition) over western ones (freedom, independence, and privacy). The result? The party is in danger of losing crucial ground in the interior West - specifically in "leave-me-alone" states such as Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, and Montana.

Wake up, Republicans!