Walk the Walk

I saw today that New Mexico governor Bill Richardson is endorsing Obama, which reminded me of something I thought a long time ago but never got around to saying on here.

Richardson took a lot of heat in the GLBTQ community for his appearance on the HRC/Logo presidential candidate debate last year. He fumbled when asked if he thought being gay was a choice, and he just looked very clearly uncomfortable. Folks jumped all over him, saying he clearly had a personal problem with GLBTQ people, he was defensive, we won't support someone who clearly has a problem with us, etc. etc.

It's true...he did come across as having personal issues related to accepting people of different sexual orientations, he did fumble the choice question, and he did get defensive (probably because he knew things weren't going well at all). But the truth is also that the guy has the track record. He has consistently pushed New Mexico to recognize greater equality for people of all orientations and identities, including hate crime laws, increased civil protections, and I think he even called the state legislature into a special session to address domestic partnerships.

My point is that even if he does have personal reservations about the GLBTQ community, he knows that despite those we still deserve equal opportunity under the law, and has pushed for that consistently. People are human, and people are flawed. Would it be nice if he openly and completely embraced all aspects of our community to the core of his being? Absolutely. But personally, I think it's very admirable for him to recognize that while his gut reaction might be discomfort, that gut reaction is flawed, and even if he can't change it, he still overcomes it to do what's right when push comes to shove. That kind of commitment to doing what's right, perhaps even at the expense of what you've been taught your whole life, is admirable and impressive.

In politics, you can't afford to be overly idealistic about your allies. To a certain extent, you need to embrace the people who are willing to help you, even if you don't like everything about them. Talking the talk is nice, but for the parents who want to adopt, for the partners who want to be able to care for and protect one another, walking the walk is far more important. It would be a shame for the GLBTQ community to disregard Bill Richardson on the basis of one clumsy interview.

Blatant Disregard for...Anything

I can't believe I missed out on one of the more blatantly disgusting quotes in Sally Kern's anti-gay tirade:

Not all lifestyles are created equal. Just like not all religions are created equal.

At this point I'm not even concerned with the anti-gay slurs. It rocks me to the core that an elected official would so clearly assert, while assuming a public role, the superiority of one religion over another. I mean, this is basic stuff here, guys! Freedom of religion, separation of church and state...this is Constitution 101.

Obviously, she failed that class.

As if there wasn't reason enough to be concerned about her comments simply from the angle of her hateful, anti-gay rhetoric, the fact that she is so clearly willing to cast aside such basic Constitutional rights has got to raise some questions. Namely, is this person fit to hold public office? Even the more conservative folks out there must see that this is troubling, to say the least.

The sad part is, if there does not develop a loud and public cry for her to resign or retract her statements due to her obvious inability to recognize the rights of all religions to exist, it will be because those religiously hateful comments are buried in the anti-gay rhetoric, which the public at large will either gloss over or, sadly, mutter agreement with.

Ah, sorry...I'm not an optimist today. Try again tomorrow.

I Can't Tell Who Should Be More Offended

I'm sure some of you have heard the fantastic musings of Oklahoma State Representative Sally Kern, when asked to share her thoughts on homosexuality to a small group of supporters. Some choice quotes:

One of my colleagues said, ‘We don’t have a gay problem in my community, and that’s why I voted against this bill.’ To me, that is so dumb. If you’ve got cancer in your little toe, do you say, ‘Well, you know, I’m going to forget about it because the rest of me is fine?’ It spreads, and this stuff is deadly. It’s spreading, and it will destroy our young people.

Studies show that no society that has embraced homosexuality has lasted more than a few decades. It’s the death knell of this country.

They want to get our young children into government schools so they can indoctrinate them. They are going after our young children, as young as two years of age, to try to teach them that the homosexual lifestyle is acceptable.

But, probably the most shockingly bigoted has got to be the following.

I honestly think it’s the biggest threat our nation has, even more so than terrorism or Islam.

Wow. Forget for a second that she thinks gays are worse than 9/11, I am stunned by the blatant bigotry against Islam. The whole religion. Not militant extremists who use religion as an excuse to fight for power and control (hello, Crusades anyone?), and forsake Islamic values of peace, just Islam. All of it. Usually even the most hateful politicians are careful to at least publicly distinguish between a religion and those who use that religion as an excuse to kill. But apparently Rep. Kern has no such qualms. The Islamic faith is just bad and dangerous.

Rep. Kern is also currently backing bills in the Oklahoma legislature that would prevent foreign companies from owning or leasing state turnpikes (yay xenophobia!), and that would protect students' freedom of religious expression in schools. Regarding the latter, some go so far as to say that she wants to protect kids who speak out in school against homosexuality, but I really don't give her enough credit for that much forethought. In fact, I think she has put so little forethought into it that if it passes, I would like to see the look on her face when someone uses it to defend an expression of Islamic faith. Tee hee.

Rep. Kern did not know she was being recorded, but she says she would have said the same thing regardless. And just to show that there is enough stupid hate for both sides, she is of course now getting a lot of emails, some of which are at least vaguely threatening. Thanks guys, way to lower yourself to the occasion. No thanks, really, we can do just fine without that.

It is sad and scary that this level of hatred is still considered acceptable in a leader at any level. I'm having a tough time even forming sentences about this...the hypocrisy of people's accusations of others compared to their own actions right here at home...the arrogance and ignorance of such blind hatred. It's just sad and scary. Every time a leader stands behind such hateful ideas, it gives validation to those who would do more than speak.

Oh, but let's end on a lighter note. Do you want the fun twist at the end? Of course you do! It would seem that Rep. Kern has a big gay homo fairy son!