Gay Americans should not be the only ones concerned that civil rights are being spit upon and kicked around. It is time America woke up and realized that the struggle for gay rights is no different than the civil rights movement of the ’60s or the fight for women’s rights.
This is fairly basic. Are homosexuals people? Yes. Do citizens of this country have certain rights? Yes. So U.S. homosexual citizens should have the same rights as straight citizens.
Apparently, viewing homosexuals as people is too much for some to fathom. Sheri Drew gave the invocation at the Republican Convention on Aug. 31. She equated supporting gay families with supporting Adolph Hitler during World War II. Someone please pull me out of the time warp.
As expected, the Republican National Convention had no openly gay speakers and not much talk about gay marriage during media coverage. In a small speech, Republican Senate candidate Alan Keyes labeled homosexuality as selfish hedonism and called Vice-President Dick Cheney’s daughter a sinner.
There are reportedly about 40 openly gay Republicans at the convention serving as delegates or alternates for Bush. A homosexual group called the Log Cabin Republicans made a showing at the convention preaching their message of unity. They want the Republican Party to say it’s OK for party members to disagree on some social issues.
The group remains undecided on whether to endorse Bush for re-election and has started running ads in New York asking Republicans whether they want a unified party or one that practices politics of intolerance. Gay Republicans remain hopeful that there is some place in the party for them but they seem to be finding more division than inclusion.
North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole said in her speech Tuesday, “Marriage between a man and a woman isn’t something Republicans invented, but it is something Republicans will defend.”
Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger have both supported gay rights in the past but didn’t mention it in their convention speeches. Gay civil rights sympathizers have had no say during convention time.
Last week, Cheney said he believed same-sex marriages are best left to the states and that he loved his daughter. It’s a far cry from joining Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, but it’ll do, Cheney; it’ll do.
While there was no gay-bashing at the Democratic Convention, there weren’t any sing-alongs either. There were three openly gay speakers at the Democratic Convention: Barney Frank (D-Mass.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Cheryl Jacques, the executive director of the nonpartisan Human Rights Campaign group. That alone isn’t enough, civil rights loyalists take note. While Kerry supports civil unions, a form of legal union that is not officially considered a marriage and therefore would not be given the same legal status in society, he does not support gay marriage either.
Is no one willing to stand up for gay rights? How long ago was it that “jumping the broom” was commonplace for another group the U.S. infringed upon? Unless Kerry is elected and flipflops on the issue, gay marriage doesn’t have a chance until ’08.
While homosexuals fight for their places in their respective parties they may just be losing their place in their country. The continued denial of civil rights to any group of people is an embarrassment to this country. Every time we as a country have denied a group their civil rights, we can never quite make up for the injustice.
Adrienne Howse is a junior communication major. She can be reached at [email protected].