To borrow a phrase, Maybe not the beginning of the end, but the end of the beginning.
Hope abides...
Hope abides...
9
I hope you're right, Frank, about a turning of the political tide when it comes to supporting people across the sexuality spectrum.
But do the community a favor and add a "Q" to LGBT. I've seen that acronym elsewhere, and I have a relative who identifies as gender queer, rejecting the dichotomous male-female categorization.
Just one more letter, please.
But do the community a favor and add a "Q" to LGBT. I've seen that acronym elsewhere, and I have a relative who identifies as gender queer, rejecting the dichotomous male-female categorization.
Just one more letter, please.
5
The other and to my mind more important change that needs to occur is to make the average person's perception of human sexuality and more specifically sexual orientation, their own and everyone else's change. Rather than rely on the tired and false old notion of pigeonholing people into a neat little category: gay, straight, bi, we need to recognise this: that human sexuality functions along a continuum like all other states of the mind. It can and does change, and the sooner people admit to arousal from all sorts of stimuli that they have been socialized into squashing down like an inopportune and embarrassing erection, the better off and saner our culture will be. I know it's asking too much to achieve this though...
11
Let's see, gays of all types are about 9 percent of the population. So why are they reading the news and giving us opinions on too many TV stations? It can't be nepotism, so what is the correct word?
4
Although I'm a big fan of Frank Bruni, I'm incredibly disappointed that he would include this sentence regarding Josh Gottheimer: "he’s an astute, poised first-time candidate who, at 41, promises a freshness that Garrett, 57, cannot." Criticize away at homophobic candidates and I'll back you up to the hilt, but don't practice ageism as part of your strategy. Incidentally, there is an article in this same section on age discrimination in the workplace.
22
Gay is a sex thing. Why bother including that in any consideration as to who gets elected?
Gay people are 5% of the population. Why the attention?
OK, not good to discriminate against anyone. How about short people? And while we are at it, how about black people? Blackness is visible and invites instant discrimination. You cannot hide being black. No black ever came out of a closet. No black ever went into a closet. Why don't we take care of black discrimination and other black grievances first, before we turn to others.
Why have a small minority people with a different sexual orientation in any way "sway" the political process. Just go home and be gay. Nobody wants to spy in your bedroom. Why is it about sex?
Gay people are 5% of the population. Why the attention?
OK, not good to discriminate against anyone. How about short people? And while we are at it, how about black people? Blackness is visible and invites instant discrimination. You cannot hide being black. No black ever came out of a closet. No black ever went into a closet. Why don't we take care of black discrimination and other black grievances first, before we turn to others.
Why have a small minority people with a different sexual orientation in any way "sway" the political process. Just go home and be gay. Nobody wants to spy in your bedroom. Why is it about sex?
10
Assuming you are straight:
1. When you've succeeded at completely hiding it for, say, three years, come back to the conversation. Otherwise, you are clueless.
2. A certain number of black people have actually "passed" for white, and a monumental amount of grief was generated because of that ever-present possibility.
3. Substitute the word "Jews" for gays, and then you'll see the silliness of your point. Jews are less than 2% of the US population. And they can "pass" if they suppress their identity as you demand of gay folk. And they still have, for much of history, suffered when they have done so. Many historically anti-Semitic tropes have found new purpose as anti-gay tropes.
1. When you've succeeded at completely hiding it for, say, three years, come back to the conversation. Otherwise, you are clueless.
2. A certain number of black people have actually "passed" for white, and a monumental amount of grief was generated because of that ever-present possibility.
3. Substitute the word "Jews" for gays, and then you'll see the silliness of your point. Jews are less than 2% of the US population. And they can "pass" if they suppress their identity as you demand of gay folk. And they still have, for much of history, suffered when they have done so. Many historically anti-Semitic tropes have found new purpose as anti-gay tropes.
26
Gay is also a family thing. And there are black people who are gay.
14
I'm very glad that America has overcome 'don't ask, don't tell' and finally came around on legalizing same-sex marriage, albeit very late on an international scale, and I am also happy that gays have considerable sway in the American political process.
It is time, however, to move on from this compartmentalization thinking. Now that gays have considerable clout they should use it to help other marginalized and oppressed groups rather than focusing on advancing only the gay agenda'.
The leading gay rights organization is called Human Rights Campaign, yet they remain suspiciously silent on many issues related to human rights.
By the way, I stopped sending them a check when they endorsed Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders in the primaries.
So now that LGTBQ people have arrived in the centre of society, let's work together not to continue separating people based on their sexual orientation but rather to bring other people from the fringes into the fold.
It is time, however, to move on from this compartmentalization thinking. Now that gays have considerable clout they should use it to help other marginalized and oppressed groups rather than focusing on advancing only the gay agenda'.
The leading gay rights organization is called Human Rights Campaign, yet they remain suspiciously silent on many issues related to human rights.
By the way, I stopped sending them a check when they endorsed Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders in the primaries.
So now that LGTBQ people have arrived in the centre of society, let's work together not to continue separating people based on their sexual orientation but rather to bring other people from the fringes into the fold.
8
As a 77 year old white Irish Catholic female born and raised in once way to snooty Connecticut I too have felt the ugly hot sting of being cast as not quite refined enough to to be considered an actual human being; rather I was a regarded as (she can pass for WASP) substandard "good enough to be someone's secretary or low waged bank slave. Perhaps.... if she minds her manners and does not sass her betters or demand human rights like fair wages then she can live. If not she can starve for all I care." Sadly that ugly attitude remains alive and growing.
I am not Gay but I strenuously conduct myself every day to accept and treat others equally for we are all human beings and deserve humane respect.
As the still grieving relative of a gun murder victim I sorrow for the murders of innocents no matter their life styles. And YES...it is the guns...Don't believe otherwise. Without guns overwhelming our society we would not be in the murderous mess we have today. Pray for each other and for me.
I am not Gay but I strenuously conduct myself every day to accept and treat others equally for we are all human beings and deserve humane respect.
As the still grieving relative of a gun murder victim I sorrow for the murders of innocents no matter their life styles. And YES...it is the guns...Don't believe otherwise. Without guns overwhelming our society we would not be in the murderous mess we have today. Pray for each other and for me.
19
An earlier commenter, Thom McCann, stated “Nearly all Americans find the gay lifestyle an anathema…When it comes to pulling voting levers in private all bets are off. LGBTs are in for a shocking surprise.”
You’re scaring me. You know how the NRA/Second Amendment people are always saying they don’t want their names on a list readily accessible to the government? The thinking being, I assume, that a list would make it easier for the government to take their guns away. (I won’t go into that right now.) But, similarly, I’m concerned about what will happen to LGBT people who have come out during this period of human rights advancement. (I’m guessing we don’t agree on the definition of ‘human rights.’) They’re on lists for employee benefits, marriage licenses, parental consent forms for their kids at school, etc.
What form would your “shocking surprise” take? Exactly how would you force someone back into a closet? Would we go back to ostracism and ridicule? Cognitive behavioral therapy? Or are you suggesting something more sinister? You know, looking the other way on the perpetration of violence. Or maybe herding up non-heterosexuals, trundling them off in boxcars to, I don’t know, you choose the destination.
I don’t know who your “nearly all Americans” are. Most people I know don’t think your way anymore. (I’m straight, by the way.) Thank you for not inviting me to your Labor Day picnic. I’m pretty sure it would have ended in a potato salad fight.
You’re scaring me. You know how the NRA/Second Amendment people are always saying they don’t want their names on a list readily accessible to the government? The thinking being, I assume, that a list would make it easier for the government to take their guns away. (I won’t go into that right now.) But, similarly, I’m concerned about what will happen to LGBT people who have come out during this period of human rights advancement. (I’m guessing we don’t agree on the definition of ‘human rights.’) They’re on lists for employee benefits, marriage licenses, parental consent forms for their kids at school, etc.
What form would your “shocking surprise” take? Exactly how would you force someone back into a closet? Would we go back to ostracism and ridicule? Cognitive behavioral therapy? Or are you suggesting something more sinister? You know, looking the other way on the perpetration of violence. Or maybe herding up non-heterosexuals, trundling them off in boxcars to, I don’t know, you choose the destination.
I don’t know who your “nearly all Americans” are. Most people I know don’t think your way anymore. (I’m straight, by the way.) Thank you for not inviting me to your Labor Day picnic. I’m pretty sure it would have ended in a potato salad fight.
37
You don't think you're being the slightest bit hysterical, do you?
You don't think that you might have over-reacted?
Maybe this is why people who may not agree with either the original poster or your response to it, may sympathize more with the original poster. It's no longer a comment and conversation session, it's jumping to conclusions, it's unwarranted hysteria, and it's ending any possibility of having a rational discussion because you've used language that insists on your moral authority, while sending a warning demeaning anyone who disagrees with your conclusions.
You only demean your argument with the hyperbole.
You don't think that you might have over-reacted?
Maybe this is why people who may not agree with either the original poster or your response to it, may sympathize more with the original poster. It's no longer a comment and conversation session, it's jumping to conclusions, it's unwarranted hysteria, and it's ending any possibility of having a rational discussion because you've used language that insists on your moral authority, while sending a warning demeaning anyone who disagrees with your conclusions.
You only demean your argument with the hyperbole.
9
History is rife with examples of minorities enjoying living openly and acceptance in advanced countries for a certain period (jews and gays, for that matter, in Berlin in the 1920s) followed by oppression and decimation soon thereafter with political change (Nazi Germany in the 1940s).
Constant vigilance against extremists should be lauded not dismissed.
Constant vigilance against extremists should be lauded not dismissed.
21
As the man said "can't we all just get along?" That's what I'm voting for in this next election. Representatives that see the other guy's side of the issue. That knows somewhere in everybody's history there was an immigrant, or someone who had to live in some shadow to survive.
13
I am neither Gay nor Transgendered. I do dislike bigots. If anything, the more angry the words directed at Gays the more I thought of Jews in 1930s Germany. Republicans have not only lost the issue they don't get they have lost the country.
29
Some will say, one cannot be gay and a bigot nor be Republican and keep this country. That's right! Wrongly you just did, Mr. Greenbum, on both counts.
2
As people get old and die, attitudes necessarily reflect increasingly those of the younger generations. It is a demographic fact that in the USA, taken as a whole, the oldest generations have far higher rates of racism and homophobia than do the youngest generations. Ergo, as year by year, month by month, the oldies gradually die off ...
16
The L.G.B.T community has indeed become a force to be reckoned with. I am proud of its courage and conviction in the face of vile hostility, and applaud and support its organizational efforts to build a stronger, more unified country.
21
I agree. I realized a while back when seeing the movie "Milk" with my best friend (who is a gay man), that I'd entered politics to fight anti gay discrimination since I was a young teenager. My first year of being legal to vote, went to vote AGAINST the detestable Briggs initiative that would allow discrimination for gay public employees.
Like the Civil Rights Movement, and it's moral rudder towards justice, the movement of the gay community has been similarly non violent, and each step towards progress, through due process of law.
As we see in real time, that gay people have been on the receiving end of terrorism, and violence, similar to blacks fighting Jim Crow, I have felt honored to be a part of the fight towards equality for our gay family.
Gay and straight TOGETHER, is a formidable alliance.
Like the Civil Rights Movement, and it's moral rudder towards justice, the movement of the gay community has been similarly non violent, and each step towards progress, through due process of law.
As we see in real time, that gay people have been on the receiving end of terrorism, and violence, similar to blacks fighting Jim Crow, I have felt honored to be a part of the fight towards equality for our gay family.
Gay and straight TOGETHER, is a formidable alliance.
13
It would fitting, practical -- even advantageous -- to certain campaigning Republicans if they would just "get with the program" and take in what's happening around the country in the move toward inclusion. If it weren't so damaging and counter-productive, it's kind of quaint that many Republicans are so predictably on the wrong side of history on so many issues. It's 2016 guys. Won't you join us? Forward is not scary. It's how things moves.
19
Lest we forget, the Orlando "shooter" was inspired by radical Islamist thought about gay people. Sharia law teaches that homosexuality is vile and punishable by death. Trump would like to protect this country from people who don't share our liberal values. Potus has not done so.
8
Right. Let's take a look at how Trump's supporters embrace liberal values:
http://www.cc.com/video-clips/y6mxf5/the-daily-show-with-trevor-noah-put...
http://www.cc.com/video-clips/y6mxf5/the-daily-show-with-trevor-noah-put...
10
Then no doubt you'll want to reject the values of Anders Breivik (moozlim immygrants are overrunning Europe), the kid who murdered nine people in Charlestown (they were black), the loon who killed two people and shot up a health clinic in Colorado Springs (protect life!), the Sandy Hook killer of 20 kids (mom a far-right survivalist type, piled up guns because of the coming apocalypse), the guys who blew up the Federal Building in KC (more dead kids, believed in "The Turner Diaries"), the...
11
Mr. Bruni
Many thanks for shedding a bright light on the current campaign- Garrett vs. Gottheimer- for the 5th CD here in New Jersey. I can only hope the voters will at long last realize how desperately we in this "realigned" district need a new voice as our representative in Congress. It has been way too long that I have read with sadness the voting records (published in the Sunday Record) of our current representative and have wished for a newer voice.
Many thanks for shedding a bright light on the current campaign- Garrett vs. Gottheimer- for the 5th CD here in New Jersey. I can only hope the voters will at long last realize how desperately we in this "realigned" district need a new voice as our representative in Congress. It has been way too long that I have read with sadness the voting records (published in the Sunday Record) of our current representative and have wished for a newer voice.
10
Donate, and sway the election for Stephanie Murphy. Let's get past singling out LGBT people, and start thinking of them as our neighbors and friends, and American citizens, just like the rest of us.
14
That the earliest comments to this column are from Trump trolls and other haters shows exactly how important this issue still is. For many of us who are not LGBTQ the issue is one of the elimination of hate from our political discourse. Hate againt gay people, against immigrants, against people of color, and yes, even hate against women who dare to insist they are more qualified than men for important positions.
19
The circle is now complete. The Pulse nightclub massacre has now been reduced to an anti gay incident. I expect in the future all Islamic terror attacks will be benignly labeled. I guess the 9/11 World Trade Center attack was really just a plane crash and construction site accident and San Bernardino was workplace violence.
10
A middle eastern Muslim jihadist closet case shoots up a gay club, and... it's the fault of conservative Christian Americans and their culture? Gotcha.
11
Guess which party is happy to keep us awash in guns?
25
As a longtime LGBT advocate, I enjoyed this column. Until I reached this strikingly ageist comment: "he’s an astute, poised first-time candidate who, at 41, promises a freshness that Garrett, 57, cannot." Frank, we LGBT folks should be careful not to fall into crude stereotypes ourselves. While I gather you are not yet 57, I think you'll find plenty of capacity for freshness in folks even that ancient.
16
There is no such thing as "LBGTQ rights" or any other minority rights. This nation was founded on the highest moral principle of individual rights. Ayn Rand reminded us that the smallest minority is the individual. You can't be for minority rights while abusing individual rights. The progressive liberal Marxist democrats are all about abusing individual rights. Democratism, like all forms of Marxism, is rooted in the corrosive sin of envy. If everyone respected the USA's founding principles...we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal... There would be no need to discuss LGBTQ rights.
Democratism is the new communism.
Hillary is a disgrace. The Democratic Party is a disgrace. If you're not supporting Trump, you're supporting crooked Hillary.
Democratism is the new communism.
Hillary is a disgrace. The Democratic Party is a disgrace. If you're not supporting Trump, you're supporting crooked Hillary.
7
I'm sorry but you will never have the right to treat other Americans as second class citizens because you don't like the way they were born.
13
Sadly, this sounds more like wishful thinking than political insight. LGBT isn't on the front burner for most Americans and won't be the deciding factor come November. Orlando might be a special case, but even there, I'd expect it will cause a better turnout for the left, but no loss of right wingers.
5
Amen, Brother.
An estimated 3-5% of Americans are members of the L.G.B.T.Q. community. Unlike the 13.2% of Americans who are of African descent they can and have hidden their identities in their vernacular street slang closet. While the white L.G.B.T.Q. community ranks at the pinnacle of the socioeconomic educational political pyramid that is not true of the black L.G.B.T.Q. community.
According to my black family L.G.B.T.Q. family members white supremacist attitudes still prevail in the white L.G.B.T.Q. community. From Stonewall New York to gay San Francisco to Mr/Miss Jenner to Tim Cook to Peter Thiel, the big gay sway has been all white and mostly male. There is no brave black gay Bayard Rustin among them. Indeed, what happened at the Pulse Night Club in Orlando is best understood as an attack on a black African and brown Latino L.G.B.T.Q. club.
While in 2016 there are more blacks in prison, on welfare and unemployed than ever before as President Obama "talks down to them" with cold callous cynical condescending paternalistic contempt Mr. Obama submissively bows down to the white L.G.B.T.Q. community. The gay sway in the 2016 election is not yet so big nor inclusive as it should and must be.
According to my black family L.G.B.T.Q. family members white supremacist attitudes still prevail in the white L.G.B.T.Q. community. From Stonewall New York to gay San Francisco to Mr/Miss Jenner to Tim Cook to Peter Thiel, the big gay sway has been all white and mostly male. There is no brave black gay Bayard Rustin among them. Indeed, what happened at the Pulse Night Club in Orlando is best understood as an attack on a black African and brown Latino L.G.B.T.Q. club.
While in 2016 there are more blacks in prison, on welfare and unemployed than ever before as President Obama "talks down to them" with cold callous cynical condescending paternalistic contempt Mr. Obama submissively bows down to the white L.G.B.T.Q. community. The gay sway in the 2016 election is not yet so big nor inclusive as it should and must be.
5
Personally I really don't care what people do in the privacy of their own homes, but to me growing up in a different era where issues of such magnitude were brought up to the people for a vote, it strikes me that the issues of the gay lifestyle point back to the problem of big money and special interest groups pushing to the head of the line. They say if you want to know what drives the world simply follow the money. And this issue like many others has been taken out of the hands of the American public and pushed thru channels, finally being decided by 9 individuals (SOTUS). We as a country have let the rich and powerful take the steering wheel of our nation and turn it in whatever direction they choose. I don't think this is what the founding fathers had in mind when they brought free from the English Monarchy.
7
So what does this comment have to do with this column?
7
Mr. BRUNI continues to focus on an issue that is now irrelevant to most Americans, even those who hold traditional values. No one contests gains made by LGBT. lobbies, and gays r seldom persecuted for their beliefs, at least in this country.Let us not speak of the ME, Mahgreb and sub Saharan Africa.Maintain shack, smistamento in Wilton Manors on the river, frequent local retailers, use the beach and other recreational facilities, and gayness is an accepted part of daily life. Protesters at Stonewall in 1969 r now old wrinklies, if many r even still around, and Mick Jagger no longer jumps around the stage in concerts as he used to do,because of his arthiritic knees .Even the once lovely,svelte Gracie Slick has put on weight, and taken up painting in her middle age. So, Mr. Bruni is hammering on a nail that is no longer there.Besides, LGBT is mainly for the young, and middle aged writers who believe they can find a second youth by writing on the subject appear a trifle out of touch with the movement's mainstream:Just a personal opinion.
2
And wrong, unfortunately. Republican-controlled states are continuing to pass state laws that allow companies to refuse to hire LGBTQI people and to fire them without any cause except their sexual orientation. The anti-LGBT community in this country is still under siege from Republican and evangelical homophobes, determined not to give them the same rights and protections other citizens enjoy.
Even in the Trump campaign, the few Black spokespeople he has been able to enlist are ministers who come from extremely fundamentalist Black churches hostile to LGBTQI and to abortion - not so much in favor of Trump's other policies.
Even in the Trump campaign, the few Black spokespeople he has been able to enlist are ministers who come from extremely fundamentalist Black churches hostile to LGBTQI and to abortion - not so much in favor of Trump's other policies.
16
@BARTOOTHBRONSKY: I think you meant to say the "LGBT community is under siege," not the "Anti LGBT community is under siege."Otherwise you sentence makes no sense.In this country, you can see for any aggression, micro or macro. If u r Muslim, and u object to Pamela Geller's lecture to student body in a college, u can bring pressure to bear on admin. to cancel the engagement.Companies think twice before cashiering a gay man or woman because of his or her sexual orientation. There is a surfeit of attorneys in our society who would jump at the chance to defend an employee fired because he or she is gay. That's why many cases of discrimination by taken by lawyers willing to work on a contingency basis.You are indeed naive if you think that tolerance of LGBT folks is not not the policy of virtually all firms in the US. It goes both ways.If you eyeball a woman in the subway,she can have you arrested for sexual harassment, and she will win!
I would like to think that Frank's right, in terms of this election. The Republicans in Washington, with all their obstruction and self-righteous blathering, have got to go. And I would like to think Frank's right in terms of the gay sway, the possibility that voters have at last become disgusted by the blatant homophobia of some right-wing politicians. What I do know is this: If not this election, in terms of the gay sway, then soon. Never bet against equal treatment, protections and consideration under the law. It can take a while, but in this country, we move toward human rights.
10
When Donald Trump goes to the Louisiana to support those people in the worst moment of their lives he is vilified as a panderer but this visit to the gay club is a display "compassion". Then the media wonders why their influence is meaningless to half of our country. Bias is an ugly word in "journalism" but how can any objective person not admit that its existence is blatant?
7
for one thing, Trumps first act after the shooting was to use the nightclub tragedy to crow that he was receiving congratulations for being right.
Thats not pandering. its just wrong.
Thats not pandering. its just wrong.
19
And, if minority groups in the US start voting for state elections, we can see big change across the country.
6
Traveling to Pulse for a photo op with talking points on your political message. Cropping out the religiously-based causes of the massacre to better tailor it to your desire to be politically popular. That's beyond predatory. I call it dancing on a grave.
5
Too funny! The absurdly childish practice of voting for free candy is a political movement? Only the fanciers of dress-up, or six-year-olds, could be so self-absorbed and delusional. In a misguided effort to appear topical and "progressive" - a word in search of a meaning - the NYT morphs into a comic book, complete with heroes and villains, colorful costuming and a confused story line with cliffhanger denouement. "Next issue - how we won the bathroom wars!" Play nice children.
4
One can only hope this is the new reality. Good for you Ms. Murphy. Nice piece Frank. Kudos.
5
Why is talk radio behind Trump so vehemently? Rhode Island has two a.m.stations that are constantly backing him, it makes me want to apologize to those driving through. They say "the media" supports Hillary, while they are the media. Does the Republican Party own the talk show media? They are already saying the election may be rigged, to give them a reason for the defeat of this racist charlatan. It's hate-filled and rabble-rousing radio.
12
DnC communication during the primary had Hillary falling on her end of the scale. Proof indeed, beyond a reasonable doubt, this election process has been rigged by democrats against their own candidates. Hillary Clinton withdraw candidacy and seek office elsewhere, the ME comes to mind.
3
I am saying that talk radio is overwhelming on the side of Republicans. Let's not get off track. One of our local hosts plays "The Mexican Hat Dance" when discussing immigration and claims to have seen ONLY women in burkas, no Americans, and a camel walking down the street in a Muslim neighborhood of New York City. He says they were dancing in the streets of New York on 9/11. He is touting Trump as the next president, and it is time for the FCC to be aware of this type of slander and lying. There are those who are not readers of The New York Times, nor readers of anything, who call in believing this claptrap.
7
It still puzzles me why the Human Rights Campaign endorsed Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders given the fact he has championed the causes of that organization and Hillary ran for the Senste and President defending DOMA and opposing Marriage Equality. I guess loyalty to the Clintons by The leadership of the Human Rights Campaign is more important than standing with soneone who has always been on their side and always had their back.
There are C-Span videos easily found on You Tube showing Bernie defending our LGBTQ friends against attacks by Duke Cunningham on the floor of the US House decades before Hillary came around on the issue.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MAFlQ6fU4GM
While Hillary was standing by her man in the White House, Bernie was standing for what was right even when it was not the popular position.
I lost all respect for the Human Rights Campaign for abandoning Senator Sanders for Hillary who was very, very late to the righs of the LGBTQ communities.
There are C-Span videos easily found on You Tube showing Bernie defending our LGBTQ friends against attacks by Duke Cunningham on the floor of the US House decades before Hillary came around on the issue.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MAFlQ6fU4GM
While Hillary was standing by her man in the White House, Bernie was standing for what was right even when it was not the popular position.
I lost all respect for the Human Rights Campaign for abandoning Senator Sanders for Hillary who was very, very late to the righs of the LGBTQ communities.
2
Mr. Bruni:
thank you for this thoughtful and informative column...
in all of the over-hyped shouting that has become more and more common,
it is important for us to be confronted with on-the-ground people who are actually attempting to make a difference,
7
In a few years, when Republicans realize that they need gay votes to win elections, they will start running campaigns which state that the democrats are the real homophobes, and that gays are still downtrodden because of the democrats, and that the Republicans are the ones who have been trying to help them all along while the democrats have been pandering to them. Their candidates will speak to the gays in audiences that are 99% straight and say that they should vote for them because "what have you got to lose".
Remember, you heard it here first.
Remember, you heard it here first.
8
I recently read about an HIV positive person and it her disease was characterized as no longer fatal. My brother died of AIDS twenty-five years ago. I thenrealized he would probably still be alive if his disease wasn't associated with his orientation. It took me over two decades to see that his death was preventable.
It's prejudice, plain and simple, prejudice.
It's prejudice, plain and simple, prejudice.
62
It took a number of years for medical researchers to find treatments which were successful against AIDS. There is nothing unusual about the time it took to make progress on a disease which came out of nowhere. Why do you ascribe this to prejudice?
9
As much as I wish that 2016 would be the year America overcame its homophobia, it won't happen in Indiana and North Carolina. The pick-up truck cultures in each State cannot handle the brutal honesty necessary for a straight (or straight acting) man to vote his inner nature. The self-loathing of his sensitive side and fear that it equals the perversion he is taught in church, will result in voting hatred again this year.
5
Rejection by the majority of society - to be expelled from the herd – is more than dangerous, and is often fatal. This is true in animal herds, and can be even more fatal among humans (reference: concentration camps, mass extermination, etc.).
This is a constant throughout history, and conservatives always seek to place themselves in the center of the social herd. From that position they vilify and excise members of the social herd as a means of reinforcing their security within the center. In the process they also enrich themselves by eliminating competition.
Gays, atheists, socialists, anyone of color, independent women – these have been the demons of the American political psyche since the early 20th century. They are the evil Other out to destroy the Flag, the Constitution, capitalism, Main Street, and, of course, Mom and Apple Pie. They have long been targeted as a threat to the herd, to be removed by ostracism and force of law.
There is more than one way of being stoned to death by the mob. Completely losing ones hard earned career, being rejected by family and relatives, and every machine of government tilted toward your destruction…these can shorten your life. They are not an illusion, the threat is real, and the message is clear: mind your place.
If LGBT people are no longer to be designated Public Enemy #1, then who is next? Bet hard cash on it, the compulsion to demonize others will not stop here.
This is a constant throughout history, and conservatives always seek to place themselves in the center of the social herd. From that position they vilify and excise members of the social herd as a means of reinforcing their security within the center. In the process they also enrich themselves by eliminating competition.
Gays, atheists, socialists, anyone of color, independent women – these have been the demons of the American political psyche since the early 20th century. They are the evil Other out to destroy the Flag, the Constitution, capitalism, Main Street, and, of course, Mom and Apple Pie. They have long been targeted as a threat to the herd, to be removed by ostracism and force of law.
There is more than one way of being stoned to death by the mob. Completely losing ones hard earned career, being rejected by family and relatives, and every machine of government tilted toward your destruction…these can shorten your life. They are not an illusion, the threat is real, and the message is clear: mind your place.
If LGBT people are no longer to be designated Public Enemy #1, then who is next? Bet hard cash on it, the compulsion to demonize others will not stop here.
5
Mr. Bruni might want to review the reality of gay rights in Florida and the rest of the US. Gay rights were making progress until Obama used transgender bathroom, locker room and shower access as an issue to outrage and keep Republicans off Hillary's campaign. They're a red herring and have stirred up lots of dissension. It's also kept the press from covering the elusive Hillary and her lack of clarification of her pandering to every identity group possible and promising things that are contrary and cannot possibly be fulfilled.
The real issue is the the Democrats can only run on identity politics. So while their candidates may have something to offer this particular constituency, during this election, it's probably not enough. Rainbow flags aren't going to solve economic problems, and candidates that can't lead for ALL are going to find that promising things to "victim" subgroups won't get them enough votes to win.
The American people are victims of illegal immigration which depresses wages and places major social and financial costs on society. And allowing people from areas that aren't culturally compatible isn't a good idea either. Free trade, open borders, failure to secure Americans safety inside or outside our borders are major issues this election, especially for a place that suffered a terrorist attack.
Don't be surprised if Mr. Bruni's analysis and favored candidates fall flat when all the factors people vote for are weighed.
The real issue is the the Democrats can only run on identity politics. So while their candidates may have something to offer this particular constituency, during this election, it's probably not enough. Rainbow flags aren't going to solve economic problems, and candidates that can't lead for ALL are going to find that promising things to "victim" subgroups won't get them enough votes to win.
The American people are victims of illegal immigration which depresses wages and places major social and financial costs on society. And allowing people from areas that aren't culturally compatible isn't a good idea either. Free trade, open borders, failure to secure Americans safety inside or outside our borders are major issues this election, especially for a place that suffered a terrorist attack.
Don't be surprised if Mr. Bruni's analysis and favored candidates fall flat when all the factors people vote for are weighed.
7
Dear Minh,
Perhaps you see democrats too narrowly. I'm a scientist. I have more than a dozen employees, and business in almost every state as well as Canada and Europe. I pay their insurance. I've worked for the Secretary of Defense. Our work prevents violent crime, addictions, mental illness, and improves educational and employability of future adults. After 911, the First Lady of Tucson and I mobilized Tucson community around issues of future attacks as well as wrote papers and consulted on how to protect against what might be called mass psychological warfare. I've taught Sunday School for teens in a Methodist church for 12 years. And I'm a gay man with a husband of 25 years. I've worked for elected officials of both parties. And I'm rather sure you've never been told at hotels you cannot have a king bed for you and your husband as gays. That's happened to us--before the enactment of laws in NC and other states. So who proposed these laws focused on excluding people because of their identity? It was not the the Republicans I worked for in my younger life like Gerry Ford, Bob Dole and others in the U.S. Capitol. Without Everett Dirksen, the Civil Rights Bill would not have passed. Sadly, the hearts, minds and even souls of much of the GOP were stolen by very obsessed extreme right wing folks. I saw that happen in my natal state of Kansas. They made politics about their narrow identity, and they invaded our homes, lives and even national identity.
Perhaps you see democrats too narrowly. I'm a scientist. I have more than a dozen employees, and business in almost every state as well as Canada and Europe. I pay their insurance. I've worked for the Secretary of Defense. Our work prevents violent crime, addictions, mental illness, and improves educational and employability of future adults. After 911, the First Lady of Tucson and I mobilized Tucson community around issues of future attacks as well as wrote papers and consulted on how to protect against what might be called mass psychological warfare. I've taught Sunday School for teens in a Methodist church for 12 years. And I'm a gay man with a husband of 25 years. I've worked for elected officials of both parties. And I'm rather sure you've never been told at hotels you cannot have a king bed for you and your husband as gays. That's happened to us--before the enactment of laws in NC and other states. So who proposed these laws focused on excluding people because of their identity? It was not the the Republicans I worked for in my younger life like Gerry Ford, Bob Dole and others in the U.S. Capitol. Without Everett Dirksen, the Civil Rights Bill would not have passed. Sadly, the hearts, minds and even souls of much of the GOP were stolen by very obsessed extreme right wing folks. I saw that happen in my natal state of Kansas. They made politics about their narrow identity, and they invaded our homes, lives and even national identity.
68
There was never any glorious past when the GOP endorsed gay rights, and certainly not in Kansas. Just curious, what strategy do you employ in teaching teenagers that, as Methodist dogma decrees, your own family is "incompatible with Christianity"?
3
"Gottheimer, who worked as a speechwriter for President Bill Clinton, is connected to an extensive network of powerful Democrats who have rallied to his cause, and he’s an astute, poised first-time candidate who, at 41, promises a freshness that Garrett, 57, cannot."
Mr. Bruni, I would like to point out that you are 51. What makes you think you, at your advanced age of 51 can offer a fresh or even relevant view point? Why do you bring up a person's age? Are we to assume by your comment that once we pass a certain age, a person's views are outdated and deserving of contempt? You seem to be totally unaware and insensitive to the bias against the views of the elder members of our society. You are entering a period when you may be the oldest person in the room. Do you really want to devalue the viewpoints of people, like you, who have a wealth of experience? I wish I could excuse this ridiculous comment by citing your youth, but that of course would be resorting to agism, which you did in your Op-Ed. I can only suggest that you grow up. You are are very green 51.
Mr. Bruni, I would like to point out that you are 51. What makes you think you, at your advanced age of 51 can offer a fresh or even relevant view point? Why do you bring up a person's age? Are we to assume by your comment that once we pass a certain age, a person's views are outdated and deserving of contempt? You seem to be totally unaware and insensitive to the bias against the views of the elder members of our society. You are entering a period when you may be the oldest person in the room. Do you really want to devalue the viewpoints of people, like you, who have a wealth of experience? I wish I could excuse this ridiculous comment by citing your youth, but that of course would be resorting to agism, which you did in your Op-Ed. I can only suggest that you grow up. You are are very green 51.
2
It was awfully sweet of Donald Trump to say at the Republican Convention that he thought it was wrong for terrorists to slaughter "L-G-B-T-Q" people -- even though he spoke as though he wasn't quite sure how to spell it. But then he characteristically took the opportunity to make the Orlando murders into an excuse to congratulate himself, pausing to thank the audience, who had just applauded him, for applauding him. Because they like him, they really like him.
I'm glad Trump occasionally deigns to recognize LGBT (and even Q) people as human beings ... before visiting Orlando "last month to speak to a conference of leaders who adamantly oppose L.G.B.T. rights." Well, we can't expect him to hold the same position for more than an hour or so at a time -- except when it comes to characterizing Hispanics and African-Americans as subhumans. Why would anyone object to being told they live like animals, when all they have to do is "Give it to me -- I'll fix it." (Details to come, but not really.) Habitual condescension, unconscious racism, tone-deafness or dog-whistling? You decide.
I'm glad Trump occasionally deigns to recognize LGBT (and even Q) people as human beings ... before visiting Orlando "last month to speak to a conference of leaders who adamantly oppose L.G.B.T. rights." Well, we can't expect him to hold the same position for more than an hour or so at a time -- except when it comes to characterizing Hispanics and African-Americans as subhumans. Why would anyone object to being told they live like animals, when all they have to do is "Give it to me -- I'll fix it." (Details to come, but not really.) Habitual condescension, unconscious racism, tone-deafness or dog-whistling? You decide.
6
As an integral member of Orlando's gay community since 1977, I knew that the Pulse tragedy would have a silver lining... that all these (gay/bi/straight) people, who died or were injured would end-up being a voice, not just for the LGBT community, but the Latino, religious and political community, as well. Their loss has become pivotal, in how we, as a country, have moved forward with greater compassion, understanding and acceptance, than ever before.
Furthermore, for someone like Frank Bruni to come down to Orlando from NYC, and see for himself how this experience has forever changed the "heart and soul" of The City Beautiful, shows his fortitude in being the great columnist he is. Thank you.
Furthermore, for someone like Frank Bruni to come down to Orlando from NYC, and see for himself how this experience has forever changed the "heart and soul" of The City Beautiful, shows his fortitude in being the great columnist he is. Thank you.
9
Frank, You may find this story amusing. Years ago, long before transexuals were given recognition, my wife and I threw Halloween parties at our home in the hills above Malibu, that were the talk of the community, at least by those who were lucky enough to attend. One of our friends was a transexual named Shana who was so beautiful that he was hired by Chevrolet without their being aware of his sexuality to be their model in a national advertising campaign. #TakeYourShameAndShoveIt
8
I just got an invitation to my first gay wedding. It arrived on my 63rd birthday and it was the best present that I received. In a very long time. I quoted Shelly to my wife, smiling broadly as I held the invitation, “I have drunken deep of joy,
And I will taste no other wine tonight.”
And I will taste no other wine tonight.”
12
Will LGBT voters determine the election outcome? wait and see ... and what if Donny T acquires the White House, still not impossible. For a cheeky peek behind closed doors at a gleefully irresponsible Halloween there under Donny T, playwright Dick Weber's no-holds-barred romp AW, DONNY! is spot-on unforgettable political satire (like Brecht meets the Marx Bros - check it out on Medium). Ridicule is a radiating weapon. HRC superPac Priorities USA should post that playscript for free downloads, as its devastating effect is long lasting, unlike pricey TV ads that can evaporate in a few days. Donny T fooled millions in the primaries, the voters' fault. Fooling millions more now, he's developing a political business model. We may yet have to resign ourselves to a Donny T White House … and what will LGBT voters do then?
1
For years the Republican Party had a formula for getting out the vote for conservative candidates. It was simple, and it usually worked.
The Republicans would get a hot-button issue on the ballot, and it typically involved amending the state constitution to reject any inroads which had been made by gay people in other states. Conservatives, particularly evangelical Christians, would flock to the polls in droves. It often made the difference for Republicans in tight races.
Things have changed. In spite of outliers like Governor McCrory of North Carolina, around the country the tide has turned against homophobic politicians.
This is not to say that efforts from the right to contain or marginalize gay, lesbian and transgender persons have stopped or even diminished. It means, however, that the attackers are now seen by the broader American population as the strangers, the oddballs.
Perhaps this is always how the worlds of hate groups lose political clout – not with a bang, but a whimper.
The Republicans would get a hot-button issue on the ballot, and it typically involved amending the state constitution to reject any inroads which had been made by gay people in other states. Conservatives, particularly evangelical Christians, would flock to the polls in droves. It often made the difference for Republicans in tight races.
Things have changed. In spite of outliers like Governor McCrory of North Carolina, around the country the tide has turned against homophobic politicians.
This is not to say that efforts from the right to contain or marginalize gay, lesbian and transgender persons have stopped or even diminished. It means, however, that the attackers are now seen by the broader American population as the strangers, the oddballs.
Perhaps this is always how the worlds of hate groups lose political clout – not with a bang, but a whimper.
11
As a 47-year-old gay man in a smaller town in northwest Georgia (decidedly not a suburb of Atlanta, I might add), I feel that I can safely be honest about myself at work, where I have between 50-100 coworkers. I've yet to have anyone say anything derogatory to my face, but I'm not naive enough to think it doesn't happen behind my back. Then again, people are people, and they talk about everyone behind their back. Perhaps that's a sign of equality? I don't know. What's rather strange is the manner in which they can espouse a very conservative or rightwing opinion about one topic and then turn to you and speak openly and humanely about a gay issue.
My experience suggests that these people, who so many of us define stereotypically, are far less anti-gay once they actually know and like a gay person. I'm sure there is some residual, casual homophobia, just as there is with similar racism, but I'm hopeful. And, as another reader mentioned, today's 20-year-olds who might not vote regularly are tomorrow's 40-year-olds who will.
Despite what some politicians will try to tell you, this is already a great country.
My experience suggests that these people, who so many of us define stereotypically, are far less anti-gay once they actually know and like a gay person. I'm sure there is some residual, casual homophobia, just as there is with similar racism, but I'm hopeful. And, as another reader mentioned, today's 20-year-olds who might not vote regularly are tomorrow's 40-year-olds who will.
Despite what some politicians will try to tell you, this is already a great country.
13
FRANK BRUNI'S logical analysis of what's changing in the political Zeitgeist is spot on, in my opinion. The LGBT community is integrated into political structure of communities. I admire the courage and dedication of the LGBT to rights for all citizens and to use their influence to assure that corporations that want to establish themselves locally will have a pool of talent to draw upon from the LGBT community. Having been through the AIDS crisis, the LGBT community is well-practiced in community activism as well as accessing services and supports. Gun safety is the AIDS epidemic of the 21st century. Politicians who put prejudice and bias ahead of gun safety are jeopardizing their prospects. The LGBT community has been successful in transitioning to a thriving community due to antiviral drugs that allow persons with AIDS to live long, productive lives. The next chapter wlll be for LGBT and all other community members to live long, productive lives due to an increase in gun safety. Politicians who disregard these facts are looking to return to private life sooner rather than later. The toughness and grit the LGBT community developed to combat the AIDS crisis will work effectively to end violence and bring gun safety to the fore as the law of the land. The nationwide impact of LGBT communities is going to be a powerful, though perhaps unanticipated factor in shifting the US from red to purple to blue!
9
I remember for years having to take "values voters" seriously.
Trump has shown that the "values voters" in fact don't really have any values.
Trump has shown that the "values voters" in fact don't really have any values.
19
There are many reasons to support one candidate and shun another. Their position on gay rights is not one of them.
3
Says the non gay voter!! If a candidate's position on civil rights isn't a reason to vote for or against, what could be? After all the 14th amendment is very important
8
Far too optimistic!
The November elections may be decided by the Trump-inspired turnout from the ratholes of our country. Personal freedom and liberty is a French affectation endorsed by our Founding Fathers, who were intellectuals. It has never been popular with unsophisticated people.
The November elections may be decided by the Trump-inspired turnout from the ratholes of our country. Personal freedom and liberty is a French affectation endorsed by our Founding Fathers, who were intellectuals. It has never been popular with unsophisticated people.
5
The tide has changed to being for LGBT inalienable rights to be included in the American *life, Liberty, Pursuit of Happiness* and in the strongest possible legal access to equality and equal treatment under law and the CONSTITUTION.
Having said that, it is plain to myself and a growing consensus that I believe to be well past the 50% range, that the GOP represents the past that has fostered this: Mass inequality of race, startling unequal access to a middle class and a living wage, the consecration of our water, land and air and subsequently to our living bodies and the earth to deadly and eventually fatal levels of pollution if left unchecked, regressive and suppressive laws and manipulation of voting rights by district maneuvers and gerrymandering, suppression and the illegalization of women's rights, governmental attacks and denial of religious to have access for land for their places of worship and cemeteries etc., etc., etc. The GOP engaged and committed to past causes and effects that have placed our personal freedoms at high risk, the causes of poverty, war and injustice founded on bigotry and the infusion of religious beliefs over constitutional and legal rights will continue to erode the chances of an equal assess and sustainable life on this planet.
The tide has changed against the GOP on all of this and more left unstated. It is time to educate and infuse our Americans and the world for a fair justice and sustainable life for all.
GOP their status quo must go.
Having said that, it is plain to myself and a growing consensus that I believe to be well past the 50% range, that the GOP represents the past that has fostered this: Mass inequality of race, startling unequal access to a middle class and a living wage, the consecration of our water, land and air and subsequently to our living bodies and the earth to deadly and eventually fatal levels of pollution if left unchecked, regressive and suppressive laws and manipulation of voting rights by district maneuvers and gerrymandering, suppression and the illegalization of women's rights, governmental attacks and denial of religious to have access for land for their places of worship and cemeteries etc., etc., etc. The GOP engaged and committed to past causes and effects that have placed our personal freedoms at high risk, the causes of poverty, war and injustice founded on bigotry and the infusion of religious beliefs over constitutional and legal rights will continue to erode the chances of an equal assess and sustainable life on this planet.
The tide has changed against the GOP on all of this and more left unstated. It is time to educate and infuse our Americans and the world for a fair justice and sustainable life for all.
GOP their status quo must go.
7
I never gave oxycontin a second thought until my niece married an addict. Now I am very knowledgeable. Alzheimer's was a disease that afflicted others until my Brother was stricken. I then became knowledgeable of this scourge as well.
Nothing will transform a critic into a supporter of the LGBT community like having a family member to come out of the closet.
Nothing will transform a critic into a supporter of the LGBT community like having a family member to come out of the closet.
18
As someone who counts many LGBTG's as friends, democrats stereotype and ignore them at their own peril. The vast majority of LGBTQ's want what other people want, i.e. safe streets, low taxes, affordable health care, and the defeat of terrorism. These are all republican strengths. While the democrats pander to them promising LGBTQ special bathrooms in every school, republicans have their sights set on real issues. Stay tuned. This vote will go to Trump as Trump employs 100s of LGBTQ's.
12
I'm sorry, but as an actual gay man and not just a friend of one, I can promise you that you are completely wrong. Gay men and women have listened to the GOP demonize us and our relationships for decades now, and Donald Trump, while not using the same hateful speech, has courted the hateful crew that insults us in the most dehumanizing terms imaginable. We know who they are, we know how they feel, we know what their support of Trump means. And we are far from easily fooled. It will likely take the Republican Party as many decades to repair a relationship with the gay community, should they even bother to attempt it, as it has to destroy one.
This is why his rhetoric toward Hispanics should terrify every Republican across the country. He is making the party absolutely toxic for anyone with Hispanic heritage, and that sort of feeling stays with a group of people for generations. He has likely cost the party that demographic for decades as well.
You know, it doesn't really matter what a candidate says about terrorism, or public safety, or health care. When their surrogates speak unvarnished hatred toward you as a person, you stop listening. Your comment suggests that perhaps you should consult with your professed LGBTQ (that's a Q at the end, by the way - not a G) friends before you speak for them.
This is why his rhetoric toward Hispanics should terrify every Republican across the country. He is making the party absolutely toxic for anyone with Hispanic heritage, and that sort of feeling stays with a group of people for generations. He has likely cost the party that demographic for decades as well.
You know, it doesn't really matter what a candidate says about terrorism, or public safety, or health care. When their surrogates speak unvarnished hatred toward you as a person, you stop listening. Your comment suggests that perhaps you should consult with your professed LGBTQ (that's a Q at the end, by the way - not a G) friends before you speak for them.
121
As an actual gay person, I can tell you from both personal experience and those of people I know that gay people do not want to be singled out for discrimination. The Republican party has been obsessed with and aggressively pushing laws that single gay people out for said discrimination at every turn for decades. Take for example, the "First Amendment Defense Act," an odious piece of proposed Federal (all of the sponsors are Rs except one Democrat) legislation that seeks to do just that by stating that anyone in the Federal government can ignore and disregard their job duties if paperwork involving a same sex couple comes across their desk. This is to say nothing or relationship and marriage bans, fighting to keep gay people from attaining any legal protection in housing, employment, and public accommodations in over half of the states, most of which are completely or partially controlled by Republicans. As far as bathrooms goes, it appears that the GOP are the ones obsessed with that particular issues as they were the drafters of H.B. 2, the so called "bathroom bill" that was introduced to pander to their right wing base by peddling scaremongering falsehoods against the trans community. Your delusion about gay people and who they will supposedly support is quant, but that's all it is, a delusion.
96
Are you trying to be funny? Since when have Republicans done anything to provide affordable health care?
Gay people are in far more danger of being beaten or killed by a U.S. born bigot than they are of being killed by a terrorist and every gay person I've ever known is all to aware of that fact.
Gay people are in far more danger of being beaten or killed by a U.S. born bigot than they are of being killed by a terrorist and every gay person I've ever known is all to aware of that fact.
34
The truest, most real, sentence in the opinion piece I connect with:
“The Pulse attack was incredibly personal,” he said.
But beyond that, I think it's time to think about breaking up the L.G.B.T. acronym and the forced phantom "community" alliances it claims to represent.
What is a "L.G.B.T. person" anyways - a lesbian who is also gay who also bisexual who is at the same time transgendered? African Americans are not bundled together with Latinos or Asian Americans or White Americans.
Lesbian and gay fold together with common cause, which is having an attraction & heart for a person of the same sex, and all of life's situations and challenges that come from that.
Has anyone been able to identify how bisexuals are connected in the middle of this mix? I understand the basic concept of connection by way of human sexuality, but that does not connect transgendered persons, who are dealing with very difficult, very significant yet distinct societal challenges.
What is the common cause of the four groups - two connected, and two rather distinct - that calls for use of this acronym? When I feel more connection with the struggles of Latinos, can I swap that out for the "T"? I have no restroom choice or gender reassignment issues. I wonder who decided upon this acronym cluster in the first place.
What is the continued benefit to be gained by bundling the letters together?
“The Pulse attack was incredibly personal,” he said.
But beyond that, I think it's time to think about breaking up the L.G.B.T. acronym and the forced phantom "community" alliances it claims to represent.
What is a "L.G.B.T. person" anyways - a lesbian who is also gay who also bisexual who is at the same time transgendered? African Americans are not bundled together with Latinos or Asian Americans or White Americans.
Lesbian and gay fold together with common cause, which is having an attraction & heart for a person of the same sex, and all of life's situations and challenges that come from that.
Has anyone been able to identify how bisexuals are connected in the middle of this mix? I understand the basic concept of connection by way of human sexuality, but that does not connect transgendered persons, who are dealing with very difficult, very significant yet distinct societal challenges.
What is the common cause of the four groups - two connected, and two rather distinct - that calls for use of this acronym? When I feel more connection with the struggles of Latinos, can I swap that out for the "T"? I have no restroom choice or gender reassignment issues. I wonder who decided upon this acronym cluster in the first place.
What is the continued benefit to be gained by bundling the letters together?
3
The LGBTs are grouped together due to their cause to equal eights under the law and the Constitution for which all have been or continue to be denied.
3
I look at NC's Republican legislators and wonder if the GOP is ever going to realize that siding with Bible-thumping bigots is part of the past. Parroting the positions of members of recognized hate groups isn't acceptable anymore. But then again, they think that one token Trump speech at a black church will win over African Americans, so there's my answer.
10
Bruni crying wolf again?
6
The democrats feel it's more important to bring in Muslim migrants and immigrants even though they kill and imprision gays in Muslim countries. I guess the LGBT community ranks below the Muslims in Democratic eyes. Sad.
9
If anyone thinks that Donald Trump in particular and the Republican Party in general is suddenly concerned about the rights of LGBT people in Muslim countries, I have a bridge to sell you. As with so many "issues", the desire is to APPEAR to be concerned with the gay community while demonizing it within the boundaries of the country, disclaiming same sex marriage, trans rights, promoting and appearing with the likes of Kim Davis in promotion of "religious liberty", etc. The Kool Aid has indeed been consumed. Sad, indeed.
8
Upward and onward, human rights!
7
That a small minority such as homosexuals should have any sway on serious politics based on their sexual preference is a serious flaw in democracy. This, along with humanism in general, needs to be rejected in order for humanity to move forward.
17
When democracy works, it protects all of it's citizens, not just the privileged of certain groups. The "small minority of homosexuals" pay taxes and should have the same rights and freedoms as everyone else. Get that?
Here in Canada the LGBT community has rights, freedoms and protection from discrimination in our human rights codes and charter since the 1980"s. Same sex marriage has been legal since 2003, and guess what? Nothing happened. No big deal.
Here politicians who're religious leave their faith where it belongs, in their homes and their church's.
It's time America grew up and started dealing with the real issues, as opposed to using fear and hate of others to divide people.
Here in Canada the LGBT community has rights, freedoms and protection from discrimination in our human rights codes and charter since the 1980"s. Same sex marriage has been legal since 2003, and guess what? Nothing happened. No big deal.
Here politicians who're religious leave their faith where it belongs, in their homes and their church's.
It's time America grew up and started dealing with the real issues, as opposed to using fear and hate of others to divide people.
26
And what about all the one-issue voters who make their political choices based on abortion, guns, fundamentalist Christianity, Islamaphobia...
You say you want to get rid of "humanism". Sounds like you also want to get rid of humanity as well.
You say you want to get rid of "humanism". Sounds like you also want to get rid of humanity as well.
10
Minority rights and humanism are two pillars of democracy.
95
Mr. Bruni is living in another era if he believes that gay rights are still a major issue for voters.Have my shack on Middle River in W,M,gayest city in US, frequent Starbucks ,shop at Publix markets which r ubiquitous, and get along with fellow dog walkers. L.G.B.T. rights r not first on anyone's agenda here, since these rights r already secured.Rather than focus on an issue which is no longer a front page story, Mr. Bruni might be writing about the spiritual transformation of Mr. Trump, who has gotten his groove back, is visiting with black church leaders, grieving with mothers who have lost kith and kin in drive by shootings, and is down with the folk in the Hood, which is more that can be said for even some black clergymen who have moved out of the neighborhoods where their congregants reside.To see footage of DT with African american families embathizing with their plight, and pledging to bring prosperity to their quarters is inspiring, gave me goose pimples."He's getting it on with those who need help," I said to myself. He's broadening his base, becoming inclusive, and is in the process of acquiring humility.This is no cynical effort just to get votes.Trump embodies positive change. After all, if elder brother of Medgar Evers has gone on record for Trump who has promised to build a catfish processing plant in Mississipp,then other African Americans will follow suit.This is the real story that FB should have focussed on in his op ed.
6
You have to be kidding.
6
I have a lovely bridge to sell you.
5
Obama policies have already massacred the gay community, so not sure how LGBTQ community can vote for Hillary's accelerated terror risks policies that will continue the harm.
8
He gave you your own National Park albeit a bar and has plans to open another franchise in San Francisco. You will have effectively surrounded us!
2
North Carolina, the NEW South Carolina, is a disgrace. Reelecting McCrory, voter suppression specialist, would make yet another state I wouldn't travel too.
12
As today's climate article on coastal flooding could have suggested: perhaps the South will soon just float away. Good riddance. It was a mistake not to let them secede years ago.
3
Finally, some news about the other races which are, probably, even more important at this point.
9
Very important, yes. Too much focus on Trump's verbal meanderings.
2
But Frank, you're forgetting the Catholic Church - which uses fake biblical reasons to reject LGBT people - is very prominent in Northern New Jersey, as also is the constant pursuit of money, which means more to New Jerseyans than human rights and inclusion.
10
Keep dreaming.
Nearly all Americans find the gay lifestyle an anathema.
Ditto the 7,500,000 000 people in the world.
In the U.S. many will be polite and agree verbally so as to fit in the social milieu.
When it comes to pulling voting levers in private all bets are off.
LGBTs are in for a shocking surprise.
10
Read On Liberty By John Stuart Mill:
the main message, in self-regarding affairs, the public should stay out.
Wonder how wonderful your private life would seem to the public of the world if they peered into it.
Stay out of people's private lives.
the main message, in self-regarding affairs, the public should stay out.
Wonder how wonderful your private life would seem to the public of the world if they peered into it.
Stay out of people's private lives.
6
Gay people don't need your approval to exist in this country or anywhere in the world.
You're dreaming if you think gays are going to hide and cower in silence.
I'm not dreaming it, I'M LIVING IT. We are not afraid of you or anybody.
You're dreaming every time you watch FOX NEWS.
Because they tell you what you want to hear and believe.
You're dreaming if you think gays are going to hide and cower in silence.
I'm not dreaming it, I'M LIVING IT. We are not afraid of you or anybody.
You're dreaming every time you watch FOX NEWS.
Because they tell you what you want to hear and believe.
8
These pathetic fairy tales that bigots tell themselves are kind of funny. Countries all over the world, including places like Ireland have been legalizing same sex marriage, allowing gay people to serve in the military etc.
7
I hope Mr. Bruni you are correct in your analyst. In my own limited experiences, I have witnessed in public places comments that I never thought I would openly hear in this country. Yes, I always knew that under the surface some of my fellow citizens can have some pretty ugly thoughts, but with Trump, these thoughts again minorities, gays, women, are becoming too public for me. Trump uncorked the bigoted minds bottle. I feel it will take some time to put that mind back into the bottle.
10
Though we are still a long way from treating all of our citizens, LGBT and others, equally, we are making slow and steady progress. When the Millennials and successive generations come of age, perhaps we will be able to look back and ask: "How did we ever elect so many leaders who had so much hatred in their hearts?"
85
Bottle?
No it has been imprisoned in that intellectual straight jacket known as Political Correctness. What you are seeing the is release from that bondage.
No it has been imprisoned in that intellectual straight jacket known as Political Correctness. What you are seeing the is release from that bondage.
3
The answer: fear and racism
Stephanie Murphy knows how to play the game of politics. She will fit right in.
2
I think Ms. Murphy's strategy is right on. Tie the anvil of Trump around her opponents neck. I hope other Democrats do the same. Sadly I have little confidence that they will.
59
You have become a very good columnist, Mr. Bruni. Kudos.
1
It is unfortunate that some Democrats are taking advantage of a tragedy for their personal gain. Terrorists have attacked many different venues and yet we do not hear about Democrats visiting those sites. They are only interested in votes and not the welfare of those victims and it is unfortunate that people do not realize this. Shame on the Democrats.
5
Pardon me, but "Democrats are taking advantage of a tragedy for their personal gain?!" Remember how Trump responded to the Orlando tragedy? He congratulated himself for his anti-immigrant hard-line (inapt as that was), accused President Obama of having a nefarious agenda with the killings, and assured the LBGT community that he is their best friend! Shame on Trump.
And as for other attacks, Democrats have absolutely gone to the scene of the tragedies, from NYC and DC to California. If there was a specific where you found any Democrat's response to be lacking, please so indicate.
And as for other attacks, Democrats have absolutely gone to the scene of the tragedies, from NYC and DC to California. If there was a specific where you found any Democrat's response to be lacking, please so indicate.
7
You really don't read any news do you? Democrats have been the ones advocating for more sensible gun laws to prevent terrorist attacks.
9
Hopefully the evil and corrosive thread of hatred in the GOP will be voted out. But I"m not holding my breath.
9
Most people do not have a problem accepting Gays and Lesbians now, as it should be. The trans issue is another matter. In most cases, if a man is gay, he still looks and dresses like a man. If a woman is a a lesbian, she still looks and dresses like a woman. Such is not the case with a trans person. There is a photo in a current news magazine which shows a bearded person nursing his ( her ) own baby. It is not a picture which will advance the trans cause.
5
I'm happy that the state does not tell people what types of partners they can marry anymore. And I'm happy that most people don't feel like forcing others to use a bathroom that makes them feel bad.
But I question how much of a meaningful political coalition can really be founded on issues surrounding sex. Sex may make for good political TV shows, but I don't think that sex and governance really have much common ground.
I'd be relieved if the Liberal coalition revealed it had something a little more substantive up its sleeve as a back-up plan, in case this whole sex, gender and religion angle doesn't pan out.
But I question how much of a meaningful political coalition can really be founded on issues surrounding sex. Sex may make for good political TV shows, but I don't think that sex and governance really have much common ground.
I'd be relieved if the Liberal coalition revealed it had something a little more substantive up its sleeve as a back-up plan, in case this whole sex, gender and religion angle doesn't pan out.
4
How about education, health care, the environment, infrastructure etc.? These issues may not make as many headlines but Democrats are trying to do something about them.
4
The big gay sway is being felt in Latin America as well. This is astonishing but it follows the region's long struggle for human and civil rights.
Here in Colombia, we are completely absorbed in the campaign to ratify the Havana peace accord putting an end to our long internal armed conflict. On October 2nd, citizens will go to the polls to vote Si (yes) for peace, or No to reject the accords. Instead of celebrating the end of the war, we are in a fiercely polarized debate.
I report all of this, because the vote for SÍ has also become a vote for tolerance. The SÍ campaign is only a week old, but at all the rallies I have attended or seen on television, there are multiple rainbow flags, each holding out the promise that peace means an end to social cleansing of gays and prostitutes and the ushering in of a new era of tolerance.
Young people overwhelmingly support peace. And just as in the US, young people in Colombia find it hard to fathom just what the big deal is about homosexuality. Why would anyone be persecuted because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Such changes in attitudes have happened because of activism from below and from above. When the Pope casually replied, "who am I to judge," homosexuality lost much of its power to inflame.
The Pope is also a fierce backer of the peace accords. The message that is emerging in this campaign is: Peace, among other things, means greater tolerance for differences, political, ideological and sexual.
Here in Colombia, we are completely absorbed in the campaign to ratify the Havana peace accord putting an end to our long internal armed conflict. On October 2nd, citizens will go to the polls to vote Si (yes) for peace, or No to reject the accords. Instead of celebrating the end of the war, we are in a fiercely polarized debate.
I report all of this, because the vote for SÍ has also become a vote for tolerance. The SÍ campaign is only a week old, but at all the rallies I have attended or seen on television, there are multiple rainbow flags, each holding out the promise that peace means an end to social cleansing of gays and prostitutes and the ushering in of a new era of tolerance.
Young people overwhelmingly support peace. And just as in the US, young people in Colombia find it hard to fathom just what the big deal is about homosexuality. Why would anyone be persecuted because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Such changes in attitudes have happened because of activism from below and from above. When the Pope casually replied, "who am I to judge," homosexuality lost much of its power to inflame.
The Pope is also a fierce backer of the peace accords. The message that is emerging in this campaign is: Peace, among other things, means greater tolerance for differences, political, ideological and sexual.
10
Governor McCrory is headed for the same historical trash bin as Jesse Helms.
What a beautiful process to behold.
North Carolina moves inexorably in a positive direction.
What a beautiful process to behold.
North Carolina moves inexorably in a positive direction.
13
Stephanie Murphy is in her upper thirties. I view this in itself as a plus. She's old enough to have experienced life, and young enough to be flexible in her thinking. This is not to say that older representatives cannot be effective, but if they already have rigid opinions about certain members of their constituency, be they gay, poor, black, or whatever, they probably won't change those views, therefore are unlikely to act in their best interests.
I bet I'm not the only one who can't figure out why LGBT rights are an issue at all, but some people seem to spend their lives looking for excuses to be angry. Sagging pants, interrracial dating, tattoos, head scarfs, you name it. I'm tired of it all. If people aren't breaking the law - and we have laws against discrimination - MYOB.
I bet I'm not the only one who can't figure out why LGBT rights are an issue at all, but some people seem to spend their lives looking for excuses to be angry. Sagging pants, interrracial dating, tattoos, head scarfs, you name it. I'm tired of it all. If people aren't breaking the law - and we have laws against discrimination - MYOB.
123
"All politics are local" and what's more local than a close knit family. When my Uncle came out of the closet he changed our entire families viewpoint of what it meant to be gay. His love, intelligence and sense of humor were too much for us to lose, so we all decided, at different speeds, to accept that being gay didn't mean all the horrible things we were told to fear. Harvey Milk's militancy turned out to be the most politically astute lesson ever to come out of "coming out". In this case familiarity bred acceptance. Whenever I hear some hold out still condemning homosexuality I think of the 100 or so people whose minds were changed by one courageous outsider who was willing to show us that we were all living in our own closets too. I never would have guessed that we would come this far in my lifetime but, at the same time, you would see how inevitable it was if you knew my Uncle Billy.
170
I believe that a nations progress can be judged by it's leaders choosing to support equality in all its various forms not to gain votes (or despite losing some) but for one simple basic moral ethical reason--because it's the right human thing to do.
9
If passage of NC's HB2 bathroom birther law can get rid of Tea Party NC guv McCrory then it's been worth all the economic and reputational damage to the state. Thankfully the federal judiciary will soon end it.
HB2 is only the last in a spate of regressive and frankly evil ploys by the power hungry and unprincipled guv:
his refusal to expand Medicaid under the ACA which expansion would have cost the state nothing and covered over 250k poor folks, mainly children, with an infusion of over 4 Billion dollars in free federal funds to the state;
his championing of the most stringent voter suppression law in the country which was recently found by the 4th Circuit to have been obviously enacted with racially discriminatory intent;
his interference with the state environmental regulatory board to change projections of sea level rise on the Outer Banks and change findings about the safety of Duke Energy's (his beloved former employer) coal ash deposits on ground water that nearby communities use for drinking;
his championing (at the behest of Duke Energy) of legislation ending tax credits for NC's robust solar energy industry, the 4th largest in the country, costing hundreds of high paying jobs and derailing industry expansion plans; and
his championing of a bill prohibiting rural local communities from providing high speed internet access to rural NC citizens where the AT&T, Time Warner and Comcast cartels have refused to provide service all at the behest of those cartels.
HB2 is only the last in a spate of regressive and frankly evil ploys by the power hungry and unprincipled guv:
his refusal to expand Medicaid under the ACA which expansion would have cost the state nothing and covered over 250k poor folks, mainly children, with an infusion of over 4 Billion dollars in free federal funds to the state;
his championing of the most stringent voter suppression law in the country which was recently found by the 4th Circuit to have been obviously enacted with racially discriminatory intent;
his interference with the state environmental regulatory board to change projections of sea level rise on the Outer Banks and change findings about the safety of Duke Energy's (his beloved former employer) coal ash deposits on ground water that nearby communities use for drinking;
his championing (at the behest of Duke Energy) of legislation ending tax credits for NC's robust solar energy industry, the 4th largest in the country, costing hundreds of high paying jobs and derailing industry expansion plans; and
his championing of a bill prohibiting rural local communities from providing high speed internet access to rural NC citizens where the AT&T, Time Warner and Comcast cartels have refused to provide service all at the behest of those cartels.
34
If some slick talking sales persons comes to your house and sells you on the idea that you'll save tons of money putting in a solar arrangement your decision to do it should be dependent on that sales pitch. That sales pitch shouldn't include how many dollars of my taxes you'll get to do it.
2
It is interesting in this weird election year that none of the four leading Presidential candidates have taken positions against LGBT interests. At the same time, Trump still advocates for gun rights and hasn't openly considered the connection between guns and hate crimes.
It would be a great achievement for LGBT rights to have Murphy defeat Mica in that mostly Orlando House District.
.
It would be a great achievement for LGBT rights to have Murphy defeat Mica in that mostly Orlando House District.
.
26
Pence is one of the biggest homophobes in the U.S.
9
Not to worry, Pence is Trump's surrogate on anti-LGBT positions. Pence is openly anti-LGBT and anti-women. Voting for the Trump/Pence ticket is the same as voting against LGBT rights or women's rights.
85
By all means let's punish and inconvenience 100,000,000 gun owners who have background checks and permits in almost all cases because someone with in almost all cases uses a an illegally obtained firearm.
It is you people who fail to make the connection between the two.
It is you people who fail to make the connection between the two.
1
It could be a positive for this country, if this Trump campaign made Americans in general so uncomfortable about the picture of ourselves that Trump is revealing, that they not only rejected him by a great margin but also turned that discomfort against like-minded Republicans up and down the ticket. That might be some long-term benefit from this sleazy, coarse, hate-infested presidential election year.
Or Trump will win, or lose so narrowly that the mandate for intelligence and compassion over bigotry and hatred isn't really a mandate at all, and the houses of Congress will remain in the hands of obstructionist hypocrites.
And the picture of us that Trump has painted will be much more realistic than we care to acknowledge.
Or Trump will win, or lose so narrowly that the mandate for intelligence and compassion over bigotry and hatred isn't really a mandate at all, and the houses of Congress will remain in the hands of obstructionist hypocrites.
And the picture of us that Trump has painted will be much more realistic than we care to acknowledge.
27
And Trump has shown us through his campaign staff hires -- from Breitbart and Citizens United -- that he is beholden to the haters. He's dangerous on all issues of civil rights.
101
Imagine!! Representatives who believe that gay Americans should enjoy the same rights as other Americans!!
192
Bruni 2x does not provide the name of Stephanie Murphy's "73-year-old" opponent and the incumbent Representative. Is Frank turning in to Charles Blow who refused to write Trumps name in a pique for months?!
Instead Bruni goes for not so subtle ageism by citing the incumbents long service and age v Stephanie Murphy being 37.
As important as LGBT rights are so are those of the elderly. Especially since they vote in greater proportion than the young.
Thanks to Bruni's article, I don't know who this allegedly anti-gay old geezer is that Murphy is running against, but I hope the elderly rise up and crush her with their electoral might and sweep him back in office.
Instead Bruni goes for not so subtle ageism by citing the incumbents long service and age v Stephanie Murphy being 37.
As important as LGBT rights are so are those of the elderly. Especially since they vote in greater proportion than the young.
Thanks to Bruni's article, I don't know who this allegedly anti-gay old geezer is that Murphy is running against, but I hope the elderly rise up and crush her with their electoral might and sweep him back in office.
8
He does mention him, just several paragraphs down. His name is Mica.
3
The name, John Mica, is in the column.
2
How about reading the essay TP Redux?
"I think that’s changing, and 2016 could be the proof of it. In several closely fought races around the country, candidates’ actions and comments regarding gay people have come to the fore and come to define them. Murphy’s contest against >>>John Mica<<<, now in his 12th term, is only one of them."
It's right there in black and white, just waiting to be read.
"I think that’s changing, and 2016 could be the proof of it. In several closely fought races around the country, candidates’ actions and comments regarding gay people have come to the fore and come to define them. Murphy’s contest against >>>John Mica<<<, now in his 12th term, is only one of them."
It's right there in black and white, just waiting to be read.
5
It is very hard to reconcile the idea that there are still Log Cabin Republicans in today's Republican Party. A black infant born to parents of pure Nordic stock would be about as believable.
If the percentage of the population that comprise the LGBT community votes and votes in its entirety for the Democratic ticket, the Republican Party is in peril.
If the percentage of the population that comprise the LGBT community votes and votes in its entirety for the Democratic ticket, the Republican Party is in peril.
14
This is so wierd. Numerous people shot to death, but instead of describing them as victims of a heinous crime, politicians say that their rights were violated. And not human rights -- every human has a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness -- but their "gay rights". Then deploring their deaths is interpreted to mean that a politician is pro-gays, not anti-crime.
4
When one is murdered by chance, simply because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time, or murdered in a robbery, it is a terrible thing. But when one is murdered for choosing to be who they are rather than living a lie for the sake of their safety, it is a crime more heinous implicating more than one's right to life, it also implicates one's human rights as a member of a class that laws have had to be enacted to protect from discrimination. Murdering someone simply for living while gay is the ultimate discrimination - in that it chooses someone for death for whom they are as a class, rather than based on an individual or transactional motive.
3
Gay rights are human rights, plain and simple. This essay by Mr Bruni explains how the LGBT community is still the target of hate, and our pursuit of life, liberty and happiness is still blocked by groups -- including hyper-conservative Republicans -- who want to deny us those human rights through discriminatory laws.
Stephanie Murphy's run against John Mica isn't about "pro-gay" over "anti-crime". In a country where the LGBT community still encounter opposition to where they live, where they work, and whom they love, any politician proposing or endorsing "anti-gay" legislation is really "pro-crime", because it gives the fringe the impression that it's open season on LGBTs.
Stephanie Murphy's run against John Mica isn't about "pro-gay" over "anti-crime". In a country where the LGBT community still encounter opposition to where they live, where they work, and whom they love, any politician proposing or endorsing "anti-gay" legislation is really "pro-crime", because it gives the fringe the impression that it's open season on LGBTs.
2
Not "every human," but only Americans have the "right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Those rights are not global.
1
Now Frank..love you columns as I read now New York magazine is blaming you for happening of Donald Trump ?
How interesting to read it is not the clueless Republicans like most of my neighbors it is Frank Bruni who gets the credit / blame.
How interesting to read it is not the clueless Republicans like most of my neighbors it is Frank Bruni who gets the credit / blame.
5
I am planning to vote against Mr. Trump because I don’t like his braggadocio, his meanness, his lifestyle, his business practices, his attitudes toward minorities, his campaign practices and his haircut.
Some of my acquaintances tell me that his low character and moral transgressions are insufficient reasons for voting against him and that Supreme Court appointments and defeating Mrs. Clinton are the matters that really count.
But for me his low character is a plenty good reason to deny him my vote.
Some of my acquaintances tell me that his low character and moral transgressions are insufficient reasons for voting against him and that Supreme Court appointments and defeating Mrs. Clinton are the matters that really count.
But for me his low character is a plenty good reason to deny him my vote.
102
Make that last line "his low character is a perfectly good reason to deny him my vote."
4
All good reasons, A. Stanton. The haircut in particular.
5
The Supreme Court is where your friends plan to undo gay rights, women's health measures, voting rights, separation of church and state, this is the primary reason not to elect Trump.
1
Mr. Bruni, I really hope that the L.G.B.T. issue becomes a game-changer in November. I doubt that voters on the right are sophisticated politically to the point where they are able to compartmentalize issues, to sift and weigh, to abandon themselves to the delicious intellectual seductions of nuance and subtlety. You can't do those things if you're afraid.
I recall, half a century and more ago, when the issue of voting rights tore our country apart, taking the lives of four black girls in church on a Sunday, heaven's sake, and, almost a year later, costing the lives of three young men who went to Mississippi to make America's dream come true. Those who resisted voting rights for black people interpreted it as an attack upon their society. It was, of course, but voting was a right, not a privilege, and those against voting rights were against any other humane legislation designed to right a wrong.
So, in 2016, it's my hopeful view, that citizens who are affrighted at the prospect of L.G.B.T. citizens having a place at the great table will see that they want the same respect, dignity and opportunity that they themselves have had all their lives and have, perhaps, taken for granted. An expanded tent means more room, not less, for those inside it.
The evangelical right, whose final bullets call upon Christ as holy witness to heterosexuality *do not* have Him as a final advocate.
Making no distinction between the sexes, He left us with "love one another as I have loved you."
I recall, half a century and more ago, when the issue of voting rights tore our country apart, taking the lives of four black girls in church on a Sunday, heaven's sake, and, almost a year later, costing the lives of three young men who went to Mississippi to make America's dream come true. Those who resisted voting rights for black people interpreted it as an attack upon their society. It was, of course, but voting was a right, not a privilege, and those against voting rights were against any other humane legislation designed to right a wrong.
So, in 2016, it's my hopeful view, that citizens who are affrighted at the prospect of L.G.B.T. citizens having a place at the great table will see that they want the same respect, dignity and opportunity that they themselves have had all their lives and have, perhaps, taken for granted. An expanded tent means more room, not less, for those inside it.
The evangelical right, whose final bullets call upon Christ as holy witness to heterosexuality *do not* have Him as a final advocate.
Making no distinction between the sexes, He left us with "love one another as I have loved you."
36
You don't get the privilege of quoting the Bible or Jesus or Christianity when you reject all of its precepts.
Jesus was a First Century Jewish rabbi. If he disagreed with the Torah and Jewish law on the issue of homosexuality, he surely would have said so! He no more commented on homosexuality than he did space travel or smartphones, so we can assume he did NOT disagree with traditional Jewish teaching -- that homosexuality was an abomination and violation of God's laws for mankind.
Now -- you do not have to believe this yourself, as you live in the USA and have complete Freedom of Worship. However, you cannot cloak yourself in "being more Christian than conservatives" and then reject every precept of Christian law, morals and guidance.
Jesus was a First Century Jewish rabbi. If he disagreed with the Torah and Jewish law on the issue of homosexuality, he surely would have said so! He no more commented on homosexuality than he did space travel or smartphones, so we can assume he did NOT disagree with traditional Jewish teaching -- that homosexuality was an abomination and violation of God's laws for mankind.
Now -- you do not have to believe this yourself, as you live in the USA and have complete Freedom of Worship. However, you cannot cloak yourself in "being more Christian than conservatives" and then reject every precept of Christian law, morals and guidance.
1
In the wake of the Pulse tragedy, Marco Rubio asked conservatives to be mindful of the destructive consequences of homophobia. Yet Rubio, as a Senator and a Presidential candidate, was poor on LBGT rights, calling himself a defender of 'traditional marriage' and otherwise toeing the reactionary Republican line. Can't have it both ways. Treating all people with the same inherent dignity means doing just that, no caveats.
53
You can believe that gays and lesbians have every CIVIL right of any other citizen -- to vote, live peacefully, own property, run a business, etc. -- but NOT believe that two men or two women together constitute a "marriage".
Marriage is not a civil right. Look it up! Marriage is a social custom (of very long standing, like 100,000 years!) that the state RECOGNIZES. No culture or society, no time period or era, no religion or church, has ever recognized gay marriage prior to just a few years ago. It is an entirely invented phenomena, to appease a small, vocal and VERY RICH minority group....who spent the prior 50 years ridiculing marriage and married people as "breeders".
Marriage is not a civil right. Look it up! Marriage is a social custom (of very long standing, like 100,000 years!) that the state RECOGNIZES. No culture or society, no time period or era, no religion or church, has ever recognized gay marriage prior to just a few years ago. It is an entirely invented phenomena, to appease a small, vocal and VERY RICH minority group....who spent the prior 50 years ridiculing marriage and married people as "breeders".
3
Concerned Citizen - You really don't know your history do you? Marriage has long been a contract, often used to unite countries, acquire land or goods etc.
9
I think that what needs to be said, maybe even shouted, is that the LGBTQ community is not asking for special treatment. We're asking that the rights others take for granted are rights we can take for granted. We're saying that we want to be able to marry our lovers. We want to be able to use the bathroom that goes with our gender identity and that may not be the gender we were born with. We're saying that we want to be able to walk down the street holding hands with each other, or kiss each other the same way straight people do. We also want to be accepted as who we are and not told that we're abominations, haven't slept with the right person, aren't being fired or not hired because of our sexual orientation.
We don't recruit. We don't have a lifestyle peculiar to ourselves. We want to be able to support ourselves, go to school, have relations with our parents, have friends, and be part of life like everyone else. That we have to fight for this as many other minorities or disabled people have to fight for it doesn't mean we're asking for special rights. We're fighting because our rights have been denied us because there continue to be people out there who see LGBTQ people as freaks, not worthy of consideration, as sinners, as mentally ill, etc.
It has changed a lot. Let's hope that it keeps on changing until being LGBTQ is merely a piece of who we are and not all of who we are.
We don't recruit. We don't have a lifestyle peculiar to ourselves. We want to be able to support ourselves, go to school, have relations with our parents, have friends, and be part of life like everyone else. That we have to fight for this as many other minorities or disabled people have to fight for it doesn't mean we're asking for special rights. We're fighting because our rights have been denied us because there continue to be people out there who see LGBTQ people as freaks, not worthy of consideration, as sinners, as mentally ill, etc.
It has changed a lot. Let's hope that it keeps on changing until being LGBTQ is merely a piece of who we are and not all of who we are.
145
Amen. I'm white and straight but I won't vote for a candidate who treats gay people or people of color as second class citizens. All of us are supposed to be treated equally and I don't trust anyone who won't uphold that.
7
Human beings are not among the species which can change gender. You are the gender/sex you were at birth (*excepting a very tiny tiny minority who are truly intersexed, with no discernible gender -- but this conversation was NEVER about them!).
You have always had the right to walk where you wished, or kiss anyone you wished, or hold hands with anyone you wished.
That does not translate into the right to destroy traditional marriage for the vast majority of 97% of other people who are NOT gay.
BTW: marriage is about forming and creating new families, and not about "marrying your lover". You can marry (theoretically) a person you dislike, or don't love -- surely many people throughout history have done so! -- or for money, or dynastic power. And you can NOT MARRY the one you love the very best in the world -- for all kinds of reasons -- you don't want to marry, or can't afford to, or don't believe in marriage -- or the "one you love best" is your sibling, parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, first cousin -- or your pet dog. Though it is very nice to love the person you marry, marriage is not inherently about LOVE. It's about family, and social stability, and raising children by the people who created those children, and through blood relations, creating kinship.
You do not know this, as you have never married nor had any children -- and never will.
NOTE: I do not consider gay people freaks, nor sinners, nor mentally ill and I treat everyone I know fairly.
You have always had the right to walk where you wished, or kiss anyone you wished, or hold hands with anyone you wished.
That does not translate into the right to destroy traditional marriage for the vast majority of 97% of other people who are NOT gay.
BTW: marriage is about forming and creating new families, and not about "marrying your lover". You can marry (theoretically) a person you dislike, or don't love -- surely many people throughout history have done so! -- or for money, or dynastic power. And you can NOT MARRY the one you love the very best in the world -- for all kinds of reasons -- you don't want to marry, or can't afford to, or don't believe in marriage -- or the "one you love best" is your sibling, parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, first cousin -- or your pet dog. Though it is very nice to love the person you marry, marriage is not inherently about LOVE. It's about family, and social stability, and raising children by the people who created those children, and through blood relations, creating kinship.
You do not know this, as you have never married nor had any children -- and never will.
NOTE: I do not consider gay people freaks, nor sinners, nor mentally ill and I treat everyone I know fairly.
4
Concerned Citizen, today marriage is about love. And you do not have any business lecturing me or anyone else about love, marriage, or how we live our lives, or what we know and don't know. "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."
You have no understanding about my life or why I made the choices I made. The same can be said for other things you have written on this site. At the very least stop using the moniker Concerned Citizen for you are not. Everything I've seen you post is intolerant, bigoted, and in some cases downright wrong. Go bludgeon somewhere else. You're getting very boring.
You have no understanding about my life or why I made the choices I made. The same can be said for other things you have written on this site. At the very least stop using the moniker Concerned Citizen for you are not. Everything I've seen you post is intolerant, bigoted, and in some cases downright wrong. Go bludgeon somewhere else. You're getting very boring.
7
A candidate's progressive stance on gay rights may suggest some semblance of humanity. That said, a candidate may support LGBT civil rights and still be a puppet of the anti-union, anti-middle class, climate change denying corporatists with money.
So, Mr. Bruni, we're going to be very careful in our vetting of the lot of them.
And thanks again, for Donald in the mirror, looking at a weiner.
So, Mr. Bruni, we're going to be very careful in our vetting of the lot of them.
And thanks again, for Donald in the mirror, looking at a weiner.
39
If there is one thing that separates the under 30 crowd from entrenched Republican race based and same sex discriminatory policies, its that the young have little to no objection to relationships between anyone regardless of color or gender identity. If Billy wants to date a black Korean, no big deal. If Suzy wants to date Mary, what's the problem?
Some will say that the young don't vote. Unfortunately, there is a lot of truth to that. But someday the under 30 crowd will become the 30 something crowd and then the 40 something crowd.
The nation is moving away from the gun toting bible thumping identity politics of the Republican Party. If LGBT rights become the rallying cry that gets the young out to the polls, then great. One would hope that the Democratic party would pickup on this trend.
Some will say that the young don't vote. Unfortunately, there is a lot of truth to that. But someday the under 30 crowd will become the 30 something crowd and then the 40 something crowd.
The nation is moving away from the gun toting bible thumping identity politics of the Republican Party. If LGBT rights become the rallying cry that gets the young out to the polls, then great. One would hope that the Democratic party would pickup on this trend.
174
I hope you are right. I have seen young people change their political stance as they age - usually becoming more conservative. For example, there is no evidence that young men today are less sexist than their elders. "Expressing" one's view is usually easy, I hope to see that this generation grows up to become truly unbiased employers, heads of households and heads of states.
23
Bruce, where have you been? Obama has reportedly signed 100 executive orders relating to LGBT rights. Does that not signal that the Democratic party is on point with these issues? The Secy. of the Army is gay, Obama names a new Navy ship for Harvey Milk, gays and transgenders now serve openly in the U.S.
military, and one has to wonder just what would satisfy you about "picking up on this trend."
military, and one has to wonder just what would satisfy you about "picking up on this trend."
4
Bruce, well put, except for the last sentence. As for the Democratic party picking up on this trend, did you watch the convention? Picked up, and picked up a lot!
3
I hope this is a heartfelt, real commitment to the gay community and not just a vote seeking marketing ploy.
59
"I hope this is a heartfelt, real commitment to the gay community and not just a vote seeking marketing ploy. "
Um... you know that these are professional politicians, right?
Um... you know that these are professional politicians, right?
1
There are politicians who will openly oppose LGBT in ways they would not now dare openly oppose rights for blacks or Hispanics. They dog whistle on those, and in fact oppose them, but they won't come right and say it the way they will with LGBT.
That means they know people other than blacks and Hispanics would be put off by open racism or ethnic slurs. They apparently feel they would not get the same backlash from non-LGBT as they would from non-blacks for overt racism.
In addition, the numbers are not there. Most surveys show identification with LGBT running at half of blacks, perhaps a third of Hispanics. And on top of that there is more non-black and non-Hispanic outrage for open disrespect of their rights.
LGBT issues are important ethically, and have emotional weight for those who feel them. They do not however move the total numbers of the electorate like similar issues.
It can be an appeal in the district of a mass killing of gays. It is not the same everywhere.
LGBT must still pick its fights and its candidates very carefully, to get maximum impact and maximum payoff. It does not have the numbers behind it to weigh in more strongly. It must reward only those who are actually committed to its causes, not be taken for granted and used, as a group with nowhere else to go. That requires great care.
That means they know people other than blacks and Hispanics would be put off by open racism or ethnic slurs. They apparently feel they would not get the same backlash from non-LGBT as they would from non-blacks for overt racism.
In addition, the numbers are not there. Most surveys show identification with LGBT running at half of blacks, perhaps a third of Hispanics. And on top of that there is more non-black and non-Hispanic outrage for open disrespect of their rights.
LGBT issues are important ethically, and have emotional weight for those who feel them. They do not however move the total numbers of the electorate like similar issues.
It can be an appeal in the district of a mass killing of gays. It is not the same everywhere.
LGBT must still pick its fights and its candidates very carefully, to get maximum impact and maximum payoff. It does not have the numbers behind it to weigh in more strongly. It must reward only those who are actually committed to its causes, not be taken for granted and used, as a group with nowhere else to go. That requires great care.
17
"…rights for blacks or Hispanic…"
Wade Henderson, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said that "attempts to equate the persecution of gay and black Americans can be “deeply offensive…inherently disrespectful to the black experience in this country.”
Council Nedd II, bishop said, “Gay is not the new black. There are lots of people who lived and died and suffered merely because of race.”
Read what Loves Redemption, inmatt Washington, reacting to Obama's telling public schools to allow transgender students to use the restroom.
"As an African-American female, I understand the plight for equality.
"However, I am severely offended by the continual comparison of a sexual preference, a gender preference, to the plight of an enslaved, raped, lynched, brutalized, oppressed people.
"Dare anyone compare choice of bathroom to the plight of blacks for the past 400 years? Isn’t that a bit ridiculous?
"First of all, it’s insulting to every black person in America. As blacks we were born as we are. No choice involved.
"Transgenders have to make a conscious choice to become a transgender. There is no comparison.
"Stop making it seem like it is. That’s judgmental and degrading."
1
And as long as white gays and lesbians continue to dismiss Black and Hispanic issues and give the impression that they only care about their self interests the conflict will remain. It is no accident that there is not that much integrstion in the LGBTTI communities.
1
Blacks: 12% of US population
Hispanics: 14% of US population
LBGQT: all together, 3% of US population
Transgender people wishing to take away our privacy in the bathroom: a whopping 0.3% of all US population
It's a math issue, Mark. DO THE MATH.
The only "mass killing of gays" in the US -- in Orlando -- was done by a radicalized Muslim terrorist, Omar Mateen -- not by any conservatives, whites, Christians, or church-goers.
Hispanics: 14% of US population
LBGQT: all together, 3% of US population
Transgender people wishing to take away our privacy in the bathroom: a whopping 0.3% of all US population
It's a math issue, Mark. DO THE MATH.
The only "mass killing of gays" in the US -- in Orlando -- was done by a radicalized Muslim terrorist, Omar Mateen -- not by any conservatives, whites, Christians, or church-goers.
2
Over long periods of time, Republicans are always forced to concede reality, modernity and common sense to the progressive left, but in the short-term they always have a built-in advantage that allows them to deny reality and progress over the short-term in order to organ-harvest their reactionary, remedial, religious class right-wing voter base for votes and political profit.
The right denied gay rights and gay marriage forever under the banner of a spiteful, homophobic Lord, but are now forced to concede what any scientist and zoologist has known forever - that homosexual behavior is found in virtually all sexual species and is a perfectly natural condition.
The right denied climate change forever, but is slowly being forced to admit they were wrong, wrong, wrong...but not before driving their voter base into the gutter of scientific ignorance and sheer stupidity.
The right denies basic female contraception nationwide while advocating the right-wing practical joke of Abstinence 'birth control', thereby creating a giant wave of unwanted and forced pregnancies, welfare moms, and welfare children, until the higher courts remind Americans that the Republican violation of a women's Constitutional right to abortion is a great reason to refuse to vote for Christian Shariah Law Crusaders of medieval darkness.
The Republican battle cry and mating call whereby “my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge” demands careful GOP weaning from the milk of their cultured stupidity.
The right denied gay rights and gay marriage forever under the banner of a spiteful, homophobic Lord, but are now forced to concede what any scientist and zoologist has known forever - that homosexual behavior is found in virtually all sexual species and is a perfectly natural condition.
The right denied climate change forever, but is slowly being forced to admit they were wrong, wrong, wrong...but not before driving their voter base into the gutter of scientific ignorance and sheer stupidity.
The right denies basic female contraception nationwide while advocating the right-wing practical joke of Abstinence 'birth control', thereby creating a giant wave of unwanted and forced pregnancies, welfare moms, and welfare children, until the higher courts remind Americans that the Republican violation of a women's Constitutional right to abortion is a great reason to refuse to vote for Christian Shariah Law Crusaders of medieval darkness.
The Republican battle cry and mating call whereby “my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge” demands careful GOP weaning from the milk of their cultured stupidity.
346
Thank you for putting into words what I only wish I could have put into words!
5
The right is not opposed to contraception. Only a handful of politicians are Roman Catholics, and that is the ONLY church which opposes contraception. And 95% of Catholics in American use contraception anyways!
This is a non-issue, and a phony talking point for lefty liberals.
This is a non-issue, and a phony talking point for lefty liberals.
5
Concerned....the right defunded the most successful contraception in America in Colorado last year, even though it saved tens of millions in taxpayer funded welfare costs.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/may/06/colorado-contraception-f...
"The abortion rate among women between 15 and 19 years old dropped by more than a third; high-risk pregnancies by a fourth."
Republican opposition to contraception is flourishing.
It's not particularly helpful for you to deny Republican nihilism and reality.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/may/06/colorado-contraception-f...
"The abortion rate among women between 15 and 19 years old dropped by more than a third; high-risk pregnancies by a fourth."
Republican opposition to contraception is flourishing.
It's not particularly helpful for you to deny Republican nihilism and reality.
13
There is no chance that the House will flip from red to blue anytime soon. Liberals are so desperate, though, that they've slipped into a fantasy-world based on nothing but the ability of a severely distrusted Hillary Clinton to sway enough voters with her coattails that they see a rainbow everywhere they look, even if it hasn't rained for three weeks.
Instead of depending for forward movement by their lights on changing the House, or the almost three-quarters of statehouse chambers that are Republican, or the 34 Republican governorships, or the increasingly dominant Republican heft at state and local levels generally, as WELL as an undivided Republican Congress, liberals might consider finding common ground to start with. If they could get down off their high-horses, gun rights might be a starting point. LGBT rights, given the impressively accelerating willingness of Americans to accept diversity in sexual identity, could be another.
But, then, expecting liberals to get off their high-horses even to further their most cherished objectives IS asking a lot, I know.
Yet, to successfully challenge incumbent Republicans, liberals will need to get beyond LGBT rights alone, as what separates them from Republicans is a world of issues, not just one issue -- even when that one issue DOES separate people.
On a personal note, the bald attempt to identify the mad act of an Islamic extremist at Pulse with Republican candidates and beliefs is pathetic and deeply offensive.
Instead of depending for forward movement by their lights on changing the House, or the almost three-quarters of statehouse chambers that are Republican, or the 34 Republican governorships, or the increasingly dominant Republican heft at state and local levels generally, as WELL as an undivided Republican Congress, liberals might consider finding common ground to start with. If they could get down off their high-horses, gun rights might be a starting point. LGBT rights, given the impressively accelerating willingness of Americans to accept diversity in sexual identity, could be another.
But, then, expecting liberals to get off their high-horses even to further their most cherished objectives IS asking a lot, I know.
Yet, to successfully challenge incumbent Republicans, liberals will need to get beyond LGBT rights alone, as what separates them from Republicans is a world of issues, not just one issue -- even when that one issue DOES separate people.
On a personal note, the bald attempt to identify the mad act of an Islamic extremist at Pulse with Republican candidates and beliefs is pathetic and deeply offensive.
29
"liberals might consider finding common ground to start with. If they could get down off their high-horses, gun rights might be a starting point."....writes Sheriff Luettgen
You're so right, the 300 million guns currently in America isn't nearly enough for the deadly American shooting gallery.
We probably need another 300 million more guns or so - two under every American pillow - to secure the paranoid right from home invasions, government invasions, gay invasions .... and most of all, the invasion of common sense into the American body politic.
That you - an obviously intelligent man - pretend with a straight face that gun rights are under assault in an America drowning in guns - is incontrovertible evidence of badly metastasized political cancer in the Republican mind.
Pathetic and deeply offensive 2nd Amendment Derangement Syndrome, Richard.
You're so right, the 300 million guns currently in America isn't nearly enough for the deadly American shooting gallery.
We probably need another 300 million more guns or so - two under every American pillow - to secure the paranoid right from home invasions, government invasions, gay invasions .... and most of all, the invasion of common sense into the American body politic.
That you - an obviously intelligent man - pretend with a straight face that gun rights are under assault in an America drowning in guns - is incontrovertible evidence of badly metastasized political cancer in the Republican mind.
Pathetic and deeply offensive 2nd Amendment Derangement Syndrome, Richard.
509
Richard, you are selling one of two possible narratives for the Pulse shooting, the other being the tendency of a self-loathing, closeted gay or bisexual man to act out in pathological fashion as a result of the truly poisonous conditioning imposed on him by a reactionary, retrograde form of religion.
I would point out that the thugs who murdered Matthew Sheppard and Julio Rivera were not Muslim - and that homophobia remains a core component of both religious right and reptilian right (otherwise known as alt+right) ideology.
As regards gun rights, I absolutely support the right of every American to not be shot by a "good guy with a gun" turned bad guy with a gun - as is the actual equation in the vast majority of our recent mass killings.
If we were a sane country, instead of an insane asylum, we would subject every individual seeking to own a weapon to a battery of tough psychological tests - and if they pass, then allow them to own a weapon suitable for hunting or self-protection. But the NRA, and its lackeys in the Republican Party, clearly would not go for that - and instead we make it easy for every nutjob and psycho to go postal at the venue of their choice, while pretending that some of the most controlling political thinkers in human history, the Founding Fathers, would have approved of this.
I would point out that the thugs who murdered Matthew Sheppard and Julio Rivera were not Muslim - and that homophobia remains a core component of both religious right and reptilian right (otherwise known as alt+right) ideology.
As regards gun rights, I absolutely support the right of every American to not be shot by a "good guy with a gun" turned bad guy with a gun - as is the actual equation in the vast majority of our recent mass killings.
If we were a sane country, instead of an insane asylum, we would subject every individual seeking to own a weapon to a battery of tough psychological tests - and if they pass, then allow them to own a weapon suitable for hunting or self-protection. But the NRA, and its lackeys in the Republican Party, clearly would not go for that - and instead we make it easy for every nutjob and psycho to go postal at the venue of their choice, while pretending that some of the most controlling political thinkers in human history, the Founding Fathers, would have approved of this.
243
dick,
Tell that to the two little girls who were shot, one fatally, by their gun cleaning dad this holiday weekend. We don't have a horse, high or otherwise.
Tired of kids killing kids in accidental shootings, tired of adults killing kids et cetera. Why on earth should we consider the false equivalency of the right to love any consenting adult which poses no harm to anyone with the right to arm every half-wit in this nation which has proven fatal to so many? Australia had the right idea. Buy up and lock up every gun.
Tell that to the two little girls who were shot, one fatally, by their gun cleaning dad this holiday weekend. We don't have a horse, high or otherwise.
Tired of kids killing kids in accidental shootings, tired of adults killing kids et cetera. Why on earth should we consider the false equivalency of the right to love any consenting adult which poses no harm to anyone with the right to arm every half-wit in this nation which has proven fatal to so many? Australia had the right idea. Buy up and lock up every gun.
188
Karen Gerbatsch, 64, a registered Republican: “It bothered me a lot,” she added. She said that she’ll vote for Gottheimer, but cited additional reasons, chief among them her concern about the current crop of Washington Republicans amassing too much power, especially if Donald Trump happens to win the presidency.
*******
One can only hope that Karen Gerbatsch represents a growing number of sane Republicans who have realized that the party no longer represents their interests. It is instead the party of white patriarchy, determined to impose its concept of religious morals on everyone else, and willing to deny basic rights to anyone unwilling to accept their dominance. There's nothing wrong with straight, white, Christian males, but they are no more equal than any of the rest of us. If the Republican Party is destroyed they need only look in the mirror.
*******
One can only hope that Karen Gerbatsch represents a growing number of sane Republicans who have realized that the party no longer represents their interests. It is instead the party of white patriarchy, determined to impose its concept of religious morals on everyone else, and willing to deny basic rights to anyone unwilling to accept their dominance. There's nothing wrong with straight, white, Christian males, but they are no more equal than any of the rest of us. If the Republican Party is destroyed they need only look in the mirror.
275
Claiming to know what God thinks is not an indicator of wisdom or integrity.
23
As more and more of the "white patriarchy" are caught out in direct violation of their alleged religious morals, their hypocrisy becomes the fuel for the fires of cynical disaffection.
3
"Christianity" is not one huge, blanket religion. I say this as a woman who is neither "white" in the classic sense, nor a Christian. There are countless Christian churches and sects, and some are VERY liberal (Unitarians, Church of Christ, Quakers) and others that are VERY conservative (Roman Catholics, Evangelicals, Mormons) and a whole lot in between.
To say that Mormons are just like Roman Catholics is nuts. They differ on EVERY social, cultural and scriptural point imaginable. And conservative politicians have represented every religious group imaginable! From Orthodox Jews (Eric Cantor) to Quakers (Richard Nixon) to Evangelicals (Sarah Palin) to Catholics (Chris Christie, Rick Santorum) to Mormons (Mitt Romney)....there is no way to have a "conspiracy" among people who all believe drastically different things.
On the other hand, what does lefty liberalism represent? Rejection of ALL religions -- mocking religion -- atheism and agnosticism -- which brought the world Communist China and the former Soviet Union -- dictatorships which caused the deaths of tens of millions of people in the name of "political correctness".
To say that Mormons are just like Roman Catholics is nuts. They differ on EVERY social, cultural and scriptural point imaginable. And conservative politicians have represented every religious group imaginable! From Orthodox Jews (Eric Cantor) to Quakers (Richard Nixon) to Evangelicals (Sarah Palin) to Catholics (Chris Christie, Rick Santorum) to Mormons (Mitt Romney)....there is no way to have a "conspiracy" among people who all believe drastically different things.
On the other hand, what does lefty liberalism represent? Rejection of ALL religions -- mocking religion -- atheism and agnosticism -- which brought the world Communist China and the former Soviet Union -- dictatorships which caused the deaths of tens of millions of people in the name of "political correctness".
1
I hope these examples prove you're right about how the times are "a changing." I find it ironic how big business--a symbol of and guarantor of the GOP vote--is leading the way on LGBT rights where races are critical.
I'd also think that Garret's opponent has more than a good shot. I mean, it's New Jersey for God's sake, not some Tea Party state stronghold.
Let's hope our nation's youth grow up quickly in order to give added weight to progressive causes. Lord knows they have fare more common sense than their elders, not just on LGBT rights but also a wide range of issues from money in politics, income inequality, higher minimum wage, gun safety and term limits.
After all, their generation has also suffered from the standard GOP position, where lack of humanity is the common denominator.
I'd also think that Garret's opponent has more than a good shot. I mean, it's New Jersey for God's sake, not some Tea Party state stronghold.
Let's hope our nation's youth grow up quickly in order to give added weight to progressive causes. Lord knows they have fare more common sense than their elders, not just on LGBT rights but also a wide range of issues from money in politics, income inequality, higher minimum wage, gun safety and term limits.
After all, their generation has also suffered from the standard GOP position, where lack of humanity is the common denominator.
198
To be fair, big business is *not* leading the way on LGBT rights.
The struggle has been going on for the last 50 years at least. Only in the last 20 or so have businesses come to their senses and realized that diversity is a good thing. It's only in the last 10 or so that they have been public about their support for what, really, is just common sense.
The struggle has been going on for the last 50 years at least. Only in the last 20 or so have businesses come to their senses and realized that diversity is a good thing. It's only in the last 10 or so that they have been public about their support for what, really, is just common sense.
9
And climate change, they have to live through it.
3
Christine, I think you have a misguided idea of politics in NJ. There are two Democratic strongholds in the state centered around Newark and Camden, but the area Garrett represents is a Tea Party stronghold as is much of the north and western part of the state. The Tea Party has dominated local elections in that part of the state but hopefully that will soon end.
1
Lots of conservative Republicans seem to be science deniers, and a few notable ones defiantly deny that evolution is real. Yet here it is in action, pruning the political body of ideas that have become maladaptive, and clearing the way for new generations of leaders to emerge.
Republicans have long relied on the effectiveness of a sneering disregard for other races and religions, but nothing was quite as reliable as attacking the L.G.B.T. community if they truly wanted to galvanize the electorate. It’s ironic that as much as conservatives revile gay people it was the fear of the invisible gay menace that probably put more Republicans in office than mom and apple pie ever did.
But people’s views are changing, and with that Republicans are losing one of their go-to weapons in the war on diversity. Even Donald Trump, a noxious weed who took root in Republican soil, and who has made astoundingly inappropriate remarks about women, disabled people, prisoners of war and the presumed Hispanic heritage of judges, has gone easy on gays.
But out in the boondocks and the hinterlands, gay people are still easy targets for opportunistic conservatives who are going for the easy win. They may be surprised to find the win is getting less easy with each new generation.
If Republicans can’t count on gay bashing, how long will it be before religious sanctimony loses its power? If this trend continues it won't be long before they’ll have to run on the issues.
Republicans have long relied on the effectiveness of a sneering disregard for other races and religions, but nothing was quite as reliable as attacking the L.G.B.T. community if they truly wanted to galvanize the electorate. It’s ironic that as much as conservatives revile gay people it was the fear of the invisible gay menace that probably put more Republicans in office than mom and apple pie ever did.
But people’s views are changing, and with that Republicans are losing one of their go-to weapons in the war on diversity. Even Donald Trump, a noxious weed who took root in Republican soil, and who has made astoundingly inappropriate remarks about women, disabled people, prisoners of war and the presumed Hispanic heritage of judges, has gone easy on gays.
But out in the boondocks and the hinterlands, gay people are still easy targets for opportunistic conservatives who are going for the easy win. They may be surprised to find the win is getting less easy with each new generation.
If Republicans can’t count on gay bashing, how long will it be before religious sanctimony loses its power? If this trend continues it won't be long before they’ll have to run on the issues.
395
There has to be more to human life than procreation.
13
I agree we're at a tipping point but the swinging see-saw has a very slow and uneven oscillation. I hope Orland turns out to be less of a backwater than some smaller, more rural enclaves of rabid conservatism, though I don't expect it to become San Francisco or NYC overnight. Don't expect sanctimony to disappear though, and take care not to alienate those who may be on the fence or may just be starting to climb it. I haven't read the rest of the comments yet but I feel pretty sure there will be some sanctimony directed at the "guns and bibles" folks, who are a statistically insignificant blip that some on the left have blown up into a larger than life army of christian soldiers coming for their first born. Vilifying any one group for political gain has great potential for backfire, as Mr. Bruni and you point out.
5
It only looks high because the GOP has been digging themselves into this hole for a while.
4
If the people learn more about his extreme positions, perhaps we can finally replace him with someone who better represents our values.