And it is disingenuous of the Republican leadership to say that, had they tried to deal with this problem before it became a scandal, they would have been accused of gay bashing. No, their unmitigating support of anti-gay bills pretty much took care of that.

Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson wrote an excellent editorial in today’s edition, titled “‘Values’ Choice for the GOP.” The next-to-last paragraph is particularly poignant–it’s an amazing, reasonable, proposal that will never see the light of day at the GOP headquarters.

That’s one more reason to throw our support behind candidates who represent our values. Today is the last day to register to vote in many jurisdictions. Are you registered?

David’s colleague at the IGF, John Corvino, writes a similar article published in “Between the Lines.” In it he writes,

“But the “gay angle” on this contains an important lesson, one that is unfortunately likely to be either distorted or missed entirely amidst the partisan political drama. It is that gay people, like everyone else, need healthy outlets for sexual expression. When those are blocked–because of political ambition or a repressive church or a right wing bent on ignoring basic science–cases like Foley’s (or former Spokane mayor Jim West’s or former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey’s) become more likely, as do far greater tragedies like the Catholic Church’s sex-abuse scandal.”

Read the entire article here.

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force has launched a new website to fight the anti-gay initiatives pending on the ballots of 6 targeted states. Please visit the site and take action in the form of a phone call, a letter, an email, or by spreading the word. We must not allow discrimination to be written into the lawbooks!

Coming out–whether as a gay person or as a supporter of the GLBT community–is often fraught with doubt and fear, because we may not know how the news will be received. Will the person argue with me, hate me, hurt me? Will I be welcome anymore? Will I be safe, supported, loved? Doubt, doubt, doubt. Fear, fear, fear. Unknowns pile up until we stop ourselves from doing what felt right before all of the negative stuff started popping into our heads.Do it anyway. Unless your worry is truly about your personal safety or survival, chances are you’ll be fine–and you’ll feel a whole lot better. You may even find that you have a new ally and friend.

When I meet people in different parts of the world, I am always reminded that we are all basically alike: we are all human beings. Maybe we have different clothes, our skin is of a different colour, or we speak different languages. That is on the surface. But basically, we are the same human beings. That is what binds us to each other. That is what makes it possible for us to understand each other and to develop friendship and closeness. …Because we all share this small planet earth, we have to learn to live in harmony and peace with each other and with nature. That is not just a dream, but a necessity.

How many times have we looked at another person and seen only what is different? Entire wars are started because we lose sight of what we all share–our basic human wants and needs, our humanity. It’s easy to point fingers and claim righteousness; the real work is in collaboration, building bridges, and creating harmony in the world.

“No knot unties itself,” the old saying goes. What knots can you help untie in your community? What bridge can you build today? Who may you have discounted before, but now can see as fully human?

Kaine is personally against same-sex marriage, but even he understands that this proposed amendment to the Virginia constitution is discrimination and dehumanization run amok. Hopefully his constituency will agree with him.

With your help–and with the help of thousands like you–I’m hoping that we will be able to continue to change the hearts and minds of not only religious and political leaders, but also our friends, family, and neighbors.

Please peruse this site, use it, add to it, and spread the word. Thanks for visiting!