Box Turtle Bulletin
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobby“Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife…”
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyOctober 22nd, 2015
Paul Ryan has said that he will take up the job of Speaker of the House and is expected to win handily in next week’s vote. So yay! Because Paul Ryan is “the homosexual lobby’s trojan horse”. Just ask Eugene Delgaudio.
Well, no, he isn’t of course. Paul Ryan is not an ally of our community and has a string of anti-gay votes to prove it.
But Ryan also has shown support on a few specific issues. For example, he voted for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in 2007 and in 2013 indicated his tentative support. While he might or might not favor a specific bill as drafted, he has said that “someone should not be fired because of their sexual orientation”.
This is important as we go into debates over religious rights. Some on the right see “religious rights” as a vehicle by which to codify discrimination against gay people. And it seems unlikely that Ryan will champion legislation that targets gay people for denial of basic rights.
Additionally, Ryan has changed on issues relating to gay couples. In 1999, as a new Congressman, Ryan voted to ban adoption by gay couples in Washington DC. However, in 2013 he told a group of constituents that he has long since changed his mind and now believes that gay people can provide children with a loving home.
This does not suggest that Ryan will be championing our rights or fighting for our causes. But it does suggest that he does not hold significant animus towards gay individuals, sees gay people as a part of the Nation’s fabric, and recognizes that gay relationships have value. I don’t anticipate that Ryan will be significantly different from John Boehner on gay issues.
So I’m a bit relieved that the choice now clearly seems to be Paul Ryan. We certainly could have worse.
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LJ
October 22nd, 2015
“he has said that ‘someone should be fired because of their sexual orientation’.”
Based on the context of the overall article, I hope that quotation is missing a ‘not’. Anyway, this probability seems about as good as one could hope for, given the circumstances.
Priya Lynn
October 23rd, 2015
“he has said that “someone should be fired because of their sexual orientationâ€.”.
???
Ben
October 23rd, 2015
Ah yes, “could have been worse” like… maybe Pol Pot or Pinoche?
The guy is a terrible politician, and a typical republican. He wants family leave for himself, then votes against family leave for everyone else.
He’s terrible, and you’re terrible too, Timothy. Trying to serve us a shit-sandwich and tell us it’s caviar, as usual.
Paul Douglas
October 23rd, 2015
I’m sure Paul Ryan will NEVER try to insert Vaticanism into his political agenda. Why would a republicon roman catholick EVER do that?
Paul Douglas
October 23rd, 2015
I’m sure Paul Ryan will NEVER try to insert Vaticanism into his political agenda. Why would a republicon roman catholick EVER do that?
Mark F.
October 23rd, 2015
Considering that the Democrats failed to pass any sort of ENDA when they had a majority, the fact that the next GOP Speaker might consider supporting something ought to please people. I think a bill with, perhaps, a small business exemption could very well get a majority.
Timothy Kincaid
October 23rd, 2015
Sorry Guys, yes I left out a “not”
Timothy Kincaid
October 23rd, 2015
Ben, it could have been worse like maybe Webster or Chaffetz, the only other two who said they would run. Much much worse.
Eric Payne
October 25th, 2015
Timothy,
You’re not seriously falling back on the old Log Cabin Club’s “yeah, but think how bad it could argument are you?
Lord_Byron
October 25th, 2015
Mark F,
Small business as in “small” business or small business where it applies to every business? Unless you are a religious organization running a business, and even then that is questionable, you should not be legally able to fire someone because they are lgbtq. If discrimination based on sexuality is wrong then it is wrong and giving people a way to still discriminate is morally wrong.
Priya Lynn
October 25th, 2015
Hear Hear Lord_Byron.
Nathaniel
October 26th, 2015
Eric, This would be different if this were election results. But the Republicans in Congress are the people we will have until 15 mo from now. They aren’t going to get any better. And with the party so confident in its seats that they aren’t afraid to subdivide into major factions who are unwilling to compromise, our chances of getting a more progressive Speaker are nil, while our chances of getting a raving lunatic were pretty high. Things really could be much worse. Ryan seems to be on par with Boehner as far as not being an extreme homophobe. And with the matter of marriage more-or-less decided for the country, he might actually have a chance at keeping the House GOP focused on things other than social issues. I see your point, and if Timothy were, say, endorsing Ryan as a Presidential candidate, I would even concede it. But this situation is a far cry from endorsing a candidate.
Lord_Byron
October 26th, 2015
Nathaniel,
I sincerely doubt that the Ryan will be able to keep the GOP away from social issues. He might be able to for a week or two, but with elections coming up and social issues the mainstay for many conservatives I don’t think they will stay aware. We know that they are not going to, as an example, let the faux-controversy that is planned parenthood die.
Eric Payne
October 27th, 2015
Nathaniel,
I was simply reacting to the blase usage of “it could have been worse!”. When we start accepting such a premise as a legitimate defense against institutionalized homophobia, it allows for others — like, say, Hillary Clinton — to justify things like, oh, I dunno… DADTDP or DOMA.
Not that she would ever do such a thing, of course…
Nathaniel
October 27th, 2015
Eric, I do see your point. We shouldn’t let even Ryan’s level of anti-gay opinions and actions go unchallenged. But, as I said, there if very little any of us can do about this particular situation. Elections are coming, but until then, there is no chance for turnover before the House will need a new Speaker. Literally all we can do about it is discuss how it could have been worse, and wish there was a chance it could have been better.
Byron, as speaker, Ryan has a lot of say on what makes it to the floor for votes. Can he keep members from calling for various anti-gay actions? No. But I am sure that if he wanted to keep social issues off the floor, he would have enough backing. That said, I will concede on PP. But, that controversy is getting a little stale; members might feel that they put up a good enough fight for the record. Besides, with states left and right defunding, action from the Federal government is unnecessary for ideologues to achieve their goal.
Eric Payne
October 27th, 2015
Nathaniel,
If we’ve segued into the Planned Parenthood fiasco, I’ll only say this:
1. Abortion is a legal right in this country. The only person who “owns” a woman’s body is the woman, herself. Under our Constitution, a woman is accorded, presumably, all the protections given a male… which includes the right to not have the obligation of being nothing more than an incubator.
There will always be some women who view having a second, separate, organism growing inside them, and feeding directly off their bodies’ resources as a parasite.
Maternal instinct cannot be imposed through the force of law.
2. There are a total of 3 states that chose to defund Planned Parenthood — Louisiana, Alabama and New Hampshire. The defunding was, actually, illegal, as state governments cannot channel to whom federal government dollars are allocated in their state — that money is given by the feds to the states to administer to named beneficiaries.
It would be, if given a private-sector viewpoint, tantamount to money being dumped into a coffee can at your local grocery store labeled as being a donation to “breast cancer” to have that money dispersed, instead, by the supermarket manager to the local baggers and clerks Retirement Fund.
Priya Lynn
October 27th, 2015
Well said Eric.
“There will always be some women who view having a second, separate, organism growing inside them, and feeding directly off their bodies’ resources as a parasite.”.
That’s how the thought of being pregnant makes me feel.
Eric Payne
October 27th, 2015
Priya,
Sometimes, I think everyone should grow up with four sisters… but, then, I wouldn’t wish that hell on anyone…
Priya Lynn
October 27th, 2015
Tell me about it. I grew up with six sisters.
NancyP
October 27th, 2015
Ryan will do whatever it takes to push through the Republican fiscal agenda. The rest? He doesn’t care. The religious right voters have been Useful Idiots for those politicians who wish to squeeze the maximum amount of money out of working people and the minimum tax burden on the 1% that pay for their campaigns.
enough already
October 28th, 2015
NancyP. pretty much says it all.
The only thing which will help is for gay men and young women to actually get out and vote in 2016 and 2018.
Now that the nonsense that we’re only 4% (or 1.8%) has been debunked, the argument that we’re too small a minority to matter is null.
We gay men aren’t voting in significant numbers. Young women are doing a better job of it, but not by much.
And yet, we’re among the groups most threatened.
Why is this?
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