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 lobbyAugust 1st, 2011
TODAY’S AGENDA (THEIRS):
The National Conservative Youth Conference: Washington, DC. Today is the start of a week-long extravaganza at George Washington University from now through Saturday. Hundreds of college students are expected to converge on the D.C. campus in the heart of Foggy Bottom to hear from such conservative luminaries as Anne Coulter, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), Dinesh D’Souza, Bay Buchanan, and our favorite, Robert George, among many others. The goal of the conference is to promote “the principles of individual freedom, a free-market economy, a strong national defense, and traditional values.”
Now you see him.
TODAY IN HISTORY:
Rep. Jim Kolbe Comes Out: 1996. On July 12, 342 Congressional representatives rushed to pass the so-called Defense of Marriage Act into law. The three openly gay representatives, Steve Gunderson (R-WI), Barney Frank (D-MA), and Gerry Studds (D-MA) spoke passionately against the bill, making their status as gay men relevant to the debate. Reps. Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) and Mark Foley (R-FL), who were closeted, quietly voted for the bill. Almost immediately after the vote, San Fransisco activist Michael Petrelis began an email campaign to urge other activists, journalists and publications to reveal their secrets. The Advocate had a policy against outing public officials, but since they were following up prior reports and rumors from other media, they felt that if those reports could be independently verified through three different sources, the next step would be to approach the lawmakers and ask if they were gay. “They were verified, and The Advocate contacted Rep. Jim Kolbe of Arizona and Rep. Mark Foley of Florida, both Republicans, to ask them to explain their votes in favor of DOMA as well as to talk about their sexual orientation.” The Advocate continued:
Both men objected to the latter line of questioning. “Even members of Congress should be allowed to have personal lives,” Kolbe, 54, said in a telephone interview. “The issue of my sexuality has nothing to do with the votes I cast in Congress or my work for the constituents of Arizona’s fifth congressional district.” Upon reflection, however, Kolbe decided to come out soon after talking to The Advocate, saying the magazine’s questioning of him was a chief factor. Foley, in written answers to The Advocate‘s questions, stated his belief that “a lawmaker’s sexual orientation is…irrelevant.”
Kolbe decided to beat The Advocate to the punch (Foley wouldn’t come out until 2006, when he resigned after sexually suggestive Instant Messages between him and a 16-year-old page). On August 1, Kolbe revealed that he was indeed gay. ”That I am a gay person has never affected the way that I legislate,” he said in a statement. ”The fact that I am gay has never, nor will it ever, change my commitment to represent all the people of Arizona’s Fifth District,” which includes Tucson and the southeastern corner of the state. Rep. Franks came to Kolbe’s defense. ”In general, Kolbe has voted against bigotry and discrimination,” he said, ”so his overall record is intellectually honest on this issue.” Petrellis reacted positively to the outing as well. “I think it’s a terrific development that we now have an equal number of openly gay G.O.P. members of Congress.”
Kolbe was reelected to his seat in 1998, and in 2000, he became the first openly gay person to address the Republican National Convention. His speech about free trade and he didn’t come within ten miles of addressing gay rights, but the Texas delegation protested by bowing their heads, purportedly in prayer. (Ohio anti-gay activist Phil Burress called for Kolbe’s arrest on sodomy charges.) Meanwhile, Kolbe continued to defend his vote for DOMA on states rights grounds. “My vote on the Defense of Marriage Act was cast because of my view that states should be allowed to make that decision, about whether or not they would recognize gay marriages,” he said. “Certainly, I believe that states should have the right, as Vermont did, to provide for protections for such unions.” He voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2004 and 2006. By the time he was wrapping up his congressional service in 2006, Kolbe telling local audiences in Tucson that “in a few years,” same-sex marriage would be normal and uncontroversial. He left Congress in 2007, and his seat has been held since then by Rep. Gabriele Giffords, who is recovering from a gunshot wound she suffered at a mass shooting in Tuscon earlier this year.
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Désirée
August 1st, 2011
Pride week begins in Stockholm, Sweden tonight
http://www.stockholmpride.org/en/
Chris
August 1st, 2011
Love how “strong defense” is never questioned – gotta keep’em paranoid!
Too bad your nation can’t spend those obcene trillions of $$ on decent healthcare for each other…
Timothy Kincaid
August 1st, 2011
This cracks me up. Most of those young conservatives probably have no idea that the fourth item is a relatively new addition to the concept of conservative ideology or ever thought of what it means or why it was added.
The first three are principles which direct and guide how one approaches issues. They encourage thought and analysis to determine whether the issue impacts individual freedom, the conducting of business, or the nation’s security.
The fourth, however, is the opposite. It is not a principle at all, but a worldview which discourages thought and analysis and replaces it with an “in the box” pre-determined answer. Ironically, it serves as a veto to the other three.
However, sadly enough, it is probably the “principle” with the most draw. The idea of some noble tradition of a gone but better time is certainly sexier than tax strategies that best strengthen an economy. So it’s only natural that Ann Coulter will be there to make fag jokes while I doubt that much attention will be given to the detail of the various proposals on raising the tax ceiling (other than the emotional appeal of ‘no more borrowing at all’ that the Bachmann’s of the world present).
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