Captain's Log

The California Earthquake, Part 1

California’s Supreme Court is set to issue its “opinion” on Proposition 8 within the next hour.  Their decision will affect the lives of one-seventh of the population of the United States, as well as how Americans view same-sex marriage - to a degree.  There is a widely-held belief that California leads the nation in culture issues.  Maybe not this time...

Three issues are at stake here:  Whether Prop 8 is an impermissible revision to the state Constitution, whether the term “marriage” is an inalienable right that cannot be taken away without a compelling reason, and rule on the status of the 18,000+ same-sex marriages performed in The Golden State prior to the approval of Proposition 8.

Conventional wisdom holds that the court will uphold Proposition 8, thereby upholding the California voter initiative process.  Conventional wisdom also holds they will not retroactively void the same-sex marriages performed prior to the voter-approved amendment.

Then there is the question of whether Proposition 8 is an impermissible right to the California State Constitution.  Again, if conventional wisdom is correct and the court finds Proposition 8 an invalid revision to the state constitution, they will in all likelihood invalidate Proposition 8.

Here’s what I have to say about Conventional Wisdom:  Phooey.

Conventional wisdom held that Hillary Clinton would now be president.  Conventional wisdom held that America was not ready for its first African-American president.  Conventional wisdom held that no state in the mid-west would “legalize” same-sex marriage.  Conventional wisdom held that Dick Cheney would go back to his undisclosed location and shut up.  Conventional wisdom held that the recently-passed hate crimes bill would be a “slam-dunk,” and that Judy Shepard wouldn’t have to be verbally assaulted by a sawed-off shotgun named U.S. Congresswoman Virginia Foxx.

Conventional Wisdom:  Phooey.

The world doesn’t always work in the way we want, but in the end it usually does the right thing.  Traditions, whether right or wrong, are steered like battleships - over time.

But this is no ordinary battleship...

My prediction: I believe the California Supreme Court will uphold Prop 8, recognizing the voter-initiative process of California; and that they will rule the 18,000 same-sex marriages that have been legally performed will remain as valid as the thousands of “opposite-sex” marriages performed before Proposition 8 was approved by California voters.

Where I differ with the conventional wisdom is this:  I think the California Supreme Court will also rule that if ANY couple wants to get “legally wed” in the eyes of California law, they will now have to go to city hall to obtain a “certificate” entitling them to all the legal rights and obligations as any other couple.  Call it what you may.  That’s where equality comes in.

Conventional wisdom be d@mned.  Majorities DO NOT get to vote on the rights of minorities.

Let’s hope the justices of the California Supreme Court understand that.  And rule correctly in the eyes of history.

//

See you after the ruling...

OUTRAGE

I was incredibly fortunate to see the premiere of OUTRAGE on Friday night in Washington, D.C. The film, based on the who, what, when, where and why of politics, is a very clear and concise look inside how hanging out in your own personal closet while also having "power" in our nation's capital corrupts. You've heard the saying, "Power Corrupts. Absolute Power Corrupts, Absolutely." When any politician chooses to put themselves into any type of "closet" - from former Idaho Senator Larry "wide-stance" Craig to the current governor of Florida, Republican Charlie Crist, to an entire cast of politicians from across the country - this is a must see movie. For everyone.

Watch it if you can (as it is a limited-release film) and/or save it on your Netflix queue. Before I continue, watch the trailer for the movie.

I went into the showing thinking I would be totally outraged at the end. The first problem: the film makers pulled off an incredibly balanced movie. The second problem: I left, along with many others, not OUTRAGED, but something more akin to "Seen It." And that was in and of itself distressing. As an out gay man, it was distressing to see how much power closeted queers hold, and yet they screw over the LGBTQ community ALL THE TIME.

This film is powerful, but it doesn't hit you in the gut. If anything, it makes you wonder why we put up with this. And why Americans of all shades, creeds and orientations don't question who they are electing to represent their interests. As the film so brilliantly illustrates, many of the closeted elected queers aren't looking out for their constituents. They are looking out for themselves and watching their own backs and their own personal "closet."

At the expense not just of the LGBTQ community, but of every American. It's more than simple hypocrisy. It is a travesty of justice, a travesty of democracy and a travesty of what the United States stands for. And this film is absolutely "spot-on" in exposing that hypocrisy and travesty.

The other thing that really hurt was the conveniently situated "opposite-sex" companion for the politicians in the closet. Most of the politicians are male, and most of them are Republican, so I'm going to dispense with using gender-neutral terms at this point and just say "him."

Those involved in the making of the film, most notably Michael Rogers and director Kirby Dick (yes, that is his real name...), don't simply make this a very powerful audio-visual version of Entertainment Weekly by floating gossip and rumors.

They have succeeded in making a CSI case on who is doing what to whom, the why behind it (yep,that would be to get re-elected), and how their personal "issues" regarding their own "closet" absolutely does nothing but hurt EVERYONE. From their "wives/companions," to their constituents, to the gay and lesbian community - these people are dangerous. And must be stopped.

I'm outraged. Not by the movie, which is incredibly persuasive in it's fact-by-fact CSI-ing of the case against homosexuals with power in the closet, and how they wield that power - mostly for evil.

I'm outraged that I'm not outraged. If you take away anything from my post, it's this: We've been there, seen enough of the damage - from McCarthyism to former Idaho Senator Craig "snagged" in a public restroom at an airport in Minnesota, most likely a casualty of his own legislative "record" in the United States Senate. His mug shot speaks volumes.

In the end, the pen is mightier than the sword. But keep your shields up, as we don't know what is rolling down the pike. I'm hoping for clear skies and the wind at our backs.

As this film so eloquently shows, however, it's not always blue skies and open sails. Let's watch each other's backs. And most definitely watch OUTRAGE.

Overwhelmed by Events

It's been an interesting couple of months for the gay and lesbian community. In just eight weeks, the "news" has gone from California to Iowa to Vermont to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.

As one intimately involved in the news process, I find myself still amazed when people don't understand how the "news business" works and why cable news channels chatter incessantly about the latest "thing" to occur in the last few hours. I also find myself amazed that many don't understand that not everyone has a Twitter account, everyone doesn't live in Manhattan, San Francisco or our much-maligned nation's capital, Washington, D.C., nor does everyone follow our individual views on every single issue.

From farmboys getting to tie the knot in Iowa to legislators in Vermont overriding the governor's veto of a same-sex marriage bill to U.S. Congresswoman Virginia Foxx's incredibly ignorant and bigoted "statement" on the hate crimes bill recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, not everything happens the way "we" think it should play out, and what's on our agenda isn't necessarily on everyone else's mind.

One just has to take a look at the headlines from the last two months to see how easily it is to become overwhelmed by events on the ground.

From the arguments in front of the California Supreme Court on Proposition 8 in early March, we can easily jump to the Iowa Earthquake and the unanimous ruling by the state's Supreme Court overturning a 10-year-old ban on same-sex marriage.

High on life, and about the same time, we witnessed Vermont legislators override the Republican governor's veto of a same-sex marriage bill, making the Green Mountain state the first in the nation to pro-actively, without court prodding, approve same-sex marriage.

Then along comes an incredibly stupid "advertisement" by the National Organization for Marriage, which spawned numerous parodies, including one by Stephen Colbert.

And then a couple of earthquakes hit. During the Miss U.S.A. pageant (which, frankly I didn't think was still going on), Miss California says she only supports "opposite sex marriage." From Miss Frikkin' California? And sadly, a little bit of all of us died following the death of our beloved Golden Girl Bea Arthur.

A Category 5 hurricane slammed into us about that time also, and one we should have seen coming. The Matthew Shepard hate crimes bill hit the floor of the House of Representatives, and as expected the Republicans were the party of "just say no." Only this time, they took a sawed-off shotgun in the name of North Carolina Representative Virginia Foxx and aimed it directly at the LGBTQ community, and most horrifically at Judy Shepard - who was sitting in the House gallery watching the proceedings about a hate crimes bill named after her son who was brutally murdered by two homophobic men in Wyoming.

The backlash was swift and furious. As it should be, as it was disgusting to watch. I'm still reeling and infuriated by Foxx's incredibly stupid and hateful remarks. And my prayers go out to Judy Shepard, who must have felt like a bullet went through her heart.

But back to reality. Why do I bring all this up? We have a saying in the news business: "The news never stops."

That said, there are ways to shape events and the news cycle to our advantage. But we have to take into account that no one could have foreseen the swine flu panic that jumped onto our television screens in April. No one could have foreseen that Republican Senator Arlen Specter's switch to the Democratic Party would be, hours later, overshadowed by Supreme Court Justice David Souter's announcement that he was retiring. No one could have foreseen that Miss California (Miss California, for Christ's sake~!) would become a spokesperson for the National Organization for Marriage.

But we certainly could have foreseen that not everyone is aboard the same-sex love train. We certainly could have foreseen that living in the deep South is not at all like walking the streets of New York City. And we could have foreseen that there's a big world out there, with lots of different people in it and not all of them are friends of Dorothy.

I've said it so many times I feel like I'm starting to sound like a broken record. But I'm going to put on my Captain's hat and put it as bluntly as I can: If the gay and lesbian community doesn't choose which priorities are the most important for the entire, national LGBTQ community, then by god someone else will.

It may be U.S. Representative Foxx, it may be the Iowa Supreme Court, or it may be Miss California. But someone's gotta choose, and someone's gotta lose. And unless WE prioritize and choose our battles, we are going to be overcome by events. Some of them good, some of them not so good. Some of them downright nasty.

The important thing is we have choices. Let's make them.

It All Started With a Toothache

It all started with a toothache. My dentist said I have two crowns that need to be replaced and that it will cost $3,150. I have individual health insurance, but no dental coverage.

My partner Brian, who works for the state of Maryland, has a dental plan — as will I, after July 1 under new legislation benefiting “domestic partners” in Maryland. That will bring the cost down to about $1,000. My dentist says not to chomp on anything hard until then or it will be worse.

Speaking of worse, a measure to ban discrimination based on gender identity didn’t pass the Maryland General Assembly this year. And several federal bills regarding the LGBT community are in danger of not advancing this year. It’s unclear whether the federal hate crimes bill will be expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity. As for gays and lesbians serving under “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” the White House says we’ll get back to you on that one. And the Employment Non-Discrimination Act? Some say it’s DOA this year.

What happened? The Maryland transgender bill and the federal hate crimes expansion should have been slam-dunks. “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” should not be in question, nor should ENDA. But they are all in peril because the gay and lesbian community is focusing too much on a single phrase and acting like children.

Gay marriage may be sexy, but it defies the sense of logic that should come with being a mature community. Emotion is an idealist attitude, while the logical part of our brain says we need to understand the political situation on the ground.

In the immortal words of Tip O’Neill, all politics are local.

And so we go back to my toothache. Imagine, if you will, what it would be like to be a Maryland State Senator, explaining to constituents on the Eastern Shore why he or she voted for my toothache over hate crimes legislation or a same-sex marriage bill.

The legislator is on our side, but he or she has to explain that to small-town constituents, along with why the state is laying off employees to cover a budget deficit, as well as why it is important not to panic over swine flu, or perhaps why a local family may not be able to pay their electric bill.

Get where I’m going on this one? Gay marriage is sexy — to us. But to the general public, it ranks below swine flu, the economy, the mortgage and how to pay the light bill.

So what’s important to the LGBT community? Is it a word? Is it my toothache? No. It’s Jane, the lesbian in Kansas, who can’t simply be herself because her neighbors might kill her. It is the kid in Ohio who takes his own life because he fears being called a “fag.”

It might be sexy to fight for gay marriage. It might be sexy to call your senator or representative and express yourself. It might be sexy to protest at your local courthouse or city hall. But if you’re looking for sexy, you are missing the point.

Let’s go over this fight over same-sex marriage. What does it get us, right here, right now? Depends on whom you ask and where you reside.

It certainly doesn’t get us any federal benefits, and if you think for one second that the Defense of Marriage Act will be repealed in the next few years, you are delirious and should go to the hospital, as you may have swine flu.

Are we being childish? Are we focusing on a single word, “marriage,” at the expense of pursuing other, more serious goals?

What are we fighting for? What do we want? Is it the word marriage? Equal rights? Domestic partnership benefits? Civil unions? Hate crimes legislation? The repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell? ENDA?

Meanwhile, I have a toothache. Think about it and get back to me. After July 1.

//

Originally published in The Washington Blade, May 1st, 2009.