Calling on conservatives to come out [View All]

[William769]

During this challenging time in the gay rights movement, the fight for equality demands that closeted gay conservatives come out and stand up for their rights

This critical moment in the history of the LGBT movement’s fight for equality demands that a new generation of Americans come out of the closet: gay conservatives. Now is the time for closeted gay conservatives to find the courage and personal strength to stand up and be counted. Now is the time we can really make a difference. If every gay conservative came out of the closet today, the journey to full equality would be over in years instead of decades. It would soon become ineffective to use gay and lesbian families as wedge issues in campaigns. The cynical efforts to amend our federal and state constitutions would eventually stop. The hypocrisy of antigay political tactics being used by way too many Republicans, and some Democrats, would finally be exposed.

One of the biggest unkept secrets in Washington, D.C., is that closeted gay Republicans are everywhere—the White House, Republican Party organizations, the halls of Congress, the most influential law offices, and the most powerful lobbying firms in our nation’s capital. Some of those who remain closeted have chosen to be either passive bystanders or, in some cases, active critics of our movement while comfortably partaking in the fringe benefits of our community’s work—all the while sipping the finest martinis in our trendiest gay bars.

Coming out is an intensely personal journey. As someone who struggled long and hard with how and when to come out of the closet, I unequivocally oppose outing. I am unaware of a single forced outing that led to passage of a single piece of pro-gay legislation. Coming out on one’s own terms with free will and with personal courage is a positive catalyst for change. Forced outings don’t advance our movement because they’re motivated by vengeance.

http://www.advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid21626.asp