I’ve gotta admit, this has been an exciting week.
For the first time in history, there is a very real possibility that our country will put someone other than a heterosexual white male in the Oval Office. I’m not saying that John McCain is a bad guy, but having either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama in the White House would signal the beginning of a whole new era — good or bad — and the possibility of that new era is exciting.
The Democratic candidates are making history in the LGBT community, too. Their vocal and visible outreach to and support for and by LGBT people is unprecedented.
I believe back in his first run for the White House, Bill Clinton did an interview with The Advocate, a national LGBT magazine. But I believe Hillary Clinton is the first viable presidential candidate to grant interviews to local LGBT newspapers. She did it a few weeks ago with the Washington Blade in D.C., and she did it this week with Dallas Voice and with Gay People’s Chronicle and Outlook Weekly in Ohio.
Obama did an interview with the Advocate earlier this year. This week he issued an “open letter” to the LGBT community.
Both campaigns sent gay staff members and supporters to Dallas on Feb. 25 to participate in a groundbreaking debate on LGBT issues, held in a gay nightclub and presented by the gay group National Stonewall Democrats.
Oh, and by the way, Dallas Voice also has a brief interview this week with another Democratic candidate: Mike Gravel, one of only two candidates who came out in support of full marriage equality for same-sex couples. Gravel is technically still in the race, although he isn’t on the ballot in Texas.
I know there are gay people who support Clinton, gay people who support Obama, and gay people who support McCain. And I know that these individuals can be VERY passionate about their support for their candidate. I also know that there are gay people who have issues with each of the candidates because they believe the candidates don’t go far enough in their support for the community.
But I think that regardless of which candidate you support, you have to admit — This is an exciting time. This is a time when we get to watch history being made, and to be part of it. And I, for one, am glad I am here to see it and, as a gay journalist, play a small role in it.
— Tammye Nash
