When I hear a gay person is a Democrat and will vote that way, their sexuality having been their sole motivation, I am aghast. Gene Covington’s recent letter to this paper (Viewpoints, 8/31/12) was as confusing in some places as it was offensive in others and painfully incoherent throughout. The most troubling thing is that in his supposed quest for a more inclusive and tolerant America, he is creating a more exclusive and less tolerant gay community. There is no gay Republican who calls the GOP home because they adore the party’s position on gay marriage. We support the party for reasons beyond our sexuality because our sexuality is not what defines us, a mantra also espoused by gay Democrats right up until they meet a gay Republican.
When Covington talks about all of those who came before us, ushering in “Sunday Fundays” and braving the society at large by “enter(ing) the bars through the back, off dark alleys,” he tragically forgets that many of those people were conservative-minded gay people who would shudder today to hear the president berate success and demonize business. As a small business owner myself, this is particularly troubling.
Other political facts make Covington’s piece even more confusing. Never mind that when it came time to fight “don’t ask, don’t tell,” the only organization to bring a suit against the government wasn’t the Stonewall Democrats but the Log Cabin Republicans. It was Barack Obama’s Justice Department who was directed, for political purposes, to defend the law. And the Human Rights Campaign still endorsed him.
The irony of his lecture on freedom is that Mr. Covington can never be truly free because his sense of freedom extends no further than his sexuality. What a pity.
Russ Hargraves
Oak Cliff
