Gay rights' surprise weapon: Morality

For the first time ever, a majority of people polled -- 53 percent -- told Gallup that "Marriages between same sex couples should be recognized by the law as valid." Crossing the 50 percent mark on marriage means much more than any specific victory and more than the approval of gay service or equal employment or any of the other hallmarks of citizenship. Approval of marriage represents moral accep...

Salon • Dec 31, 2011

Where the gay marriage debate is headed next

When asked to name the top five states where gay marriage is likely to be up for debate in the immediate future, Sarah Warbelow -- state legislative director for the pro-gay marriage Human Rights Campaign -- put Maryland at the top of her list, followed by Maine, Oregon, Minnesota and California. (Additional states that could see serious marriage equality debates within the next five years, she sa...

Salon • Jun 21, 2011

The case for outing closeted politicianshttp://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/06/14/kruger_outing

The ethical argument against outing closeted public figures is that, basically, it's "none of our business." Their private lives are not relevant or newsworthy. But in the case of anti-gay politicians, their private lives seem very relevant. Ted Haggard has certainly sounded more tolerant -- or he has at least ceased engaging in hypocritical political activism against gay rights -- since he was ou...

Salon • Jun 14, 2011

Poll: 46 percent of Mississippi Republicans want interracial marriage ban

When usual Republican primary voters in the state of Mississippi were asked if they think interracial marriage should be legal or illegal, a whopping 46 percent said it should be illegal, compared to 40 percent who think it should be legal. The remaining 14 percent were unsure....

Salon • Apr 12, 2011

"I preached against homosexuality, but I was wrong"

With distance, I could see the mean-spirited nature of the anti-gay movement, and the naked way large Christian organizations used the "gay threat" to raise money. Free from the constraints of a congregation, I could spend more time actually looking at the biblical texts that deal with homosexuality, and I was surprised to find they were not as clear as I had supposed they were. At this point, I h...

Salon • Mar 29, 2011

California county renews drive to fight Prop 8 court reversal

Imperial County officials claim they should be allowed to intervene as defendants, saying they are directly affected by the law because they would be forced to perform gay marriages. But the appeals court dismissed the request last month, questioning why the head county clerk, who issues marriage licenses, wasn't part of the case. Then Imperial County Clerk Dolores Provencio declined to join. No...

Salon • Feb 26, 2011

The U.S., Argentina and gay marriage

Argentinian politicians acted in the face of "polls showing that nearly 70 percent of Argentines support giving gay people the same marital rights as heterosexuals." That's what is most striking here: this is not happening in some small Northern European country renown for its ahead-of-the-curve social progressivism (though gay marriage or civil unions are now the norm in Western Europe). Just...

Salon • Jul 15, 2010

Cancel Gay Pride until we have marriage equality!

What we can take out of their playbook is organization and passion. I would like to propose to the entire worldwide gay community that they cancel gay pride events until we have marriage equality. All those thousands of people who go to gay pride, those are bodies that could put on a shirt and go into the neighborhood and tell their story. We should wait until we have equality to have our party. I...

Salon • Jun 26, 2010

President Obama betrays the gay community

Sixty-seven percent of Americans now favor granting same-sex couples the right to marry or join in civil unions. Sixty-nine percent support letting openly gay men and lesbian women serve in our military, including a majority of Republicans (58 percent), conservatives (58 percent), and even churchgoers (60 percent). And an overwhelming number of Americans have long since supported passing legislati...

Salon • Jun 17, 2009

Gay marriage in the Heartland

"We needed those folks to contact their elected officials," he said, which they did, both before and after the vote. Lambda attorneys used a new strategy when they filed the case in Iowa: They included children of the couples as plaintiffs. They also called psychologists. "We took a lot of care in making as complete a record as possible of the social science of gay and lesbian parenting," Taylor s...

Salon • Apr 15, 2009

Why churches fear gay marriage

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Salon • Nov 25, 2008

Proposition 8 made me quit the Mormon church

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Salon • Nov 13, 2008