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SheHe Said: War and marriage, status and dignity

compiled by Howard Israel

"Conservatives are normally out there urging people to fight and to marry. A conservative president launched two wars, and conservatives tried to impeach the adulterous Bill Clinton. When it comes to gays and lesbians wanting to defend their country or provide a stable, loving union, the right wing is suddenly on the other side."
– Linda Hirshman, in her column titled "Don't Ask, Don't Tell Turncoats," http://www.thedailybeast.com, Dec. 01.

"I am an HIV negative man. I'm neither proud nor ashamed of the status itself, but I'm proud that I know my status as yet another World AIDS Day has come and gone. Whether I would be bold enough to reveal the status if it were the other way around, I don't know. But if I've learned anything from the past few days, it's that combating HIV/AIDS stigma starts with talking a bit more honestly and openly about it."
– Rob Smith in his "Black, Gay and Twentysomething" column, this posting titled "HIV and Me," http://www.afterelton.com, Dec. 2.

"Thank you for voting to change your by-laws by deleting the requirement that members must be 'female at birth.' I know this change was prompted by a lawsuit, but nonetheless, I applaud your decision to join other sports organizations that have eliminated policies that bar transgender athletes from participating in their self-identified gender. Please provide your leadership and your membership with some good education about transgender identity and the issues related to transgender athletes. Institute a policy that is based on the latest research and medical information. Most of all, be your best selves. Welcome your new transgender members into your sisterhood and may the best golfer win."
– Pat Griffin, in her blog titled "An Open Letter to the LPGA," Pat Griffin's LGBT Sport Blog, http://ittakesateam.blogspot.com, Dec. 1.

"It's the federal employee's version of the Gay Bill of Special Rights… That means the next TSA official that gives you an 'enhanced pat down' could be a practicing homosexual secretly getting pleasure from your submission."
– Eugene Delgaudio, an elected official in Loudoun County Virginia, and president, Public Advocate of the United States, in a widely distributed e-mail claiming that airport security pat downs are part of a "homosexual agenda," http://www.wusa9.com Nov. 30. Public Advocate of the United States fights "liberals tyrants, elitists, homosexuals, Barack Obama, pornography, gay marriage, same-sex marriage, high taxes, over-regulation, abortion and atheists."

"The report is absolutely clear that straight servicemembers by large majorities have few problems with openly gay servicemembers. 69 percent of them acknowledge they have fought or worked alongside gay men and women already. A staggering 92 percent of those were fine with lifting the ban. Again: when you know someone is gay, all the fears and stereotypes tend to evaporate. This is not a surprise. The men and women of the U.S. military are among the finest in the land; they want to do the job at hand, not deepen social division or posture politically. They are not bigots."
– Andrew Sullivan, in his blog titled "A Breath Of Sane Air," about the Pentagon Report on Don't Ask Don't Tell, http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com, Nov. 30.

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Topics: Opinions
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