Big day for gay history

Thursday was a remarkable day in gay history. First, gay billionaire Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, became only the second openly gay man to speak at the GOP convention (and the first to mention gay issues while doing so). Thiel appealed to the GOP to focus on important issues like the economy and not on stupid divisive social issues like the "bathroom laws" going around. "Who cares?" he asked.

A bigger surprise came when Republican nominee Donald Trump gave his acceptance speech. He noted that in Orlando, a terrorist had targeted the LGBTQ community, and that under his presidency, we would be protected, too. He then thanked the GOP crowd for its show of support on the issue. (Never mind that over half the crowd sat on their hands.) No other GOP presidential candidate has ever had the nerve to speak inclusively about gay people, and I doubt any other than Trump would have been brave enough to do so this time either.

Now, it should be noted that the GOP platform is still loaded with anti-gay planks, and there's no reason to believe many GOP politicians are going to be changing their tune anytime soon. But Thursday's events were a hugely significant first baby step out of the darkness for the Republican Party.

Also Thursday, the NBA announced that it is moving the 2017 All-Star Game out of Charlotte, N.C., because of the anti-gay HB2. It's incredible to have a major sports league back up its rhetoric with action, and the NBA deserves huge applause on this.

All in all, Thursday was a red-letter day for gay people.



http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/21/politics/peter-thie … index.html
By BearinFW | 07/22/2016 05:49 AM | 9 comments
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  • BTW, after only one night of the Democratic convention, the differences in where the parties stand in their "evolution" on gay issues are stark. Whereas at the GOP confab last week, it was notable just to get a kind-of kind word, at the Democrats' shindig virtually every speaker gives us a shout-out. That isn't surprising, but I just wanted to point out that I do realize the difference :)
    BearinFW 07/26/2016 04:42 AM
  • I hope you're not naive enough to fall for their naked attempt to curry favor. Look beneath the sweet picture and ask what they still stand for. If all it takes to make people happy is a gay boy at the podium while they're still against health care, equal pay, maternal leave, and other things such as voting rights, we're in a lot of trouble.
    benthos2 07/25/2016 10:32 AM
  • They don't even acknowledge climate change and we want them to recognize us? Who is kidding who?
    barney290 07/25/2016 08:32 AM
  • republicans will never accept gay
    BDGF 07/24/2016 09:31 AM
  • Hey Fur. Hear what you're saying. All I'm saying is you have to start somewhere. This time there wasn't active gay bashing and we got at least a (sort of) positive mention. Maybe next time the platform gets toned down a little, etc., etc. They aren't going to change their spots overnight.

    Here's an article on how the Democratic Party progressed on the issue. The first openly gay speakers were in 1972. By 1980, the party put its first gay rights plank in the platform. But it took until 2012 before the Democrats supported gay marriage.

    So the GOP is only 40 years or so behind the times!!!

    This year's morsels don't make up for decades of GOP gay bashing, or support of anti-gay policies. Or even yet another draconian platform. But you have to start somewhere. *Maybe* this was a start? Time will tell.

    And yeah, good for the NBA for having the balls to pull the ASG. Don't know that any of the other leagues would have done it. And this is despite the fact that many of its players are homophobic!

    http://www.gayinthe80s.com/2013/12/1980-politics- … -platform/
    BearinFW 07/24/2016 01:19 AM
  • I don't feel the same way Bear. To me it was the furthest thing from a red-letter day or anything in terms of affirming gay rights. Thiel's speech, unless I missed it, he only stated, "I'm proud to be gay, I'm proud to be Republican, and, most of all, I'm proud to be American". To me his coming out statement hidden behind two, sure to get 'em clapping, platitudes, is hardly monumental and a huge disappointment. If Theil had commented on how regressive the 2016 platform is in terms of gay rights and how it's a drag on human rights, US constitutional rights, and the economy then I might have perked up.

    I just don't understand how a gay person could vote for the Republican ticket. I can only assume that Thiel's wealth shields him from the worst and he does not realize how marginalized the gay community is at large? Not all of us can sue those who have transgressed us. Far from feeling joy at Thiel's speech, all I could think is, "what an asshole".

    Thiel, on the transgender bathroom issue, asked, "who cares?". Republicans do, asshole!. Mike Pence is the most homophobic, mean-spirited SOB, who does not believe in any rights that are codified to enable equality with the LGBTQ community; Pence, for sure, will mouth the Republican mantra that all have to be respected, but no laws are necessary to assure basic rights. And he's the VP pick!

    Good for Trump for mentioning the victims of Orlando, but he did not address the larger and contentious issues that the LGBTQ community faces everyday, and I can assure you that here in the US that fucking terrorism is not one of them. Trump used Orlando as a cause to advance his fear tactics, not as tool to advance the rights and safety of the LGBTQ community.

    The Republicans, Trump/Pence are a sham. Pox on the lot. If you can stomach it, read the RNC's platform--hardly anything to sing about if you're marginalized here in the US: https://www.gop.com/the-2016-republican-party-platform/

    I do agree with you--it's FANTASTIC the NBA is moving the All-Star game from Charlotte. It's so good, go NBA! BTW: if you read the RNC Platform, it castigates individuals and corporations (like the NBA), who would oppose the implementation of state laws that deny rights to the LGBTQ community.

    Sorry Bear, I just can't be as sanguine about it; I'm sickened by the whole affair, and sad that there are so many Americans, my neighbors, who approve of the current intolerance and fear espoused by Republican party. All I can think is, "what a bunch of assholes". :(
    furball 07/23/2016 03:51 PM
  • BTW, here's a link to Theil's speech, if anyone's interested.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVHoGiSCfmU
    BearinFW 07/22/2016 04:11 PM
  • Oh, I agree, Barney. Doesn't mean gay people should run out and vote Republican. (Though about 25 percent will anyway.) But I still think it's an important, if tiny, step for the GOP to speak positively about us at their convention rather than disparaging us to rile up the evangelical portion of the GOP base. After getting *nothing* for so long, I imagine the Log Cabin folks are ecstatic.I doubt any GOP candidate other than Trump would have dared take even that small a step for fear of drawing evangelical wrath.
    BearinFW 07/22/2016 03:57 PM
  • Pandering for votes like a beggar on the street corner is not my idea of progress. Just like the Log Cabin people who have for over four decades attempted to change from the inside and they are worse off today then when they started. I saw nothing in any of the speeches all week that would let me think there has been any improvement from that group of biased people.
    barney290 07/22/2016 03:20 PM