A friend of mine happens to be gay. Several friends, actually. In each case, however, it was only after they identified, often in passing, their sexual orientation that I realized it differed from my own. Truth be told, I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about others’ preferences. They are none of my business. And they shouldn’t affect the manner in which I-or you-address and treat other human beings. Don’t discriminate and don’t abuse, verbally or physically.
Those of you who read my column regularly know I often begin and end with a well-developed story taken from personal experience. I try to select tales that are amusing or insightful, humorous or horrific. Not so this week. I see not the need to wax poetic. I write this column, however, because I would like to help realize what would be an oh-so-poetic justice: equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans. It’s a very simple principle for a principled community.
A necessary evil for an opinion editor, you realize, is to counter the arguments of one’s opponents. I say necessary because I believe rebuttal is a prerequisite for persuasion. And I say evil because I always fear, ever so slightly, that my summary of others’ advocacies will persuade you to follow false prophets. Or, perhaps more likely, false interpretations.
The most common argument I hear in favor of anti-gay discrimination is religious in nature. I’m no logician, but I believe-and please correct me if I’m wrong-I have it right. Three men, call them Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed, are said to have proclaimed long ago that homosexuality was a sin and that it is God who ought to render final judgment. Subsequently, from the first two propositions human beings have arrived at a third, that Mathew Shepard, a gay University of Wyoming student, ought to be beaten to death.
But that wasn’t fair, was it? Can I really use the most extreme and unfortunate consequence of discrimination to delegitimize all acts of intolerance? I think so. First, because silence or complicity on one issue-verbal insults directed at lesbians, for example-facilitates the incidence of others-physical assaults on transgendered individuals, for instance. Second, and as my religious friends themselves suggest, individuals either put their faith in moral principles or in particulars. You can’t straddle the fence. You either support equal rights, or you favor unequal punishment.
Certainly, Moses the kind, Jesus the compassionate, and Mohammed the merciful hold those who murdered Matthew Shepard in high esteem. But what opinion does mainstream American society maintain? How about residents of St. Louis city or the area’s suburbs?
A recent bill in the State of Missouri’s legislature may prevent us from finding out. House Bill 239, sponsored by Representative Larry Morris (R-Springfield), would prohibit local school boards from adopting a non-discrimination policy that is more inclusive than state law (which currently does not protect homosexuals from being denied education, housing, or employment on the basis of their sexual orientation) without a vote of the district. In effect, then, the bill strips democratically elected school board officials of the authority to rule on matters related to discrimination in the classroom. It thus hinders efforts to promote the safety of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students and teachers in Missouri.
Many of you, like me, probably know a student or two who attended a St. Louis city or area school. Perhaps you or a friend has volunteered to tutor in the community. Or maybe you rarely depart the Washington University bubble, but realize that you remain a member of a larger society whose values you care to influence.
How then can you act to promote tolerance? PROMO, a group dedicated to “the personal rights of Missourians,” suggests the following timely and important actions. First, e-mail Representative Jane Cunningham (R-Chesterfield) at [email protected] to express your opposition to the bigoted bill. She is the chair of the Education Committee and has the ability to prevent the measure from ever reaching the House floor. Second, e-mail your locally elected official. If you live on the South 40, contact Representative Margaret Donnelly (D- St. Louis) at [email protected]. If you live in Small Group Housing, Millbrook or further north, contact Representative Robert Hilgemann (D-St. Louis) at rhilgema@
services.state.mo.us. Third, e-mail jeff@
PROMOonline.org and volunteer to make phone calls next week urging local residents to also oppose the proposal.
I promised I wouldn’t end this column with a story. And I won’t. I’ll conclude as I began: simply, openly and honestly. I enjoy writing an editorial once a week. I take pleasure when students read my column and tell me they like my work. But I receive the most satisfaction when they act upon my, when you act upon your, and when we act upon our, convictions.