Gay In a Red State

by indiemcemopants

(Originally featured on FireDogLake)

Being gay in a red state like Alabama isn’t easy. I’m a gay cripple here. So life’s hard. We’ve got a long list of improvements that need to be made – not just as a "pony" or a nice treat – but things we need for our survival. We are not asking for, nor do we need any type of special rights. Our rights are entwined with everyone else’s rights. Joblessness, poverty and other things that are hurting people are affecting gays at disproportionate rates and gay people of color at even higher rates.

So when I say that gay people (and straight people who are perceived to be gay) in red states are desperate for ENDA to be passed, it’s the kind of desperation most people don’t ever dream of.



Coming out of eight years of Bush, a guy who, along with his closeted campaign manager and later RNC Chair Ken Mehlman, decided to torment and terrorize gay people in every state, driving up antigay hate crimes (which many red states neglected to count), was a relief. We made it.

On top of that, we had a fairly decent group of Democratic candidates on gay rights. I’m a pragmatic type and while I felt like nobody went far enough for me, it was 2007. Candidate Obama was awesome. He seemingly had a vision that was similar to mine. He did so much that annoyed me and other gays but he seemed to get it. He even addressed homophobia in church.

He promised to get ENDA passed, a bill that had been waiting around for a few years, but one that has been in the works for forty years.

He promised to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and he was to the left of Hillary Clinton – she promised to repeal only part of it.

He promised to pass the Uniting American Families Act so partners can stay together in the US.

He promised a full repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and said that gays will be allowed to serve openly. In a briefing with Press Secretary Gibbs, he was asked whether DADT will be repealed and he answered simply "Yes."

He promised to pass the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crime Prevention Act. That one is thankfully now law. That promise was kept and he deserves praise for it. That’s something we’ve needed since 1998, and probably even before that.

After all these promises, only one of them has been signed into law. And, guess what? That one’s being undercut already. Thanks, Obama DOJ!

For starters, I would like to stop living in fear I’ll be terrorized for being gay – whether it’s someone attacking me or someone else in the gay community being attacked. With hate crimes, not all the victims are at the scene of the crime. Hate crimes are also notoriously underreported, both by those who were attacked and then by law enforcement.

ENDA is the priority, though. I’m gay and in a red state. Shouldn’t I be able to get a job regardless of who I fall in love with? Luckily for me, I’m fairly masculine so I can "pass" as straight, but I don’t want to. I wear a big rainbow arm band on my wrist everywhere I go. I’m offended by the concept of getting by because I happen to pass as straight. And my feminine-looking straight male friends might have a hard time getting a job as well. I always joked with them that I look more heterosexual than they do. This law, ENDA, has been promised for forty years. FORTY. And it has 89% support. There is no reason not to pass it TODAY. If this government cares about gay people at all, that is.

These things are easy, low-hanging fruit, and yet they’re not getting passed. There’s no excuses anymore. People like myself are hurting. And you can help if you just pass these laws. If you care.