Let me start by saying I do not believe conservatives should require 100% agreement on all issues in the conservative spectrum to be part of the movement.  I think we should be unified around defending self-determination and individual rights.  Discussions about what that means within our ranks should be civil.

Respect

I have deep respect for gay Republicans and gay conservatives that are "out of the closet" on both counts.  I consider them some the bravest of the politically active.  They make a choice many of us, especially straight white people, will never understand.  They choose what is right for the nation and liberties that help all of us, over an agenda that what would make their life as gay Americans easier in many cases.  Unlike race, there are some current conservative policy goals that limit choices for gay Americans.  In supporting the core conservative causes, they may be working against some important areas of self-interest.

They risk ridicule from both liberal gays and conservatives who believe their faith calls for certain judgments. Even if you are a devout fundamentalist Christian who holds fast to a biblical interpretation, you need to respect the courage of being "out" as both gay and Republican / conservative.

Straight is All Around Us

Being straight, it's easy to miss the role our sexuality plays in daily life.  It is just there.  We don't think about how it affected our youth and the small things we do to increase attractiveness to the opposite sex from better clothes to a better job.  We blithely go along as the deep drive to mate, procreate and protect the progeny is neatly wrapped up in tradition and ritual of family.

I can't write about what it is to be gay in America, to grow up as a youth seeing all those rituals that often don't have a built in place for a gay person. But I do know that just being honest can put you at risk for harm, ridicule and still can lose opportunities, like serving your country. It doesn't seem right that the law of the land says to serve this nation with honor you must hide or lie about who you are. In the end that cannot be good for the country or the bond of trust needed between soldiers.

I don't think in our hetero-sameness we can understand how for some gays thier difference becomes a conscious part of core identity.  This means when someone says "It's wrong," it is possible to hear it as "You are wrong just for being." No one is wrong for just being.

Being Good

It is too easy to adopt the idea that being a good Christian one has to be "against homosexuality" without thinking about what that means to real humans.  I am not asking that you stop being good Christians. I believe that good Christians and good people who care about faith are the hope for this nation.  I will ask you to pull out your Bible and read EVERY word that Jesus said himself.  Not one word about the subject.  He did tell the parable of the Good Samaritan, where a man from Samaria who Hebrews would mistrust and see as unworthy is shown to be a good man.  He did tell us to " Do to others as you would have them do to you.." 

I am quite sure based on the words of Jesus; I can be a good Christian and be loving and accepting of those that are gay.  I am also sure that it is impossible to be a good Christian and be cruel to my fellow humans.  Jesus stopped the stoning in-favor of compassion.  We don't throw stones anymore; we make rules and laws to cage people into neat little boxes of conformity.

I don't want the government telling me how to love my wife, if you are a conservative; you can’t want the government controlling how anyone loves another consenting adult.  That is not in The Constitution.


We can debate for hours why people are gay.  For me it is clear many if not most are born that way.  One might say, they were CREATED that way.  So who am I to question God's plan for his creation.  From a scientific standpoint it’s just as easy to suggest being gay is a standard variation in the population as it is to jump to the conclusion it is a defect. Would anyone reading this want to be defined as "defective?"  But if you prefer to think about this from a "God as creator" view point, is there any chance the plan is to test our compassion for differences?

We The People

Gay persons are just another part of WE THE PEOPLE and are part of who we are as a country and a planet. I would hope we can agree as conservatives that WE THE PEOPLE includes every American and that part of restraining the government is keeping it out of defining what appropriate adult love is.

The question of balancing respect for individual liberties both religious and personal is more complicated. As conservatives working together, not as opponents, we may come to solutions to the more complicated issues of government approved marriage, military service, what we teach in the schools and equal protection under the law.

To be effective conservatives we have to welcome allies from all walks of life that value personal liberty. When any person, the progressives assume is a lock for them, joins the cause we all win.