TALKING POINTS AGAINST ANTI-GAY RHETORIC
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute
Washington, D.C.
Radical Right opponents to civil rights for gay/lesbian people use similar
arguments and rhetoric around the country, whether they're in Corvallis,
Oregon; Albany, New York; or Lebanon, Tennessee. This article is a tool for
action. It includes responses, ideas, and themes you may use to respond.
Each topic begins with the rhetoric used by the Radical Right, followed by
some ideas on how to respond.
"Gay men and lesbians are already covered under the Constitution just like the
rest of us. What they want is special rights. We oppose special rights for
gay people."
The Radical Right's use of the phrase "special rights" skews the issue. The
right to get and keep a job based on merit is not a special right. The right
to have housing is not a special right. The right to be served food in a
restaurant or stay in a hotel are not special rights. The right to have and
raise children without the state seizing them is not a special right. The
right to walk down the street and not get attacked because of who you are and
whom you love is not a special right. Gay and lesbian people want the same
rights guaranteed to all American citizens. However, without civil rights
laws that specifically ban discrimination based on sexual orientation, gay and
lesbian people can lose their jobs, their homes, and their families and be
refused service at public accommodations simply because they are gay with no
legal recourse. Right wing zealots who speak of special rights, in fact, want
their own very special right to discriminate against those whom they hate.
"Local ordinances for gay men and lesbians force the rest of us to live against our religious beliefs. We're entitled to our rights too." Most civil rights ordinances provide exemptions for religious institutions. And extending civil rights to one sector of society does not withdraw rights from another. In addition, many gay and lesbian members of religious denominations are organizing within their religious communities so that religious institutions may become more accepting of the diversity of their members.
"They want to be treated like a minority, like an ethnic minority. The Supreme Court says they're not. And we know they're not because they never rode in the back of the bus and they are not economically deprived." Like other minorities, gay men and lesbians face job loss, eviction, non- service at public accommodations, and the loss of their children simply because of who they are. And like other minorities, gay and lesbian people face harassment, physical assault, and murder because of hatred against them as a group. A Department of Justice study reported that "homosexuals are probably the most frequent victims" of hate crime. Our Constitution says all citizens are created equal which includes gay and lesbian Americans.
"Homosexuals lead an abominable lifestyle. People who care about traditional family values must not encourage the open expression of sexual depravity." Discrimination is the abomination, not gay and lesbian people. We uphold the family values of support, love, understanding and respect between family members. Discrimination and bigotry are not and never have been traditional family values.
"Gay people want to force their lifestyle on us and take away our rights." Civil rights laws that include gay and lesbian people do not limit the rights of others. Instead, they extend to gay and lesbian people the same rights already enjoyed by most Americans the right to obtain and keep employment based on ability to do the job; the right to acquire housing; the right to raise children; and the right to live free of violence. Gay and lesbian people are not interested in forcing anything on anyone. Just the opposite. Most gay and lesbian people would prefer to live in privacy, without intrusion by Radical Right bigots.
"You can't let gays be near children since they can't reproduce, they
recruit. And they are all pedophiles."
Statistics show that the vast majority of sexual abuse is committed by men
against women, usually within the same family. One 1992 study from the
Children's Hospital in Denver showed that children are 100 times more likely
to be molested by a family member than by a gay or lesbian person. Sexual
abuse therapists have denounced statements by the Oregon Citizens Alliance
that link homosexuality with pedophilia in order to achieve OCA's extreme
political agenda. Lies perpetuate stereotypes that are then wrongly used to
deny gay and lesbian people their rights.
"What this is really leading to is marriage licenses for gay men and lesbians,
joint benefits, formalized domestic relationships, child adoptions, and the
destruction of the American family. This is wrong."
Civil rights laws that include gay and lesbian people do not grant gay and
lesbian people the right to marry. Society has failed to recognize the
committed unions of gay and lesbian people while it continues to perpetuate
the stereotype that all gay and lesbian people are sexually promiscuous. But
gay and lesbian people are continuing the struggle for the legal recognition
of their loving relationships including the right to obtain employment
benefits for spouses equivalent to those available to heterosexual co-workers.
"It's within our First Amendment rights to say what we think of homosexuals."
Radical Right organizations hide their homophobia behind the First Amendment.
While the Radical Right demands the right to speak out against homosexuality,
they simultaneously run well-financed campaigns to censor and squelch positive
images of gay and lesbian people on television, in schools, and in the arts.
The hatred and lies that Radical Right organizations spew create a hostile
environment for gay and lesbian people. Their rhetoric bolsters the hatred
expressed by bigots who physically attack gay men and lesbians. A national
study conducted by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute
documented 1,822 anti-gay incidents in just five U.S. cities in 1991, a 31
percent increase over the number of incidents in 1990.