Gay and Lesbian Discrimination Rising in America

In 1967, the United States Supreme Court declared Virginias 1924 Racial Integrity Actunconstitutional in a unanimous decision. The decision, Loving v Virginia, legalized interracialmarriage. The same forces that promoted anti-miscegenation legislation are today targeting gay andlesbian marriages throughout the nation.

Growing Anti-Gay Sentiment in the United States

On March 6, 2010, the Washington Post reported that Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, aconservative Republican, advised Virginias public colleges and universities to revoke policiesprotecting employees on the basis of sexual orientation. According to Cuccinelli, sexual orientationdoes not fit into the definition of a protected class.

The Chronicle of Higher Education, detailing the same story (March 5, 2010), hosted dozens ofreader comments, the majority of which expressed viewpoints stating that, bigotry is alive and wellin the state of Virginia and This is so fifties. But anti-gay activity is not limited to Virginia.

On the same day Cuccinellis announcement was picked up by the media, Sacred Heart of JesusCatholic School in Colorado told the lesbian parents of a preschool child that they will not beallowed to enroll the child in the next school year. On its website, the Archdiocese of Denveraffirmed the action (March 5, 2010), stating that No person shall be admitted as a student in anyCatholic school unless that person and his/her parent(s) subscribe to the schools philosophy

Mercy and Love Versus the Doctrinaire Position

The school named for the sacred heart of Jesus is led by the Rev. Bill Breslin. Breslins web blogstates that, If a child of gay parents comes to our school, and we teach that gay marriage is againstthe will of God, then the child will think that we are saying their parents are bad. Breslin ends hisblog with a brief discussion of relativism, highlighted repeatedly by Pope Benedict XVI as the chiefenemy of Catholic moral teaching.

A similar scenario was played out in the District of Columbia in the first week of March 2010wherethe Washington Archdiocese eliminated spousal benefits for employees of the church, therebyenabling the archdiocese to withhold such benefits from same-sex couples now that these marriageshave been legalized in the District. Additionally, an 80-year foster care program facilitated byCatholic Charities was put on hold, following similar measures taken in Boston and San Francisco.

Washington Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl cited Catholic identity and had been quoted in theSeptember 9, 2009 Washington Post stating, We will continue to let the voice of the Church, theteachings of the Church, be heard as clearly as it can be heard How will gay priests interpret theseactions? In his 2000 book The Changing Face of the Priesthood (Liturgical Press), Father Donald B.Cozzens asserts that as many has half of all priests in America are gay.

Will the Federal Government Respond?

According to on-going Pew Research Centerstatistics, Catholics make up 29% of theHouse and 26% of the Senate; there are sixCatholics on the Supreme Court. AlthoughCatholic legislators may not be inclined toaccept Catholic moral teachings (asevidenced by the many pro-choice CatholicDemocrats), views on gays and lesbianscross the religious and political divide.

So called Tea Party Republicans and, insome cases, Blue Dog Democrats are eagerto please constituencies that favor actionslike Virginias Attorney General Cuccinelli.The same-sex marriage issue, prominent inthe election of 2004, was buried in 2008 byBarak Obamas message of hope. It mayresurface, however, as religious groups likethe Catholic Church and fundamentalistProtestant denominations such as Baptistsuse their memberships to influence politics.Despite such actions, however, gay pridecontinues even in traditionally conservativecommunities.

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