Gay and Lesbian Discrimination Rising in America

In 1967, the United States Supreme Court declared Virginias 1924 Racial Integrity Act
unconstitutional in a unanimous decision. The decision, Loving v Virginia, legalized interracial
marriage. The same forces that promoted anti-miscegenation legislation are today targeting gay and
lesbian 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, a
conservative Republican, advised Virginias public colleges and universities to revoke policies
protecting employees on the basis of sexual orientation. According to Cuccinelli, sexual orientation
does not fit into the definition of a protected class.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, detailing the same story (March 5, 2010), hosted dozens of
reader comments, the majority of which expressed viewpoints stating that, bigotry is alive and well
in 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 Jesus
Catholic School in Colorado told the lesbian parents of a preschool child that they will not be
allowed to enroll the child in the next school year. On its website, the Archdiocese of Denver
affirmed the action (March 5, 2010), stating that No person shall be admitted as a student in any
Catholic 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 blog
states that, If a child of gay parents comes to our school, and we teach that gay marriage is against
the will of God, then the child will think that we are saying their parents are bad. Breslin ends his
blog with a brief discussion of relativism, highlighted repeatedly by Pope Benedict XVI as the chief
enemy of Catholic moral teaching.
A similar scenario was played out in the District of Columbia in the first week of March 2010where
the Washington Archdiocese eliminated spousal benefits for employees of the church, thereby
enabling the archdiocese to withhold such benefits from same-sex couples now that these marriages
have been legalized in the District. Additionally, an 80-year foster care program facilitated by
Catholic 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 the
September 9, 2009 Washington Post stating, We will continue to let the voice of the Church, the
teachings of the Church, be heard as clearly as it can be heard How will gay priests interpret these
actions? 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 Center

statistics, Catholics make up 29% of the
House and 26% of the Senate; there are six
Catholics on the Supreme Court. Although
Catholic legislators may not be inclined to
accept Catholic moral teachings (as
evidenced by the many pro-choice Catholic
Democrats), views on gays and lesbians
cross the religious and political divide.
So called Tea Party Republicans and, in
some cases, Blue Dog Democrats are eager
to please constituencies that favor actions
like Virginias Attorney General Cuccinelli.
The same-sex marriage issue, prominent in
the election of 2004, was buried in 2008 by
Barak Obamas message of hope. It may
resurface, however, as religious groups like
the Catholic Church and fundamentalist
Protestant denominations such as Baptists
use their memberships to influence politics.
Despite such actions, however, gay pride
continues even in traditionally conservative
communities.
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