Mark My Words

Crossing the great divide literally

By Mark Segal
PGN Publisher
© 2008 Philadelphia Gay News

Summertime and the living is wonderful. Last week the Third Circuit Court tossed out the Child Online Protection Act. This is a big thumbs-up to all who appreciate our Constitution, especially the First Amendment. This law would have brought censorship to the Internet and would have endangered reporting on HIV/AIDS, reproductive rights or even health information for gay youth. PGN is proud to have been one of the plaintiffs in the case.

Last week I had lunch with Karen Chizeck and Brian Tomlin from the local Log Cabin Republicans group. Let’s be real here: Not all members of the LGBT community are Democrats. The Log Cabin group is a better way of reaching conservatives. Philadelphia’s Log Cabin club is not just a rubber stamp for Republicans: They will not support those who do not support our community’s goals. Case in point, they were as anti-Bush as the rest of us. But they have some new plans to bolster LGBT rights among Republicans, so expect to hear from them in the very near future. Their help with Republican members of the Pennsylvania Senate and House of Representatives could be very beneficial.

Last week, Congress heard testimony on the effects of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” And our very own Congressman Patrick Murphy (D-Eighth Dist.) stood tall in our support. Here’s what he said:

“‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ jeopardizes our national security by taking trained troops away from our already-overstretched armed forces. Under this misguided policy, we have dismissed 12,000 honorable servicemen and women simply due to their sexual orientation — including 58 Arabic linguists. Meanwhile, 24 nations, including Britain, Israel and Germany, allow gays and lesbians to openly serve.

“Obviously, this is a serious debate and there were some tense moments today. But I am very passionate about this issue, and as a former Army captain, I took offense to the implication that our servicemen and women are not professional enough to serve alongside those of a different sexual orientation.

“I will not stop fighting until this policy is changed. It will have serious implications to the state of equality in our country, not to mention our national security.

“I hope you will stand with me in this important fight.”

Hear, hear, Congressman.

Mark Segal is PGN publisher. He can be reached at mark@epgn.com.