The Gay Issue in America: How one former isolationist became an activist.

Below was an email that was sent to me by my dear friend Howard Emanuel.


From: Howard Emanuel,
Subject: One Angry Man...In the Voting Booth
Date: Fri, 22 Oct 2004 16:43:43 -0400


As most of you know, I lingered in the hospital for two and a half weeks this past April, suffering from an acute flare-up of ulcerative colitis, brought on by e-coli, of all things. Ulcerative colitis is an autoimmune disease where the white blood cells attack the colon, erroneously marking the large intestine as a foreign invader and attempting to eradicate it as they would any disease. (And for the record, my silly little white blood cells couldn't be more wrong! I wish they'd get the message!) I have been FINE for years and expect to continue to be so, but as a result of the flare-up, I lost some 45 pounds, my muscles atrophying to a dangerous, debilitating point.

I was fortunate that after a previous extended battle with my partner's employer (my partner of 5 1/2 years), we managed to acquire health insurance benefits for BOTH of us. These benefits included--for traditional, male/female couples ONLY, we later discovered--paid leave to care for an ill or recovering spouse.

A day after being discharged from the hospital (and just 3 1/2 weeks from beginning GUYS AND DOLLS at the Paper Mill Playhouse), I took a dangerous turn for the worse. I was passing out. I could not walk. And my god, the pain... Joey literally carried me from the couch to the bathroom and back again that morning, dragging my atrophied legs behind me. Because we'd lost an enormous amount of income during my illness (something from which we're STILL not recovered), and afraid he might lose his job, Joey had planned to return to work that day. But given my suddenly worsening state, he decided against it.

I reminded him that there are legions of friends “waiting in the wings” who are more than willing to help us. Thus, we made a few phone calls, and with a friend at my bedside ready to carry me to the bathroom and back, Joey returned to work, full of guilt, fear, and concern. And just one hour late. Now, had we been a married, male/female couple, he could have remained home under his employer’s policy. Because we were not, our option was to either lose yet another day’s pay or to leave me home to fend for myself.

Why am I bothering you with all this? Fair enough question. Let me try to answer…

After seeing a friend in 12 ANGRY MEN at the Roundabout Theatre (It's GREAT! Go see it!), I was forced to face the potential consequences of my silence and inaction. In America, one person telling their story can potentially sway a similar mind. The domino effect of changing minds can—and has—alter(ed) history itself.

At first glance, the consequences of Pres. Bush's failed Constitutional Amendment proposal banning same-sex unions seem inconsequential. (I do not agree.) At first glance, it might appear that his opposition to embryonic stem cell research, research which COULD potentially cure my disease, is unimportant. (Dana Reeve, wife of the late Christopher Reeve, and I do not agree.)

Because of the anti-gay support drummed up by Pres. Bush's Constitutional Amendment, what Frank Rich of the NY TIMES calls "fear and ugly rage," Virginia recently passed a law refusing to recognize ANY legal agreement between two members of the same sex that is seen by the state as "existing for the purposes of imparting a benefit normally reserved for marriage." This means that legal contracts imparting power of attorney, wills, medical directives, hospital visitation, child custody, joint bank accounts, and on and on and on, WILL NOT BE HONORED in the state of Virginia. While this new law CLEARLY interferes with people's right to enter into contracts and INDISPUTABLY violates the 14th Amendment guarantee to due process and equal protection...well...hey. Jim Crow violated all of this as well. Didn't it. Wait. Wasn't Jim Crow a similarly worded "law?" Well, it was swiftly overturned, at least. Wasn't it? Or was it.

Benefits imparted to some but restricted to others FOR ANY REASON is dangerously un-American.

Perhaps, as one newspaper put it, Virginia should change its state motto: "Virginia is for lovers. Some restrictions apply."

In January, shortly after the inauguration of the next president, Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court William Rehnquist is expected to announce his departure from the bench. Through the course of the next administration, three additional Justices are expected to resign. The Constitutionality of Virginia’s law, along with one pending in Michigan that would allow doctors the right to refuse care to patients within 24 hours of learning that they are gay (can you BELIEVE it?) and a similar measure under consideration in that bastion of civil rights, Alabama--along with a woman's right to choose, along with stem cell research and countless other actions that will either further our democracy or hinder it, could be decided by the next Supreme Court--which will sit on the bench for decades to come.

The next president might well have the power to appoint FOUR Supreme Court Justices. Is this a power you really want George W. Bush to wield?

History shows that no right is truly guaranteed. Despite what the Constitution says, despite the governing ideals set forth in the Declaration of Independence, every freedom ever granted to humanity has always been fiercely fought for, through angry cries for justice, civil disobedience, and revolutionary legislation.

This election day, ask yourself what kind of America WE are fighting for. Will freedom finally ring? Or will an invisible social tyranny reign for decades to come?

You have the power to decide…

With Love and Gratitude,
Howard Emanuel

P.S. Feel free to pass this along to anyone you wish (especially swing state voters who may be swayed positively by my argument) or to delete it with a sigh of agreement or, alas, dissention. Either way, On Tuesday, Nov. 2nd VOTE! And vote not just with your heart--BUT WITH YOUR MIND!