The Lion in Summer

Over these next several days, the newspapers and the TV stations will talk about Ted Kennedy’s lineage, triumphs, scandals, speeches, and most certainly his loving relationship with his wife and his grand role as patriarch to America’s foremost dynasty. Very few are talking about his role as one of the LGBT community’s fiercest supporters.

I’m watching his memorial service live on CNN as we speak. Legions of leaders and celebrities have commemorated what Kennedy has done and what he’s meant. So far (and maybe I just missed it) I haven’t heard anybody talk about his extensive work and unwavering support for gays. It’s too bad that may end up being his most unsung quality.

In a moment to where our president seems to be waffling about his support of us, and when ignoramuses seem to be making a second career of quashing work done for marriage equality, someone as unwavering as Ted Kennedy feels refreshing.

The senator proved to be a brave ally way back in the 80s when he was an advocate for HIV/AIDS, a remarkable thing in a climate when many people, including his colleagues on the Hill, were antagonistic to gays and ignorant of the big disease with the little name. Since then, he repeatedly struck against those, including Jesse Helms, who disparaged gays and actively worked to discriminate against us legally.

Recently, Kennedy had mightily voiced his support Kennedy in 1996 was among 14 senators to vote on the Senate floor against the Defense of Marriage Act. When the Federal Marriage Amendment came to the Senate floor in 2004, Kennedy spoke passionately against banning same-sex marriage in the U.S. Constitution.

“Make no mistake, a vote for the federal marriage constitutional amendment is a vote against civil unions, domestic partnerships and other efforts by states to treat gays and lesbians fairly under the law,” Kennedy said. “It is a vote for imposing discrimination, plain and simple, on all 50 states.”

I met him in person very briefly over two years ago when I worked for a nonprofit that sponsored at an event where he spoke about, among other things, income inequality. He was very nice and passionate about what he believed.

He also proudly and consistently identified him as a liberal. He believed in universal health care, eradicating poverty, and equal rights for all. He frequently reached out across the aisle and was even good friends with Orren Hatch of all people. But that didn’t mean he abandoned his beliefs for political expediency or survival. That’s instructive as we watch President Obama concede large swaths of his health care proposals because of protests and GOP disapproval and refuse to curb the sweetheart deals insurers are receiving in this proposal (and receive on a daily basis).

Obama can take a cue from Kennedy over the coming months (or years?) and show us the support of LGBTs that he pledged in the campaign. The repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and gay marriage are just two topics up to bat. The president has been distressingly quiet on our issues, but he can stand to swallow down a cup of courage and prove his convictions.

The Lion of the Senate has given the Lamb of the White House a lot of lessons to learn.

For a full list of Sen. Kennedy’s leadership on LGBT issues, please visit: http://www.hrcbackstory.org/2009/08/sen-kennedys-leadership-on-lgbt-equality/

It's A Wrap

Next time you reach for that pack of Trojans, just remember the pope is somewhere shaking his head at you in disapproval.

You may have heard Pope Benedict XVI, on a recent trip to Cameroon, told reporters on his plane that when it came to the AIDS crisis, "You can't resolve it with the distribution of condoms. On the contrary, it increases the problem."

That statement was rather ironic, considering he was making a goodwill trip to sub-Saharan Africa, where three-quarters of all AIDS deaths worldwide in 2007 occurred. The region is also where some 22 million people are infected with HIV — accounting for two-thirds of the world's infections, according to UNAIDS.

At the risk of not being invited to the next party thrown by one of my Catholic friends, I think the pope’s message is downright dangerous and he deserves all the condemnation he’s been getting and will get. France and the United Nations are only two entities that have been critical of the pope’s statement over the past week.

And I side with them. How does using something that has been proven to reduce transmission of the HIV virus increase the problem? It appears His Not-So-Excellency is using his ideology as a blunt force instrument. I get that as a strict Catholic, he frowns on premarital sex, birth control, and such. But when you have a health crisis, pragmatism — not religious dogma — needs to be in the driver’s seat.

Senior Vatican officials have advocated fidelity in marriage and abstinence from premarital sex as key weapons in the fight against AIDS. Fine. But don’t also exclude and condemn something that is a proven measure to prevent HIV infections. If the pope is serious about HIV, he should focus on promoting wide access to condoms and spreading information on how to use them. Like with any major dilemma, there needs to be a multi-faceted approach.

The pope’s message reminds me of the Bush administration officials and conservative forces who pushed for abstinence-only sex education in schools. In their world, everything would be perfect if we were all heterosexual, got married at 25, and only then proceeded to have sex. Well, the world isn’t – and never really has been – like that. Even those who go to mass and church service regularly have sex outside of marriage regularly. Are we going to let a religious ideal be the guiding light in getting through this?

The facts don’t support the abstinence-only supporters. Study after study has found abstinence-only efforts are not effective in fully educating young adults, reducing teen birth rates, or slowing the spread of STDs. In fact, a news article I read found that polls suggest a vast majority of parents want comprehensive sex education, which would include an abstinence component.

Even some priests and nuns working with those infected with the AIDS virus question the church's opposition to condoms amid the pandemic ravaging Africa. So do ordinary Africans.

My fear is that regardless of what some may feel about the pope and the Vatican as a whole, the words of Pope Benedict XVI carry a lot of weight and influence. Africa, for example, is the fastest-growing region for the Catholic Church. It’s not ridiculous to assume that some followers will take the pope’s words at face values and not use condoms, to the detriment of their health and others.

The pope also said last week he intends to make an appeal for "international solidarity" for Africa in the face of the global economic downturn. He said while the church does not propose specific economic solutions, it can give "spiritual and moral" suggestions.

Well, the condom thing is one suggestion that needs to be shelved. Forever.