Queer clout in the USA

South of the border, our American cousins are flexing their
muscles. Are Canadian politicians watching?


   Queer rights activists in this country often like to make
comparisons between our situation in Canada and that of our queer
cousins south of the border. Considering the significant
differences in our countries' political systems, that may be like
comparing apples and oranges.
   In many respects, lesbigay rights in the United States lag far
behind the rights we enjoy in Canada. But when we look at the
lesbigay communities' involvement in the U.S. political arena, we
see that they have remarkable visibility and clout. We can learn
from their successes in this area. 
   Assuming that about ten percent of the American population is
queer, the U.S. may have more queers than Canada has people. Since
the police raid on New York's Stonewall bar in 1969, American
lesbians, bisexuals and gay men have galvanized themselves to work
for recognition at every level in society.
   And yet, almost 25 years after Stonewall, homosexual acts remain
illegal in twenty-three states, in some cases carrying prison
sentences of five to twenty years. (Canada decriminalized
homosexual sex in 1969.) Gay-bashing incidents are on the rise, and
the religious right has become increasingly vicious in its
condemnation of "the homosexual lifestyle."

Gay-bashing backfired

   The 1992 presidential election demonstrated beyond a doubt that
gay-bashing rhetoric simply doesn't work anymore. The Republicans
toned down their rhetoric after many Americans indicated their
disgust with speeches made at the Republican National Convention.
Democrat Bill Clinton embraced the gay community, and in return, he
received up to 80 percent of the gay vote, and millions of dollars
in financial contributions.
   Our American cousins are well-organized at the political level,
with several active national organizations. They need to be, for
their opponents on the right are extraordinarily powerful.
   The lesbian and gay delegation at last year's Democratic
National Convention was larger than the delegations of most states.
When Colorado voters repealed gay rights laws in a referendum last
year, the lesbigay community organized a boycott that has cost the
state more than $35 million in lost convention business. 
   A million lesbians, bisexuals, gay men and their supporters
marched on Washington in April, in what may have been the largest
political demonstration ever in the U.S. capital.

High visibility

   U.S. lesbians and gays are far more visible in public life than
ever before. At the national level, Barney Frank and Gerry Studds,
Democratic congressmen of Massachusetts, are openly gay, as are a
dozen elected officials in state legislatures. At the local level,
a growing number of gay municipal councillors and mayors have been
elected in recent years. In terms of federal officials, President
Clinton appointed lesbian politician Roberta Achtenberg as an
assistant secretary at the Department of Housing and Urban
Development. The appointment was significant because of its
seniority, requiring U.S. Senate confirmation.
   To date there is no federal legislation explicitly targeted at
protecting the rights of gays and lesbians. Eight states, however,
have enacted gay rights laws, and numerous municipalities have
passed similar ordinances.
   The most recent state, Minnesota, added sexual orientation to
the categories protected from discrimination and explicitly
included bisexuals and transsexuals in its coverage. In Hawaii,
which has a similar law, the state supreme court ruled recently
that it was unconstitutional to prohibit gay marriages.
   The challenge of supporting lesbigay issues has confounded
traditional party politics. The Democrats have many conservatives,
especially from the South. Democratic Senator Sam Nunn has been one
of the most powerful opponents of President Clinton's plan to lift
the military ban. The Republicans, home to the religious right,
also include politicians with a strong libertarian vein, best
exemplified by the gay-friendly Governor of Massachusetts, William
Weld.

A quiet revolution

   What these and all politicians are learning is that a quiet
revolution has taken place in the United States that has paralleled
the highly visible radicalism of marches and kiss-ins.
   Studies have shown that tolerance for lesbians and gays
increases markedly in response to the emergence of greater matter-
of-fact openness among gay men and lesbians in their personal and
professional lives.
   Sexual orientation issues have moved to the forefront in
American political debate. Have Canadian politicians been watching
and learning from the American experience? We'll see soon enough.



Bill Clinton embraced the gay community, and in return, he received
up to 80 percent of the gay vote and millions of dollars in
financial contributions.



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