A Gay Thank You to Anti-Gays. Say What?
Dave Muskera, M.A.
December 31, 2007
The name of Edward Livingston, the eleventh US Secretary of State, most likely does not come easily to anybodies mind unless they are a US government history buff. His name is certainly not enshrined anywhere in the annals of the modern gay rights movement either. Yet, gay folks owe him, and many who followed, a big heart felt "thank you." Let me explain.
In 1821, before his term as US Secretary even began, Livingston was commissioned by the state of Louisiana to rewrite their hopelessly complex criminal code – a code grown from a mix of Spanish, French and English common law. What was different about Livingston´s approach was that, for the first time in centuries, he proposed making no mention of the "heinous crimes of sodomy and buggery." While he generally opposed including religious based "crimes" into a secular laws, he also pointed out that any discussion of such "unpleasant topics" was simply "unnecessary and possibly damaging" to the sensitive public ear.
In his introductory statement to his proposed laws, Livingston gave a four point rational to further expand his "no sodomy inclusion" position. First, he felt that such "activity" was not likely to become "prevalent....in our country". Secondly, he detested the idea of having to spell out the specifics claiming that "the details of such a definition would inflict a lasting wound on the morals of the people". Thirdly, he believed that proving such crimes was difficult at best and begged the likelihood of false accusation. And finally, he expressed "grave concern" that the spelling-out of such "offenses" in public trails would "do more injury to the morals of the people than the secret and therefore always uncertain, commission of the offense."
In a very real way, Livingston was pushing for an early version of "Don´t Ask, Don´t Tell". Homosexuality and its related "activities" were so abominable that the only way "people of decent company" could deal with them was to ignore their very existence. He seemed to be saying: Let´s just not ask. And please don´t tell - keep homosexuality in a very tightly shut closet and no-one will ever know of it…or at least only the few degenerates who might prowl the night along the naval docks of New York and other such places.
In the end, Livingston´s rewrite was "rejected". None-the-less, he was congratulated for his work by none other than Thomas Jefferson who exclaimed that Livingston had secured a place for himself as one of the "sages of antiquity."
So Livingston is owed a belated "thank you" by gay people - not for any success he had in this matter - but rather for his failure to convince the Louisiana legislature to adopt his new "sodomy-less" laws. As a result, anti-sodomy statutes of various sorts stayed on the books in most States and, over the years, have produced a considerable record of "dreadful" details about homosexual activity in US history. Such documentation would not exist today - and could therefore be denied - were it not for the recorded public prosecution of these legal sanctions. At the same time - and again because of continuing anti-sodomy laws - the issue of homosexuality never really stayed invisible (as Livingston would have wished). Every now and then, a notorious case would come to the public´s attention and be greatly and widely discussed - no matter how uncomfortable it made the gossipers. It was not until the Supreme Court decision of 2003 (Lawrence v. Texas) that state anti-sodomy statutes still in effect were struck down. By this time however, gay invisibility was no longer even a dim possibility.
While Livingston´s "contribution" is noteworthy - however backasswards it may have been - it pales in comparison to the contributions to the "gay agenda" made by such luminaries as James Dobson and his Focus on the Family, Jerry Falwell and his 700 Club, Peter Labarbera and his Ex-gay movement, crazy Dr. Laura and even Fred Phelps of "God Hates Fags" fame and so many others who have given unselfishly of their time to keep "gay" in the public spotlight. Thanks to these gay obsessed souls, nary a day goes by that some form of news about gay issues doesn´t make it to public attention. It´s almost ad nauseum! If you type the phrase "anti-gay groups" into Google, you get an astonishing 41,100 hits! There is no way and no amount of money had by the "gay agenda" that could buy this much publicity. While you might be thinking that a lot of the "publicity" is negative, I´d still point out that some publicity is better than none and is sill more desirable than invisibility.
Like most of us who grew up in the 40s, 50s and 60s in rural America, you can bet your sweet bippy we rarely heard positive words - or any words for that matter - about homosexuality anywhere - on TV, in newspapers or in any discussions or debates at city hall. In the 1990s and later, raging public debates did in fact occur in city halls across the nation over the passage of gay rights anti-discrimination laws or issues related to gay marriage. Such events have often been attended literally by bus loads of angry Christian fundamentalists. These very same people, were it not for the rabble rousing anti-gay groups sounding the alarm, would most likely have stayed home to watch American Idol and remained blissfully unaware of the descending gay scourge. Had I, and others of my generation had the opportunity to hear any open discussion about homosexuality, we would have at least have been given something more than the negative one-sided picture offered by most religion. We would have been spared the awful soul crushing silence and loneliness of the closet.
I find myself now considering somewhat thankfully that the gay civil rights movement would not enjoy its current success (however humble) were it not for religious fundamentalists who have made the "gay agenda" their central focus. Their willingness to pound on doors, get petitions signed, stage anti-gay marriage marches and all the rest, has had the unintended effect of putting and keeping gay issues in the public eye. Livingston´s hoped for "silence" on such matters, has been smashed to smithereens by the current swell of anti-gay rhetoric. And for every young gay person struggling with their sexual identity, there are now opportunities (not present when I was growing up) to hear about or go looking for information about committed gay couples living productively in long term relationships, to hear about the positive contributions of gay artists, business people, doctors, architects, politicians and to read articles like this one at the click of a computer mouse. All this "information" would be less easy to distribute were it not being constantly pushed forward by the very well funded fundamentalist anti-gay religious right groups. Their use of the media and the Internet in the past ten or so years has prompted the production of a depth of gay information (history, events, gatherings, arguments and so forth) that my generation could only have dreamed of before 1990.
So again, we might all consider extending a heart felt "gay thank you" to the many individuals in the anti-gay movements who have given so unselfishly of their time and energy. While they probably don´t realize it, their efforts have brought to the public eye the reality of the existence of gay people. Their zeal has helped to demonstrate that gay people are literally everywhere, in all occupations and in all social situations throughout the world (with the exception of Iran, of course). Their eye-bulging fervor and mean-spirited efforts to deny gay citizens basic human rights have allowed for a more reasoned populace to see the inequality of such actions.
As the public debates rages on, hopefully these unintended side effects will continue. More and more gay men and women will realize (at earlier ages) that they don´t need to be ashamed of who they are and that life can be fulfilling no matter how many signs Fred Phelps and his kind carry on the streets. No matter how many "ex-gays" come stumbling out of ex-gay ministries, there will be even more young gay men and women who will find - with all the new resources of today´s world – peace with themselves, with their gay brothers and sisters and even with their concept of God.
Thank you Jerry, thank you Dr. Dobson, thank you George Bush, thank you Ted Haggard, thank you Pope Benedict – thank you, thank you all. Please keep your determination and continue your efforts. The worse thing that could happen to gay people and the supposed "gay agenda" at this point in history is for those in the fundamentalist far right to give in to the spirit of Edward Livingston and just shut the heck up about homosexuality. And, thank goodness, we know that ain´t going to happen any time soon.
In 1821, before his term as US Secretary even began, Livingston was commissioned by the state of Louisiana to rewrite their hopelessly complex criminal code – a code grown from a mix of Spanish, French and English common law. What was different about Livingston´s approach was that, for the first time in centuries, he proposed making no mention of the "heinous crimes of sodomy and buggery." While he generally opposed including religious based "crimes" into a secular laws, he also pointed out that any discussion of such "unpleasant topics" was simply "unnecessary and possibly damaging" to the sensitive public ear.
In his introductory statement to his proposed laws, Livingston gave a four point rational to further expand his "no sodomy inclusion" position. First, he felt that such "activity" was not likely to become "prevalent....in our country". Secondly, he detested the idea of having to spell out the specifics claiming that "the details of such a definition would inflict a lasting wound on the morals of the people". Thirdly, he believed that proving such crimes was difficult at best and begged the likelihood of false accusation. And finally, he expressed "grave concern" that the spelling-out of such "offenses" in public trails would "do more injury to the morals of the people than the secret and therefore always uncertain, commission of the offense."
In a very real way, Livingston was pushing for an early version of "Don´t Ask, Don´t Tell". Homosexuality and its related "activities" were so abominable that the only way "people of decent company" could deal with them was to ignore their very existence. He seemed to be saying: Let´s just not ask. And please don´t tell - keep homosexuality in a very tightly shut closet and no-one will ever know of it…or at least only the few degenerates who might prowl the night along the naval docks of New York and other such places.
In the end, Livingston´s rewrite was "rejected". None-the-less, he was congratulated for his work by none other than Thomas Jefferson who exclaimed that Livingston had secured a place for himself as one of the "sages of antiquity."
So Livingston is owed a belated "thank you" by gay people - not for any success he had in this matter - but rather for his failure to convince the Louisiana legislature to adopt his new "sodomy-less" laws. As a result, anti-sodomy statutes of various sorts stayed on the books in most States and, over the years, have produced a considerable record of "dreadful" details about homosexual activity in US history. Such documentation would not exist today - and could therefore be denied - were it not for the recorded public prosecution of these legal sanctions. At the same time - and again because of continuing anti-sodomy laws - the issue of homosexuality never really stayed invisible (as Livingston would have wished). Every now and then, a notorious case would come to the public´s attention and be greatly and widely discussed - no matter how uncomfortable it made the gossipers. It was not until the Supreme Court decision of 2003 (Lawrence v. Texas) that state anti-sodomy statutes still in effect were struck down. By this time however, gay invisibility was no longer even a dim possibility.
While Livingston´s "contribution" is noteworthy - however backasswards it may have been - it pales in comparison to the contributions to the "gay agenda" made by such luminaries as James Dobson and his Focus on the Family, Jerry Falwell and his 700 Club, Peter Labarbera and his Ex-gay movement, crazy Dr. Laura and even Fred Phelps of "God Hates Fags" fame and so many others who have given unselfishly of their time to keep "gay" in the public spotlight. Thanks to these gay obsessed souls, nary a day goes by that some form of news about gay issues doesn´t make it to public attention. It´s almost ad nauseum! If you type the phrase "anti-gay groups" into Google, you get an astonishing 41,100 hits! There is no way and no amount of money had by the "gay agenda" that could buy this much publicity. While you might be thinking that a lot of the "publicity" is negative, I´d still point out that some publicity is better than none and is sill more desirable than invisibility.
Like most of us who grew up in the 40s, 50s and 60s in rural America, you can bet your sweet bippy we rarely heard positive words - or any words for that matter - about homosexuality anywhere - on TV, in newspapers or in any discussions or debates at city hall. In the 1990s and later, raging public debates did in fact occur in city halls across the nation over the passage of gay rights anti-discrimination laws or issues related to gay marriage. Such events have often been attended literally by bus loads of angry Christian fundamentalists. These very same people, were it not for the rabble rousing anti-gay groups sounding the alarm, would most likely have stayed home to watch American Idol and remained blissfully unaware of the descending gay scourge. Had I, and others of my generation had the opportunity to hear any open discussion about homosexuality, we would have at least have been given something more than the negative one-sided picture offered by most religion. We would have been spared the awful soul crushing silence and loneliness of the closet.
I find myself now considering somewhat thankfully that the gay civil rights movement would not enjoy its current success (however humble) were it not for religious fundamentalists who have made the "gay agenda" their central focus. Their willingness to pound on doors, get petitions signed, stage anti-gay marriage marches and all the rest, has had the unintended effect of putting and keeping gay issues in the public eye. Livingston´s hoped for "silence" on such matters, has been smashed to smithereens by the current swell of anti-gay rhetoric. And for every young gay person struggling with their sexual identity, there are now opportunities (not present when I was growing up) to hear about or go looking for information about committed gay couples living productively in long term relationships, to hear about the positive contributions of gay artists, business people, doctors, architects, politicians and to read articles like this one at the click of a computer mouse. All this "information" would be less easy to distribute were it not being constantly pushed forward by the very well funded fundamentalist anti-gay religious right groups. Their use of the media and the Internet in the past ten or so years has prompted the production of a depth of gay information (history, events, gatherings, arguments and so forth) that my generation could only have dreamed of before 1990.
So again, we might all consider extending a heart felt "gay thank you" to the many individuals in the anti-gay movements who have given so unselfishly of their time and energy. While they probably don´t realize it, their efforts have brought to the public eye the reality of the existence of gay people. Their zeal has helped to demonstrate that gay people are literally everywhere, in all occupations and in all social situations throughout the world (with the exception of Iran, of course). Their eye-bulging fervor and mean-spirited efforts to deny gay citizens basic human rights have allowed for a more reasoned populace to see the inequality of such actions.
As the public debates rages on, hopefully these unintended side effects will continue. More and more gay men and women will realize (at earlier ages) that they don´t need to be ashamed of who they are and that life can be fulfilling no matter how many signs Fred Phelps and his kind carry on the streets. No matter how many "ex-gays" come stumbling out of ex-gay ministries, there will be even more young gay men and women who will find - with all the new resources of today´s world – peace with themselves, with their gay brothers and sisters and even with their concept of God.
Thank you Jerry, thank you Dr. Dobson, thank you George Bush, thank you Ted Haggard, thank you Pope Benedict – thank you, thank you all. Please keep your determination and continue your efforts. The worse thing that could happen to gay people and the supposed "gay agenda" at this point in history is for those in the fundamentalist far right to give in to the spirit of Edward Livingston and just shut the heck up about homosexuality. And, thank goodness, we know that ain´t going to happen any time soon.