RALPH BAILEY: Ashburn proves gays are no victims
| Friday, Mar 12 2010 01:29 AM
Last Updated Friday, Mar 12 2010 01:28 PM
State Sen. Roy Ashburn is the gay agenda's worst nightmare.
Ashburn confirmed what most of us believe firmly in our hearts: your sexual orientation should not and does not matter in terms of a human being's ability to perform or contribute to society.
Ashburn's success as a legislator undermines gay activists' attempts to portray gay people as discriminated victims who suffer at the hands of us bigoted homophobes.
Granted, as part of the minority in the state Senate Ashburn wields limited power. He nevertheless remains a viable player in Kern County politics, proving no open or backroom discrimination ever impeded his future.
While Ashburn portrayed himself as a happily married man, complete with Christmas cards featuring his four daughters, beautiful wife and their dog, his homosexuality was one of the worst kept secrets in Kern County and yet he thrived as a politician, earning re-election DESPITE the not-so-muffled rumors.
Even after recently "outing" himself, fellow legislators on both sides of the aisle welcomed Ashburn back with open arms and save religious zealot Randy Thomasson, I've heard no one -- not one soul -- even imply that Ashburn should step down.
So where is the discrimination?
The federal trial in San Francisco over the constitutionality of banning gay marriage hinges on same-sex marriage advocates proving that by defining marriage as a union between a man and woman, we have denied gays equal protection under the law as defined in the 14th Amendment.
But they must also show Proposition 8 supporters acted irrationally and out of bigotry. That we have denied a group, based on its sexual orientation, a specific right.
But doesn't Ashburn's ability to either live a double life or to alter his lifestyle later in life prove positive that no such denial of rights exists?
I contend that had Ashburn not been termed-out and he faced re-election, it would not be his sexual orientation or even his drunken driving offense that would be his Waterloo, but his inexplicable support for higher taxes!
In briefs filed by the attorney general, Jerry Brown states the constitution denies gay and lesbian couples and their families the same dignity, respect and stature afforded families headed by a married couple.
But that's not the intent of the 14th Amendment. Respect and dignity cannot be written into a constitution! It must be earned through one's actions, like love and adoration. Simply by defining marriage and preventing less than 2 percent of our society overturn one of the nation's longest-held traditions does not deny anyone life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
No document, bill or writ can provide what gay people truly seek: personal and public affirmation.
Ashburn further sabotages their message with his votes on gay issues, which gay activists have defined as "virulently anti-gay." Ashburn inadvertently raises the question: Must a gay man be pro-gay marriage?
That's clearly what most gay activists have implied by their hysterical attacks on one of their own.
Can't a member of the gay community think outside the box or must all gay men and women follow some code of thought, some litmus test of which liberals claim conservatives rely?
I know fellow Catholics who are gay and who admit and beg forgiveness for what we consider a sin. They are satisfied with their civil union. Gay activists would call them, as they have Ashburn, hypocrites, which of course exposes them as the truly small-minded bigots who want to confine freedom of thought.
How in this day and time can we condemn someone for their ideas and beliefs? It's as silly as folks calling me an Uncle Tom or traitor to my race for not supporting President Obama.
I will concede we once treated gay Americans horrendously, denying them hospital visitation among lovers and inheritance rights and associating them with a stigma of inferiority. But those days are long behind us. And despite driving intoxicated in a car paid for by taxpayers, Ashburn's ability to keep his seat in the Senate once again proves a complete absence of oppression. Particularly when you consider the recently named leader of the Assembly is openly gay, along with the mayor of West Sacramento!
For a group so harshly discriminated against, its political batting average ain't bad.
Furthermore, the evolution of our society has created an atmosphere allowing artists such as Comedian Wanda Sykes, Actor Neil Patrick Harris and even Mother Keaton on "Family Ties," Meredith Baxter Birney, to come out into the sunshine and bask in their sexuality.
Our openness, however, will not allow a tiny portion of society to flip the card table not because it's being cheated but because it's not respected or loved.
I have gay members of my family and they are loved and cherished. And I would fight for their right to have the same opportunities, the right to chase the same dreams and the right to achieve anything anyone else can.
But I will also fight for my society's right to use common biological sense and define a marriage as a union between a man and a woman. And if the gay agenda seeks love, respect and acceptance, perhaps it should look in the mirror before trying to completely rearrange our nation's social mores.
Ralph Bailey, who hosts a talk show on AM 1560 KNZR, is one of four conservative community columnists whose work appears here every Saturday. These are the opinions of Bailey, not necessarily The Californian. You can e-mail him at rbailey@bakersfield. com. Next week: Heather Ijames.
