The following is
an email from Jim Nimmo in response to a letter by C.
Smith in the Feb 1 issue of the Gayly Oklahoman
(Posted 2-9-02)
Editor:
It was with amazement that I read the C. Smith letter
in the 2-1-02 Gayly promoting Log Cabin
Republicans and a "new wave" in the GOP.
Does C. Smith believe in a flat earth as well?
Where is this "new wave" he/she writes
about? Let me state some facts, not opinions,
about the Republican Party.
The appointed resident of the White House has
discontinued the tradition begun by the last legally
elected Democratic president, Bill Clinton, of
declaring June as National Gay/Lesbian Pride Month,
and Bush has dismantled the White House HIV/AIDS
liaison office to the gay community.
The latest appointment of the Court-appointed
Republican administration is that of Tom Coburn as co-chair,
formerly an Oklahoma homophobic Congressional
representative, to the HIV/AIDS advisory office, who
is adamantly opposed to condom and safer sex
information distribution, and promotes the
ineffective abstinence-only dogma of Christian
Fundamentalism.
The Republican Party continually blocks ENDA (Employment
Non-Discrimination Act) and any hate crimes bills--the
passage of these would enormously benefit gay/lesbian
citizens.
The GOP is in the back pocket of the Christian
Coalition (aka American Taliban) which is vehemently
opposed to recognition and equality of gay/lesbian
rights.
The Republican Party was prepared to scrap the First
Amendment guarantee of separation of church and state
in order to satisfy the Salvation Army's lust for tax
money in order to promote their gay/lesbian hatred--all
in the name of the love of Jesus.
Just one more fact, but not the last, is the
Republican Party Platform, passed at the 2000
Convention, which explicitly states animosity towards
gay/lesbian rights and endorses the homophobia of the
Boy Scouts of America.
It is the Democratic Party and its gay/lesbian
support club, Stonewall Democrats, which
enthusiastically supports equal rights for gays/lesbians,
welcomes gay/lesbian members, and stands in the way
of the implementation of the horrendously anti-human
plans of the GOP.
Any gay/lesbian and their partner can say that gay
rights are not important to them if they live in a
large city and have a healthy income. Those
people can buy their civil rights and claim they
don't encounter discrimination, but this attitude can
be only a minority viewpoint of the gay/lesbian
experience and is destructive of any progress being
made for the majority of gay/lesbians.
One won't find true acceptance of gay/lesbians in the
Republican Party, only a shell game, a snow job, a
rip-off that seeks to replace the bigoted closet door
on its hinges. No Republican candidate has been
willing to have their picture in the Gayly
Oklahoman as Amy Corey and Governor David
Walters have done, both strong pro-gay Democrats, who
are going to defeat homophobic incumbents
with the help of the gay vote.
For true political acceptance come to a Central
Oklahoma Stonewall Democrats meeting on the second
Wednesday of every month and sample what the future
holds for those who care about their rights.
Democrats are ahead of the game right now.
Contact me at violadamore2@yahoo.com or call 843-3651 for further
information about Central Oklahoma Stonewall
Democrats.
Sincerely,
James Nimmo, treasurer,
Central Oklahoma Stonewall Democrats
843-3651
