Sometimes I get super tired of all the gay-bashing and homophobia I hear from the sphere of public speech. It seems every time I turn around it's something new, and yet so old, all the fear and ignorance back in the news. Is it any wonder the suicide rate is so high amongst gay teens? I know things are bleak right now; there are a lot of negative things happening around gay rights right now. In Iowa, three of the Supreme Court Justices were up for reelection and all three were voted out after the National Organization for Marriage, an evangelical group devoted to stopping the legalization of same-sex marriage, poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into Iowa. DADT has been through major ups and downs the last couple months, and the new commandant of the Marines, General James F. Amos, has recently been in the news for saying the ban should be upheld and saying things like "There is nothing more intimate than young men and young women — and when you talk of infantry, we're talking our young men — laying out, sleeping alongside of one another and sharing death, fear and loss of brothers." Slightly creepy and demonstrating a general homophobia, in my opinion. It is worth noting that Gen. Amos' position is not new for the commandant of the Marines. His predecessor, Gen. James T. Conway, was a staunch supporter of the ban.
The Trevor Project, a great organization aimed at suicidal gay teens, has been running a great PSA campaign targeted at hurting kids, using a wide array of celebrities to get out the message 'it gets better.' However, will all the negative news, why should a gay teen (or anyone) be optimistic? Well, I'm saying it *is* going to get better. I love this country, and I believe some day we will meet our promise of 'liberty and justice for all.' Until then, all I can do is offer up what nuggets of hope I find. Today, I found three.
The first isn't legislative news, nothing has changed in enforcement yet, but today it is being leaked the Pentagon study commissioned to find out the feelings of military members regarding lifting the DADT ban has found over 70% of the military says the effect of lifting the ban would be positive, mixed, or non-existent. The study is not due until Dec. 1st. As I said, this does not mean anything in terms of enforcement yet, but it is a positive sign. I would add those feelings are backed up by empirical data from other countries, which allow open service, which shows lifting a ban on open gay military service either had a positive effect, or little effect.
The second is a bit of a personal indulgence. I'm an American Library Association nut. I can hardly wait when the literary awards and handed out. This year the ALA is adding an award to its Youth Media Awards, the Stonewall Children's and Young Adult Literature Award to honor "English-language works for children and teens of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered experience." The Stonewall Award for adults has been in place for forty years, but this is its first year in children's category. ALA officials noted the decision to add the award was made before the outbreak of teen suicides in recent months. However, according to Roberta Stevens, association president, "Millions of children in this country are being raised by gay or lesbian parents. There are young people who are gay and sometimes they feel very alone. This is a real opportunity for youths who may be feeling alone to read about other like themselves." I hear that. Oh, and might I suggest as the recipient for this year Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan? It would be awesome and much deserved.
Third, last, and best of all are recent findings by the U.S. National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study (NLLFS), the longest study of its kind, now in its twenty-fourth year. Read all about it HERE, but if you don't want to, basically what the findings say is 0% of children raised by lesbian couples report being physically or sexually abused. This is great news on many levels, but the long term implication is because the people in charge of adoptions and foster care and the like want to place children in homes without violence, the lesbian-mothers model of family could be more widely embraced and accepted as a safe environment in which to raise a child.
See? Some good news! America has yet to fulfill her promise of equality, but there is no doubt in my mind she will some day. Be realistic and know that things aren't going to be perfect over night, but know things have improved and are poised to improve in the long term, even if presently the outlook is a touch bleak.
It gets better.
