John’s column “The Gay Moralist” appeared bi-weekly in Michigan’s Between the Lines from 2002-2007, and then weekly at 365Gay.com from 2007-2011. His columns and op-eds have also appeared in other venues, including the Independent Gay Forum, The Advocate, the Los Angeles Times, The New Republic and the New York Times. Most of these columns are archived here.
First published at Between the Lines News on May 21, 2009 This column hits the internet on the eve of my fortieth birthday. Forgive a middle-aged columnist for indulging in some reminiscing. Little reminders of my age keep creeping up, like the fact that I had to re-word the last sentence after initially writing “This […]
Growing Older, Gratefully Read More »
First published at 365gay.com on May 9, 2009 Sunday will be Mother’s Day, and I’ll be thinking about various mothers in my life. My own mother, with whom I have a great relationship. She and my father live in another state and will be coming to visit me several days later. My two grandmothers, who
Hoping for a Warmer Mother’s Day Read More »
First published at 365gay.com on May 1, 2009 Maggie Gallagher at the National Organization for Marriage—producers of the unintentionally hilarious “Gathering Storm” ad—has been mentioning “footnote 26” of the Iowa marriage decision quite a bit lately. For example, she tells conservative blogger Rod Dreher that same-sex marriage requires “the rejection of the idea that children
Gay Marriage and The Bigot Card Read More »
First published at Between the Lines News on April 30, 2009 So a contestant for what is in large measure a popularity contest says something unpopular and doesn’t win. Why am I having a hard time getting worked up over this? I’m talking about Carrie Prejean, Miss California USA, who when asked by Miss USA
Miss California’s country Read More »
First published at Between the Lines News on April 23, 2009 Leave it to the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) to try to rain on our parade. I’m talking about NOM’s “Gathering Storm” ad [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp76ly2_NoI] , in which various characters warn that recent gay-rights victories are threatening their fundamental liberties: “There’s a storm gathering. The
First published at 365gay.com on April 10, 2009 Spring arrived for gays this year, not with daffodils and cherry blossoms, but with Iowa and Vermont. First Iowa, where the state Supreme Court unanimously struck down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage. (Don’t adjust your screen. The words “Iowa” and “unanimously” are really in that sentence.)
First published at 365gay.com on April 4, 2009 Readers of this column occasionally complain that I’m too nice to our enemies. They may have a point. I’m an easygoing person by nature. It’s not a deliberate strategy; it’s just who I am. Most of the time, the trait serves me well, though there are times
The Trouble with Common Ground Read More »
First published at Between the Lines News on April 2, 2009 March 31 is Transgender Day of Visibility. I’m supposed to participate in a panel that day. I’m a bit apprehensive. Like many gay people, I tend to tiptoe around transgender issues. This surprises some straight people I know. They say, “But as a GLBT
Transgender Day of Visibility Read More »
First published at 365gay.com on March 23, 2009 Recent discussions of various civil-union proposals have revived some familiar questions, including “Why limit such recognition to couples, as opposed to larger groups?” and “Why limit it to romantic/sexual couples, as opposed to other interdependent relationships?” Such questions come from various quarters, including both friends and foes
Why Not Plural Marriage? Read More »
First published at 365gay.com on March 13, 2009 Sometimes we gay writers do such a good job cutting down one another that we scarcely need our enemies. Consider a recent column [http://www.baywindows.com/index.php?ch=columnists&sc=realitycheck&sc2=&sc3=&id=88032] in Bay Windows, a New England GLBT newspaper, where Jeff Epperly identifies me as a “gay conservative” who’s a “a bit touched in
Sex and Distortion Read More »