First published at 365gay.com on August 27, 2010 In some circles, Ken Mehlman’s coming out as gay this week was about as shocking as Rosie O’Donnell’s coming out in 2002, or Ricky Martin’s coming out earlier this year. Others were quite surprised. Still others asked, “Who’s Ken Mehlman?” Answer: Ken Mehlman is, according to the… Continue reading Ken Mehlman’s New Beginning?
Tag: ethics
A Skeptic’s Faith
First published at 365gay.com on August 13, 2010 “The trouble with atheism,” my friend said with a smile, “is that you don’t get any holidays.” Sometimes even tired jokes can be insightful. The friend was a Catholic priest, speaking to me (an atheist) as I spent a week with him and several dozen other priests… Continue reading A Skeptic’s Faith
Back to School
First published at 365gay.com on August 9, 2010 It’s the first day of class, and I enter my lecture hall as I usually do, skirting the periphery until I reach the door that leads me discreetly backstage. The room is a “teaching theater,” and while I could walk right up to the stage, I’m enough… Continue reading Back to School
How Lingle Was Right
First published at 365gay.com on July 9, 2010 In vetoing Hawaii’s civil unions bill, Gov. Linda Lingle noted that the bill was “essentially marriage by another name.” She has a point. Of course I don’t agree with her decision, and I don’t buy her excuse that the issue was too important to be decided by… Continue reading How Lingle Was Right
The Gay Parenting Difference – and Why it Doesn’t Matter to Marriage
First published at 365gay.com on June 11, 2010 Opponents of marriage equality often refer to the “untested experiment” of same-sex parenting, asserting that we just don’t know how children in these families will fare over the long haul. They point to the fact that there has never been a significant long-term longitudinal study of such… Continue reading The Gay Parenting Difference – and Why it Doesn’t Matter to Marriage
Is it Appropriate to Ask if a Potential Justice is Gay?
First published at 365gay.com on May 21, 2010 “Are you, or have you ever been, a homosexual?” From the moment President Obama nominated Solicitor General Elena Kagan to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, observers have been itching to ask her some version of this question—or as I’ll call it, The Question. For… Continue reading Is it Appropriate to Ask if a Potential Justice is Gay?
Rekers’ Rentboy
First published at 365gay.com on May 7, 2010 So, we have a new line to add to the file labeled “Seriously?!?”—alongside Reverend Ted Haggard’s “I bought the meth but didn’t use it,” ex-gay leader John Paulk’s “I had to use the bathroom and had no idea it was a gay bar,” Rep. Eric Massa’s “I’m… Continue reading Rekers’ Rentboy
The Message of Marriage
First published at 365gay.com on April 30, 2010 If I’ve asked it once I’ve asked it a hundred times: how does marriage equality hurt heterosexuals? Recently I posed the question yet again to Maggie Gallagher, outgoing president of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), as she visited my ethics class at Wayne State University via… Continue reading The Message of Marriage
Conversations with Maggie Gallagher
First published at 365gay.com on April 23, 2010 Maggie Gallagher has announced that she is stepping down as president of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), adding that she will remain on NOM’s executive board while pursuing future projects, including a book with me, “Debating Same-Sex Marriage,” for Oxford University Press. This prompted some surprised… Continue reading Conversations with Maggie Gallagher
Is Homosexuality Connected to Pedophilia?
First published at 365gay.com on April 16, 2010 Comments earlier this week by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone linking homosexuality to pedophilia have drawn almost universal condemnation from medical experts, gay-rights organizations, and government officials. Speaking at a news conference in Chile, the cardinal stated, “Many psychologists, many psychiatrists have demonstrated that there… Continue reading Is Homosexuality Connected to Pedophilia?