June 12th, 2008 Heather Kovar
“Behind Every Great Man is a Great Woman.”
Ever since Hillary Clinton officially ended her campaign and put her support behind Barack Obama, I’ve seen that old saying (or at least mentions of it) in several articles and TV banners. The stories, of course, are about Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain, pondering which will be the next First Lady.
But then I started thinking about how long that old saying might be relevant. This election was poised to be a historic one, with either the first woman or african american nominee.
So how long until American could see a gay nominee? And then we’d (hopefully) have a great man behind our great man. Or great woman behind great woman. Okay, see why the saying would be obsolete?
“We are very far away from seeing that…”
I asked the Director of Communications of The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Roberta Sklar, when she thought we might have an openly gay Presidential nominee.
She says it is down the road quite a way, but that she wouldn’t predict how soon.
“I’m hopeful. Personally, its not an immediate goal. I would like to see a transformed society.”
Sklar says the task force has been more successful on a state level, and that right now the organization’s big push is right to marriage. She says they have it in Massachusetts, are hopeful in California, and have civil unions in several states.
“We have beginnings of a patch work quilt of civil equality in marriage.”
At the state level, we have a lot more protections… But we don’t have a federal piece of legislation that protects us against job discrimation, etc.”
On the state level, there are elected openly gay lawmakers. The Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund keeps track.
Sklar says “It seems to me that our population is growing in it’s attitude. We know in politics, youngers think it’s all baloney. A non issue. As that generation matures, it will replace older homophobic thinking.”
Watch the The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force today for scorecard of the presidential nominees concerning the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
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