Gay Rights

"Be he ne'er so vile, this day shall gentle his condition . . . " - Henry V," by Shakespeare A colleague had warned me about Don Dwyer's rants against homosexuality, but nothing quite prepares you for that kind of thing. When the words fly from the Anne Arundel County delegate's lips directly to your ear, you almost can't believe what you're hearing. When I interviewed him a couple of years ago and asked about his strident opposition to same-sex marriage, I think Dwyer invoked God as his adviser on the issue.

We do not yet know exactly what led a young man to carry a semi-automatic pistol into the lobby of the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian advocacy organization, and to instigate a confrontation that left a security guard with a gunshot wound to the arm. But the suspect's volunteer work for a Washington gay rights group, early eyewitness accounts that he made statements critical of the FRC's mission, and reports that he was carrying a...

There was a brief explosion of optimism from those supporting same-sex marriage in Maryland last week after a poll by Hart Research Associates indicated that voters in the state support it by a significant margin of 54-40. No state has ever approved gay marriage at the ballot box, but advocates here and elsewhere - The New York Times published a piece titled "Hopeful news from Maryland" - contend that the issue hasn't polled this well before either. They shouldn't get too excited just yet. Gay marriage is an issue in which polls don't necessarily reflect what voters will actually do at the ballot box because it is increasingly politically incorrect to oppose such nuptials.

I object to your giving so much space to Del. Neil Parrot and his "mission" to make "traditional Christian values" the law of the land ("GOP freshman challenges Maryland power structure," July 24). A system that leaves the rights of a minority up to a vote by the majority is inherently unjust. This applies to the basic human rights of same-sex couples to marry the partner of their choice without interference from any religious establishment, and particularly for a majority that doesn't belong to their church.

Faith Loudon plans to eat at as many local Chick-fil-A restaurants as she can manage on Wednesday - at least six. Other Marylanders, meanwhile, are vowing to donate the amount it would have cost them to get a chicken meal from the fast-food chain to gay-rights groups. Nothing turns a sandwich into a symbol faster than a company executive wading into politics, especially on a subject as divisive as gay marriage. Chick-fil-A's president and CEO, Dan T. Cathy, told the Biblical Recorder, a Baptist journal, in early July that the company was "very much supportive of the family - the biblical definition of the family unit.

Recent polls show that the margin of support for same-sex marriage has increased in recent weeks, with one survey showing that 57 percent of Maryland voters now say they're likely to support the state's same-sex marriage law if, as expected, it is put on the ballot as a referendum question in November. What's notable, however, is that most of the shift has been the result of changing attitudes among African-Americans, traditionally one of the most conservative groups on the issue.

If never having done anything stupid or regrettable in high school were a requirement for holding public office, only angels and saints would qualify. Still, it's a bit ironic that Mitt Romney's supporters, some of whom recently were only too happy to criticize President Barack Obama for tasting dog meat as a child in Indonesia, rose up in indignation this week over a published report of an incident from their candidate's past that painted a less-than-stellar picture of the presumptive GOP nominee.

Former NPR and current Fox News political analyst Juan Williamsmade an excellent point  recently on "The O'Reilly Factor. " Mr. Williams said the major reason President Barack Obama had not endorsed same-sex marriage is because of the strong opposition to it in the black and Hispanic communities. Who could have doubted, though, that the president favors expanding the definition of marriage to include gays and lesbians? Vice President Joe Biden brought this divisive social issue to the forefront of the presidential campaign with his comments Sunday on "Meet the Press.

Barack Obama has crossed the Rubicon and come to the defense of same-sex marriage. For him, it was a small step, since his is already the most pro-gay rights presidency in history, but it will have big political ramifications. The war is on. The line is drawn. Mitt Romney -- who, in another incarnation as a candidate for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts, said he stood to the left of Teddy Kennedy on gay rights issues -- now is opposed not only to gay marriage but to civil unions.

Richard Grenell had the right resume to be Mitt Romney's spokesman on foreign policy -- a stint as communications director for four of the Bush administration's U.N. ambassadors; a degree from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government; his own international PR firm and frequent stints on TV as an expert on international issues. Too bad for him he has a boyfriend. Mr. Grenell was the first openly gay spokesman for a presidential candidate, but he never got to speak. Before he even officially started the job, enraged homophobes in the so-called pro-family community spooked Mr. Romney's campaign staff.