"My definition of a free society is a society where it is safe to be unpopular." - Adlai Stevenson II

I often wonder if it is possible for a community to go too far in its endless crusade for rights that it actually deserves. While I support the noble quest for rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, I don't advocate all means of doing so. At times, it seems to be a movement with little room for moderate views. 

On Monday, I picked up a copy of the University Journal and flipped to the opinion page. There, I saw a cartoon by Christian Perkins depicting a homosexual couple following the passage of Proposition 8 in California. The cartoon pointed out setbacks and limitations in the progression of the gay community, specifically the inability to have children, the AIDS pandemic, the ban on gays in the military, the ban on gays in the Boys Scouts of America, and finally the inability to marry. I viewed it, as many did, as a social commentary on the plight of the gay community. Each item either was or is an issue facing gay people in America. 

When I got online, I saw a barrage of comments, calling both Perkins and the Journal's editors "hatemongers" and "homophobes," and classifying the cartoon as "hate speech." This is simply not true. Hate speech is a term for speech intended to degrade, intimidate, or incite violence or prejudicial action against a person or group of people based on number of characteristics that some might consider a liability. The University Journal did not publish this cartoon to degrade, intimidate or incite violence. It is not the most effective cartoon, and it could be seen as insensitive to some, but the message is still the same. 

Some people commenting would have you believe that those in control at the University Journal are spewing ignorant speech, while in reality, they are fully aware of issues facing GLBT people, and the cartoon itself is sympathetic to the gay cause, albeit not as clearly as one would hope. All speech has value and should be protected. Because of that, we should educate people rather than tear them and their ideas down. 

I am as disappointed as can be that Proposition 8 passed. But…it passed. The citizens of California have voted. They have voted to take away rights. It is sad. It is also how democracy works. It's not the first state to ban gay marriage. Sadly, it probably won't be the last. However, are in-your-face protests and expensive and fallacious advertisements the best way to turn America around? Do gay-pride parades with semi-naked people strutting down the street really rally people behind the cause?

I have been criticized by local leaders of the GLBT community for being both less than secure in my sexuality and for writing what they deem as weak op-eds on GLBT issues. Neither of these attacks could be more wrong. I write opinion based solely on that: My opinion, not what I think people want to hear. If buying another pair of D&G eyeglasses, cranking up Cher on my iPod, or waving a giant rainbow flag at all times is what makes someone secure in their sexuality, well then perhaps security is drastically overrated.