Gay Politicians

Let’s play a short game of “…meanwhile in Canada”, to pick up my mood.

The latest round of Republican scandals in the United States seem to be pretty gay-focused. (To see a wrap-up of the full list of recent Republican scandals see TPM. For the video wrap-up, see today’s TPMTV.)

I am referring, of course, to the recent scandals involving Rep. Bob Allen (you recall, the guy who is so afraid of random black men, that he has to offer them blow jobs), and Sen. Larry Craig, who was arrested for soliciting gay sex in an airport.

So, apparently in American politics (and especially in the Republican Party) if you’re gay, you hide it, you seek out the most sleazy kinds of anonymous sex, and you vote for every homophobic, “family values” thing that comes along. And it’s a career-killer if your public finds out you are gay.

For the record, Larry Craig’s votes on gay issues (from Americablog):

• Voted YES on constitutional ban of same-sex marriage. (Jun 2006)
• Voted NO on adding sexual orientation to definition of hate crimes. (Jun 2002)
• Voted NO on expanding hate crimes to include sexual orientation. (Jun 2000)
• Voted YES on prohibiting same-sex marriage. (Sep 1996)
• Voted NO on prohibiting job discrimination by sexual orientation. (Sep 1996)

Go here to see some commentary on Allen’s history of anti-gay legislative hijnks

Now comes the fun part.

Meanwhile in Canada…

Look what else was happening on the same day Sarah turned three:

MP Scott Brison marries same-sex partner

Nova Scotia MP Scott Brison made history of a sort when he became the first federal politician to marry his same-sex partner.

The wedding ceremony took place Saturday near Brison’s country home in Cheverie, N.S., a town of 200. He is the MP for the Nova Scotia riding of Kings-Hants.

Guests described the ceremony as joyful and emotional.

“It’s something we need to celebrate and we must be proud that Canada is showing the way,” Liberal Leader Stephane Dion said after the wedding.

Yes, gay politicians can be openly gay, and can get married. And it’s far from being a career-killer; Brison was a serious contender for the leadership of one of the two federal parties that normally form the government here. And, of course, the guy who did become the leader can openly attend and support the wedding.

I usually cast my political vote even more to the left than Brison’s party, but I have to admit I’m predisposed to like him anyway for a number of reasons, not all of which are political. (We’ve chatted with him and his partner while waiting for tables at our favourite restaurant, for instance, so clearly he has good taste.) He gets even more points for just being an “I am who I am” guy rather than adopting the more traditional political “discretion”. And even more for this:

When word of his engagement to St. Pierre first became public in October 2005, Brison said: “I’m looking forward to the day when the idea of a gay or lesbian politician getting married is not a story at all.”

I’d like that too.

I’m not saying Canada is a better place than the United States, but… oh, wait, why be coy: that’s exactly what I am saying. Heh. Yeah we’ve got a lot of problems but this whole “making gay marriage legal” thing is something we did that we can be proud of. (Of course not everyone feels the same way, searching the canuck blogosphere for posts about this finds more than a few outraged “family values” types–but thankfully they aren’t a big enough segment to drive the direction of the federal government.)

Now, let’s get rid of Harper.