McCain and His Gaydar

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With the exception of the novelty candidates, what this campaign shows is that the country has moved some distance in its acceptance of gays. Two years ago, gay bashing was a staple of the Republican right. Lately, Republicans have largely gone quiet since their pollsters warned them to knock it off. Spreading scare stories about gays just wasn't working. Too many people had come out, and too many blue-haired mothers in the heartland didn't like hearing that their gay son or daughter was worthless and immoral.

This doesn't mean all Republicans have got religion, so to speak. Although George W. Bush has spent quality time with every special-interest group under the sun, he won't meet with Log Cabin Republicans because it would be "divisive." He'd hire a gay person, but not an openly gay one. If you intend to take your same-sex partner to the Christmas party, don't apply for a job in the Bush Administration.

While McCain wasn't blasted for an answer that might be considered politically incorrect, the Human Rights Campaign's Smith was quick to point out that gaydar is not without a serious downside: "In the halls of TIME magazine and big cities it's a safe discussion, but not everywhere." By buying into part of a stereotype, we may be giving cover to those who buy all of it. Gaydar can lead to a social form of racial profiling. The police aren't stopping gays on the highway, but a gay who comes anywhere near the Richard Simmons profile still carries an added burden in the workplace. At its worst, gaydar is deadly. At the Army base in Kentucky where Private First Class Barry Winchell was beaten to death with a baseball bat last July 5, he hadn't told that he was gay, in strict compliance with regulations. It was gaydar that tracked him down.

If McCain were to follow his comments to their logical conclusion, he would announce that his Administration will adopt a new approach to gays in the military, more consistent with his own experience on the U.S.S. Forrestal. I suggest he call it Everyone Knows! Who Cares?