In real time, the majority of us have just returned from the Summer Internext, though by the time this edition is in your hands, you are probably preparing to go to the polls to cast your vote in the one of the most bombastic, ballyhooed and bloodthirsty presidential grudge matches in recent memory. While every contest for the Oval Office holds the political fortunes of the candidates in the balance, seldom does the outcome hold such high stakes for rest of us — which includes everyone working in the adult entertainment industry, all members of the GLBT community and every American who values their rights to privacy and free speech. A tired, though admittedly successful, page from the Republican play book of four years ago is being resurrected as voters in the two sunshine states, Florida and California, will be voting on not just their choice for president, but whether their states should constitutionally ban gay marriage.
While the GOP may have ensured four more years in 2004 by having their evangelical operatives place gay marriage amendments up for a vote in 11 states, with defeats occurring in every instance, the inside rationale has since become clear: using the Bible as a fear tactic, they were very successfully able to mobilize otherwise complacent, or even disenchanted members of their base, who might not have made a trip to the polls to vote for Bush's re-election, but with the fear of eternal damnation and the implied moral fate of America depending on their actions, they absolutely left the couch to vote against gay marriage.
OK, gay marriage, gay smarriage — if you are not "a friend of Dorothy," why should you care, adult entertainment professional or not? Because at the same time that decision is attempting to be legislated again with the full might of the GOP, "incidental" encroachments once thought implicitly impermissible in the Bill of Rights — wire tapping, bypassing the FISA courts, the subpoena of Telecom records — also are going on, fully sanctioned by a government whose commander took an oath to defend and to the best of his ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
Last time I checked, the Bill of Rights are the first 10 amendments of the Constitution so if our leaders toss out number 4, the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, does that make room to replace a ban on gay marriage because the Bible told them so?
Still seems too far from your reality? How does a tax on Internet purchases, calls for a porn-free secondary Internet and the also herpes-like notions of the .xxx TLD and overreaching and ineffective 2257 regulations grab you? Even for gay men, that is far too bitter a pill to swallow.
Barack Obama believes gays and lesbians have the same adoption possibilities as heterosexuals, supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and believes it should be expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity, and supported gay rights during his Illinois Senate tenure. He also sponsored legislation in Illinois that would ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. He is also a staunch supporter of both a woman's right to choose and in funding stem cell research. He also believes we need to repeal the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy and allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military.
John McCain did not support the Local Law Enforcement Act of 2005, does not support same-sex marriage, is against gays and lesbians serving in the military and has said he supported an amendment to Arizona's Constitution that would ban gay marriages and deny government benefits to unmarried couples. His stance on reproductive rights and federally funded stem cell research is one of diametrical opposition.
Being pro-gay rights does in no way mean a candidate will begin their inaugural address with "My fellow pornographers," but one can logically infer that their stance on my right to love will carry over in how they legislate your right to live, and all of our rights to make a living in our field. A government out of touch with the people it serves and a populace so disillusioned about their leaders to feel like they cannot make a difference is how we lived the last eight years and I for one, am ready for a change. Who is with me?
This article originally appeared in the October 2008 issue of AVN Online. to subscribe, visit AVNMediaNetwork.com/subscribe.
