As a nation, we have the highest respect for our men and women of the United States military. Well, that is, unless they are gay or lesbian.
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This post originally appeared at Occupy Democrats
By Courtney Lynn
The cost of war is more than just money. We have soldiers coming back from war wounded beyond repair both mentally and physically or not coming home at all. Those who do come home wounded have physically, emotional, and mental challenges to face and so do their families. As a nation, we have the highest respect for our men and women of the United States military. Well, that is, unless they are gay or lesbian.
Protesting government is legal, but protesting someone for who they are is disgusting
Most of remember the 2011 Republican primaries when an Iraq veteran was on the jumbo screen asking the Republican candidates if they would end “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT)” for the military and he was booed by the audience. This was a man who is overseas, fighting for his country and he is booed for being gay. Since then, DADT has been repealed by the Obama administration, regardless of the bigoted boos.
We all thought the tides were changing and the public outcry of the bigots would be drowned out by the love and respect the majority of the country gave the LGBT community. Unfortunately, we were wrong and the boos just continue to get louder.
Injured in war? No respect from Republicans if you are gay
In San Antonio, TX a highly decorated Iraq war veteran was booed by people in a city council meeting.
According to LGBTQ Nation, “Former Marine Staff Sergeant Eric Alva — a San Antonio native who was the first American service member seriously injured in the Iraq War when he stepped on a land mine in March 2003 and lost his right leg — was speaking in favor of a proposed addition to the city’s non-discrimination law that would add protections for sexual orientation, gender identity and veteran status.
But as Alva began to deliver his remarks, many in the crowd of approximately 200 people attending the council meeting began to boo.”
This is a man who served his country, lost a limb for this country, and yet he is booed because he is gay. It did not matter how many medals he has or what sacrifices he has made for this country; he is gay and that seems to be all the Republicans and religious fundamentalists care about.
Staff Sgt. Alva went on to say, “To all you people that preach the word of God, shame on you because God loves me, like the day I laid bleeding on the sands of Iraq and that’s why he saved me,” Alva told the crowd as left the podium, still visibly shaken from the crowd’s reaction.”
He also made comments on his Facebook page, “Well I just left city council chambers and I feel like crying. I have never seen a city so divided and hateful towards each other. All of man kind should be ashamed. I already spoke and even some of the religious groups even boo’ed me as I spoke. Such disrespect as they preach the word of God.”
Wait, there is more
In recent events, a transcript of a recording of the council meeting has been released. Elisa Chan, councilwoman for District 9 made her contempt for the LGBT community known; well little did she know it would be nationally known.
According to the San Antonio Express News, “You know, to be quite honest, I know this is not politically correct,” she says. “I never bought in that you are born, that you are born gay. I can’t imagine it.”
As the talk shifts back to pansexual people, whose sexual orientations encompass all gender identities, Chan asks, “How can that be?”
“I will say, ‘Strip down! What equipment do you have?’” she continues. “I’m telling you. Crazy. We’re getting to crazy realm.”
Stevens agrees that it’s “politically incorrect in some circles” to claim that people choose to be gay.
“The newspaper will get to you,” he warns.
“That’s why I never would say that outside because they kill me,” Chan says. “When I say that it’s … behavioral preference, they say that, ‘No, you’re born with it.’ But I never bought into that.”
Yes, Mrs. Chan, the news media will “get you” because the majority populace does not tolerate bigotry based on sexual orientation. “
While what Mrs. Chan said what deplorable, it gets worse.
She goes on to say, “By the way, this is politically incorrect,” she tells her aides. “I don’t think homosexual people should do adoption. They should be banned by adoption. You’re going to confuse those kids. They should be banned.
“If you wanted to choose that lifestyle, we don’t want to discriminate you, but you shouldn’t affect the young people,” she continues. “How terrible. … They’re going to be confused. You see two men go into a bedroom. You see two women kissing. Is that not confusing? It’s confusing.
“It is actually, what you call, suggestive, for the kids to be corrupt, which is against nature. I’m telling you, anything that is against nature is not right.”
When will it end?
There are no words for the type of bigotry and ignorance displayed by Mrs. Chan and the others attending the city council meeting. I thought our country was better than that? Better than petty ignorance based on who some is.
Homosexuality is not a choice, but even if it was, who cares? It is not a depravity nor something to be disgusted by.
The best thing we can do as a nation is to combat negativity and vile remarks like this one by letting people know the truth. We need to keep these people in the spotlight and make sure people are aware of their ignorance and bigotry and we need to vote for people who do not have these archaic and barbaric ideals.
Photo: AP/File
Nothing good can become of people who discriminate and put down a person who had served this country with honor and with dignity.
This is about one of the lowest forms of human behavior, the people that did this to this soldier are lower than the dust!!..
It looks like San Antonio, Texas is a City filled with hate, where discrimination is tolerated, practice and admired!!..
“We all thought the tides were changing and the public outcry of the bigots would be drowned out by the love and respect the majority of the country gave the LGBT community. Unfortunately, we were wrong and the boos just continue to get louder.” There’s an old saying that an animal is most deadly when it knows it is mortally wounded. And the anti-gay bigots are mortally wounded; they won’t admit it but they know deep down that they are losing, or have lost, in their battle against gay rights. Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is gone. DOMA has been defeated.… Read more »