GLR November-December 2024

BTW

Reality Bites After Log Cabin Republicans (LCR) president Charles Moran went on X to proclaim that the RNC Platform had been “stripped of all anti-LGBT language,” he was shocked when rank-and-file Republicans called him a “pedophile,” a “groomer,” “disgusting,” etc. One tweeter was sure he had MPox. But could Moran really have been so surprised? One has to be impressed by the stamina, the sheer moxie, of the LCR for sticking with a party that clearly wants no part of them. And think of the mental gyrations required to make this work—so much for cognitive dissonance theory! Perhaps a clue can be found in Moran’s claim that his party’s platform was free of anti-LGBT language. This is simply not the case. There were plenty of references to banning LGBT content from schools and rolling back legal protections for transgender people. Dog whistle phrases like “Sanctity of Marriage” (their caps) and “freedom of religion” were there, along with an explicit vow to keep “Christian-hating people” out of the U.S. Whether Moran really believed what he said or just wanted to rally the troops, this speaks to a fundamental truth about his party and its leader: it really doesn’t matter if a statement bears any relation to real ity, even when it’s a factual matter that’s easily checked. So what if aerial photos clearly show that the inaugural crowd in 2017 was nowhere near as large as Obama’s? It’s as if “free dom of religion” had been expanded from the world of spirits to encompass the world of things, as in a theocratic dystopia, as in 1984 . Don’t look up! Man Bites Dog Many cases have we followed of anti-gay cler ics or politicians getting caught doing what they denounce, but here’s one that doesn’t follow the usual script. Monsignor Jef frey Burrill isn’t just an anti-gay priest; he is, or was, the gen eral secretary of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which has an expressly anti-LGBT mission. It all came crash ing down in 2021 when an exposé in ThePillar magazine dis closed Burrill’s activities on Grindr, which led to a bathhouse hookup. Usually at this point we report on the rogue’s efforts to deny or deflect the charges, or, as a last resort, to come clean and vow to get help. Instead, the Monsignor is suing Grindr for breach of privacy in a California Superior Court, claiming that the app failed to protect his data and never informed him that a third party could gain access to it. Whether he had a reasonable expectation of privacy is what the $5 million lawsuit will turn on. Grindr has faced similar complaints in the past. Maybe it’s simply not possible to thwart every possible breach of security (the method used to identify Burrill was devilishly convoluted), and we’re all sitting ducks—in which case we should just put away the Grindr and head to the nearest gay bar. Wag theDog We rarely call attention to the failings of worthy LGBT causes or communities, but when The New York Times runs a 3200-word article on its investigation into financial im proprieties at a major LGBT organization, we have to sit up.

TheG & LR

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