Larry Craig's Continued Titillation

Soon-to-be former U.S. Sen. Larry Craig [R-Idaho], to the deep chagrin of the movement for LGBT rights, continues to titillate gay and straight audiences alike as details -- and even stories -- about his June arrest in a Minneapolis airport restroom continue to emerge. The latest salvo in this salacious saga came with an Associated Press article yesterday which found travelers in the busy Northwest hub want to see the now infamous men's room. Las Vegas police arrested OJ Simpson after an alleged botched robbery over the weekend but Craig's alleged toe-tapping is indeed far more interesting.

Perhaps the social conservative's abrupt fall from grace remains an all too tragic spectacle of which Americans simply can not get enough? Perhaps there remains an 'ick factor' which causes instant repulsion from those who view gay sex as an abomination? Perhaps those in the Heartland simply have too much time on their... um... hands? I will stop the early morning speculation at Craig's expense. The one certainty that remains, however, is that more details will emerge from this baffling case. Craig maintains he plans to fight his plea. He also seeks to clear his name. It's arguable too little, too late on both fronts but the movement for LGBT rights will undoubtedly continue to wish the former GOP stalwart will simply ride into the Idaho sunset once and for all.

Craig Reconsiders Resignation

Senator Larry Craig [R-Idaho] threw a potentially damaging monkey wrench into the GOP's breathlessly quick purge of him from the party late yesterday after a spokesperson announced he plans to reconsider his resignation. The social conservative announced his resignation on September 1 after his arrest inside a Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport restroom in June.

Former U.S. Rep Mark Foley [F-Fla.], U.S. Sen. David Vitter [R-La] and U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens [R-Alaska] are among the Republican lawmakers who have tarnished the GOP's reputation with scandals and other improprieties over the last year. The Republican leadership knows full well the GOP could suffer another stinging political defeat next November that could very well result in their loss of the White House. It's decision to quickly distance themselves from the Craig scandal clearly indicates it remains highly sensitive to the impact additional bad publicity could have on their future aspirations. The question remains, however, as to whether the GOP practiced hypocrisy in its decision to purge Craig from its ranks.

Vitter remained in office despite the revelation his phone number appeared in a reputed Washington madam's black book. Stevens remains in office despite serious allegations of corruption and patronage lobbied against him. Foley quickly resigned after ABC News reported he sent illicit e-mails to a Congressional page. Craig followed suit but he appears to have changed his mind. He continues to send very mixed messages about the reasons he plead guilty to a charge in addition to his actual sexual orientation. His reconsideration remains, however, a serious problem which the GOP, rather foolishly perhaps, thought it had eliminated.

The Summer That Was

The summer of 2007 is unofficially over. Fire Island's seasonal residents once again have their pristine sands to themselves. The city's annual Fashion Week kicks off this week while I finally rode the Cyclone at Coney Island this past weekend before developers erect condos at the possible expense of Astroland. Summer, especially August, remains a relatively slow news cycle. Journalists and their editors and producers often scrape the bottom of the barrel to fill their newscasts, broadcasts or issues. This summer, however, generated a number of LGBT headlines that kept the movement for LGBT rights on its. Below are five stories which kept this blogger and others busy this year.

1) Former U.S. Sen. Larry Craig [R-Idaho] resigned over Labor Day weekend after a Washington political newspaper reported the socially conservative lawmaker, who repeatedly voted for the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment and other anti-LGBT legislation, plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge after Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport police arrested him in a bathroom for alleged leud conduct in June. Craig repeatedly maintained he is 'not gay' but the broader movement for LGBT rights, which by and large ran far away from this story, certainly thinks otherwise.

2) The majority of Democratic presidential candidates participated in a largely historic forum sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign and Logo last month in Los Angeles. Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson stunned the audience with his initial assertion that sexual orientation remains a choice while the majority of his counterparts who participated in the forum stuck to their talking points and sound bites about equality and fairness for all Americans. Many activists questioned the lack of journalists from LGBT media outlets in the confab while others blasted the forum's overall format and even content.

3) New York City activists expressed outrage in various manifestations after the city denied Pride Fest's permit applications to relocate its annual street fair to Chelsea. The Radical Homosexual Agenda and other LGBT organizations staged a protest at the New York City Council's annual LGBT Pride commemoration in June. New York's annual Pride march attracted more than half a million people despite the controversy surrounding Pride Fest's cancellation.

4) An Iowa court ruled late last month the prohibition of marriage for gay and lesbian couples violated the Hawkeye State's Constitution. Tim McQuillan and Sean Fritz remain the only same-sex couple to tie the knot before Polk County District Judge Robert Hanson suspended his own decision on August 31. Iowa continues to draw both Republican and Democratic presidential candidates ahead of its first-in-the-nation caucuses early next year [or later this year]. The impact of this ruling should remain minuscule outside of social conservative circles despite the fact it remains the latest salvo in the broader initiative to secure marriage for same-sex couples.

5) The ejection of a lesbian from a popular New York restaurant following the city's LGBT Pride parade in June sparked widespread outrage among local activists. Khadijah Farmer, 27, said a bouncer at the Caliente Cab Company in the West Village ejected her from the women's restroom after he said she was actually a man. The Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund joined Farmer, her parents and others in a press conference outside the eatery on July 2. The Queer Justice League and other activists boycotted Caliente Cab Company following the alleged incident.

What do you think are the top LGBT news stories from the summer of 2007?

Craig Scandal Continues to Unfold as Movement Struggles to Respond

The fallout from the developing scandal surrounding U.S. Rep. Larry Craig [R-Idaho] continues to unfold as several of his own colleagues, such as GOP presidential hopeful John McCain [R-Ariz.], have begun to call for his resignation. Craig, who has been subject to persistent rumors about his sexual orientation, vehemently declared his heterosexuality during a press conference in Boise, Idaho, yesterday afternoon as his wife Suzanne stood by his side. This clearly defensive denial clearly indicates to many activists that the social conservative either remains deeply in the closet of self-loathing or continues his desperate attempt to deflect the firestorm which has engulfed him and tarnished his decades long career in politics.

The question remains, however, as to how the movement for LGBT rights will respond to Craig's guilty plea and the broader issues surrounding it. The movement remains highly uncomfortable with the idea of outing people against their will. This discomfort emerged during the scandal that surrounded former U.S. Sen. Mark Foley [R-Fla.] last fall. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force has issued two statements since the scandal first broke earlier this week to condemn Craig, who repeatedly voted in favor of anti-LGBT legislation, as a hypocrite and to blast the GOP for the apparent double standard it maintained after U.S. Sen. David Vitter [R-La.]'s phone number appeared in a Capital madam's lists of clients. The Human Rights Campaign and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation have remained notably silent despite problematic mainstream media coverage of his plea and subsequent fallout. The scandal surrounding Craig will undoubtedly continue to dominate headlines over the next few days. The movement, on the other hand, will continue to struggle with its collective response to what has become the latest titillation to come out of the Beltway.

Scandal Rocks Yet Another GOP Lawmaker

Washington is abuzz with news that Minneapolis police arrested a conservative Republican lawmaker in June as he traveled through the city's airport. The Roll Call reported U.S. Sen. Larry Craig [R-Idaho] plead guilty to a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge earlier this month after a plainclothes police officer, who was investigating reports of sexual activity, arrested him inside a Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport restroom. The Web site reported he paid more than $500 in fines and court fees. The court also sentenced Craig to one year probation.

Craig has championed so-called traditional marriage and other socially conservative causes throughout his more than three decades in politics. Idahoans first elected him to the U.S. Senate in 1990 but he has faced persistent questions about his sexual orientation. Mike Rogers of BlogACTIVE reported last October that Craig was known to frequent restrooms at Washington's Union Square. These allegations are just that -- allegations -- but the charges to which he plead guilty in Minneapolis indicate he is the latest in a series of political hypocrites who seem to use the LGBT community to score points with their anti-LGBT supporters.

National Gay & Lesbian Task Force Executive Director Matt Foreman implied this exact sentiment in a statement he released after news of the arrest first broke.

"What's up with elected officials like Senator Craig?," he sarcastically asked. "They stand for so-called 'family values' and fight basic protections for gay people while furtively seeking other men for sex. Infuriating pathetic hypocrites. What more can you say?"

The movement for LGBT rights remains clearly uncomfortable with these stories as the absence of statements on the Human Righs Campaign and the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation clearly indicates. These politicians are, for better or worse, what they are -- hypocrites. The movement perhaps serves its self-professed constituency better if it highlights these public digressions within the context of its stated objectives of fairness and equality.