I’m an 82-year-old gay man nearing the end of a life spent principally as an educator.
I served in the military decades before “don’t ask, don’t tell,” let alone its repeal.
I’ve lived through witch hunts, gay-bashings, the AIDS epidemic and pseudo-conversion therapies.
When Maine voters approved marriage equality in 2012, I felt immense satisfaction that gay men and women, at least here in Maine, had achieved what I never thought possible in my lifetime: recognition, acceptance and equality.
As I follow the media’s coverage of the gubernatorial race, however, I’m reminded that the progress made this past decade doesn’t mean everyone has ceased to regard lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans as a caste apart, a truth evidenced by the media’s fixation on Rep. Michaud’s sexual orientation in virtually every report on the upcoming election.
For instance: Here in the Press Herald, a recent story (“Madawaska poses challenge, opportunity for Mike Michaud,” May 19) about how Michaud is likely to fare in the rural mill town of Madawaska appeared with the subtitle: “His northern Maine roots and union background give the openly gay Democrat standing outside the state’s liberal bastions.”
I ask the editors: Would you mention the congressman’s race, his gender, his hair color or any number of other immutable characteristics in a similar fashion? Would you say that he’s “openly tall” or “openly Franco-American”?
No, I’m confident you wouldn’t. So why call out his sexual orientation? It’s neither reason to vote for him nor against him. In brief, irrelevant.
It’s disappointing that reporters continue to focus on what should by now be obvious and innocuous: Gay and lesbian men and women are our neighbors, coworkers, friends, family and possibly even the chief executive of our state.
Chuck Bennett
Cape Neddick
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