I am more afraid of what my liberal feminist gay friends will think of me as a conservative more than what any Republican conservative will think of me as a gay woman…

To me, freedom and equality are central to America

Please note that the two conflict beyond a certain point; you can’t make people equal in life’s results without basically enslaving the productive people for the sake of the non-productive.

The American Revolution was much more about freedom than equality. Using government to achieve equality before the law enhances freedom; using government for anything beyond that inevitably reduces freedom, or destroys it if taken far enough, e.g., socialism. Equality as something important (beyond equality before the law) is a French Revolution idea, not an American one.

There is no such thing as a “women’s issue,” or a “gay issue,” or a “black issue.” There are only American issues, and those are what is best for the nation — and that may not be best for your or my personal life.

Some of us believe in low taxes as a matter of principle.

High taxes destroy the economy, hurting the working class and the poor among others. Low taxes help the economy, helping the working class and the poor. If you truly care for the poor: you favor laissez-faire capitalism. To the extent a country implements it, it raises the living standards of everyone, including the poorest. Part of why I love it.

America has the richest poor people in the entire world. America’s poor often own homes and cars, almost invariably own televisions and refrigerators, almost invariably have medical care (the myth of “40 million uninsured” notwithstanding), plenty of food, etc. A living standard better than that of an 18th-century king or queen.

Regards,
Peter H.

So, which conservatives are trying to take those rights away from gay people? Can you name any?

It seems many on the left *are* eager to take away those freedoms. Freedom of Speech? We see the Fairness Doctrine coming back, we see the Democrats having reporters arrested for reporting on meetings with Democrat fundraisers, we see the Obama campaign suing and intimidating those who criticize him.

Freedom of Association? Not when the left tries to force private groups like the Boy Scouts to conform to their notions of inclusion, or tell employers and landlords whom they can and cannot employ and rent to.

Freedom to Believe whatever you want? Not if you’re a Christian conservative. Your values will be under assault by the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, the NEA and any number of left-wing groups… all with generous government funding. Don’t believe in Global Warming? You’ll be labeled a “denier,” and may even have your views censored. And you can forget about working in academia.

Peacefully free to live your life as you see fit? Nope, leftist busy-bodies are already trying to mandate what you can eat (no trans-fats allowed, ban the hot dog! go vegan), what you can drive (from fuel efficiency mandates to the outright outlawing of SUV’s), where you can live and what you are allowed to do with property you own (which, under Kelo, can be confiscated and given to someone else if someone else will pay higher taxes).

But many on the gay left don’t mind losing those freedoms… provided they can swap them for a marriage license.

Not to mention the injustice (and insanity) of confiscating the wages earned by productive people to subsidize unproductive people, thereby encouraging them to remain unproductive.

Juvenile narcissism. One crucial part of being an adult is realizing that the world does not revolve around your dick, your parties, or your desires, and that, in fact, all are inconsequential.”

Ringwingproof, I’m one of those gays who does believe that gay rights in may ways trump other concerns. It is not out of selfish narcissim, although tossing that insult my way doesn’t make you a better person.

The gay rights movement, in my opinion, is about the very issues that both make this country great, and are the founding principles in which we formed this country. Freedom of speech, Freedom of association, being allowed to believe(or not believe) whatever you want, to peacefully live your life as you see fit without government interfearance. If we are the “land of the free, and home of the brave” then we should be brave enough to make sure that our people, all our people, gay and straight are free.
To me, freedom and equality are central to America and not something we can put off dealing with until things are more convenient. No other minority has ever waited for a convenient time to fight for their rights.
We obviously disagree, but oversimplifying your oppositions opinions does not make for a healthy debate on the subject.
I admit there is intolerance in the gay community, and the BTB comments revealed where at least some of that animosity is coming from. The important question is “how do we deal with that?” The answer isn’t, “liberals need to get over themselves” nor is it “conservatives need to grow a soul”. The answer is - understanding and dialogue.

I had seen a very interesting comment about the manhunt debacle. Since the gay community is so interested in being mainstreamed - clearly manhunt is defeating that purpose. So of course the head of it is a Republican - evil, conniving and making money off poor gay folks that can’t help but turn to this site.

The real source of their trouble is their singular focus on gay civil rights as an issue that ought to trump every other

Juvenile narcissism. One crucial part of being an adult is realizing that the world does not revolve around your dick, your parties, or your desires, and that, in fact, all are inconsequential.