with Santorum, we have to understand that he 1. Is pro-life, 2. Does not believe in evolution and 3. Has a personal relationship with the living Jesus. Because so many gays on the right and left (and on this board) have been dismissive of these 3 things, bridges between us and people like Santorum have been impossible.

I’m sorry to read that Bruce agrees with this, because it is probably the dumbest thing I’ve read on GayPatriot that wasn’t posted by a leftie.

Santorum is pro-life. So? Is being pro-life supposed to be terribly rare amongst gay conservatives?

Santorum does not believe in evolution. I hope this means he doubts that the modern synthesis, ecological selection acting on random mutations, is a thorough explanation of the phenomenon. If he doesn’t accept evolution as a real phenomenon at all then he’s too stupid to worry about.

In any event, I don’t see how Santorum views on natural history should have anything to do with how he gets along with homosexuals, conservative or otherwise.

Santorum has a personal relationship with the living Jesus. Now the kicker. This is what it’s all been about all along, eh, Ashpenaz? Santorum’s religion.

I don’t care about Santorum’s religious beliefs. Nor should he care about yours, Bruce’s or anybody else’s when it comes to his political decisions. Conservatism is supposed to be a political movement, not a religious revival.

You want the exact same thing as the gay Left does and have the same determination to eliminate all opposition. If there’s any difference at all is only in degree, not kind. The gay Left wants to take us away from traditional values on a jet plane; you’ll settle for getting there in a car, but the destination, and the contempt for traditionalists, is the same.

Wow, Seane-Anna. That’s harsh. I’d say ridiculously harsh.

All Bruce, as one of those gay conservatives, wants is for the U.S. government to stop stigmatizing homosexuals by labeling them as unfit for honest service in the armed forces. What that has to do with upholding or overthrowing cultural traditions — other than the stigmatizing of homosexuals — is beyond me.

#9 – Thanks, NDT. I think it is now fair for me to say “You owe me a beer” to AverageGayJoe

Basically put, their presence is challenging the stereotypes and prejudices on both sides of the equation — and both sides are having a nearly-identical meltdown over it.

That’s all I got.

I thought the gays making excuses for Obama’s total lack of action was pathetic.

But seeing a gay person actively defend bigots who consider them inferior scum not worthy of the same rights is a new low. Keep licking those boots guys. You’re just gonna guarantee our equality by defending the bigots.

From my perspective as a straight, center-right Christian, I think it’s very healthy, as you do, to differentiate between the inflexible and sometimes bigoted anti-gay hard right (which is motivated either by fear or hatred or both), and the more moderate and thoughtful opponents of most of the GLBT community would like to see. I disagree with RS and John McCain and others on DADT, but there are legitimate causes for concern that worry not just these particular opponents of DADT’s repeal but also supporters of DADT’s repeal like myself. On not just DADT but also a lot of other issues, I think a much healthier dialogue can be had between, say, GOProud and Rick Santorum than between, say, Perez Hilton and James Dobson. The hard left may believe they are really the driver of gay rights, and the hard religious right may believe they are really the defender of tradition, but ultimately I think it has to be and will be well-meaning center-right skeptics of gay rights and the conservative GLBT community working together that will help America move forward in a way that satisfies the concerns of both gay Americans and traditionalists.