[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

!-- BEGIN TEASER--> While covering the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, many mainstream news media failed to report that some of the more prominent heroes were gay. The omissions lead readers to believe that they were heterosexual — essentially denying the role of gay heroes.

How relevant is it for journalists to mention someone's sexual orientation in not only this story but all stories? How does it affect the context of the story if sexual orientation is left out? If we begin including that someone is gay, do we also need to report that someone is heterosexual? Post your thoughts by filling out the form below.

What others are saying:

• "Withholding relevant details about these lives, their partners and families is unfair and hurtful to the people they loved. In our mission as journalists, it also denies readers and viewers information about the true identity of those who are in the news. It is the same as withholding information about the spouse, children and other features about the heterosexual heroes."
  — Robert Dodge, president of NLGJA [READ MORE]

• "Bottom line: most people do not think about sexual orientation in an abstract sense, only in terms of the gender of our partner, spouse or girl/boyfriend — past or present. It's important to mention the name and gender of those significant others — and thus their sexual orientation — whenever a news story opens the door on these important relationships."
  — Cathy Renna, news media director of GLAAD [READ MORE]

• "It was mentioned that they (victim Ronald Gamboa and his partner) were a couple and we didn't want to create the false impression that they were roommates. We didn't have to make the impression that we were hiding it. ... We felt bad about not knowing he was gay and we wanted to set the record straight."
  — Andrew Wolfson, reporter for The Courier-Journal

• "There was no reason for a discussion of it. (Graham Berkeley's) partner was his only known connection. Whether it was his boyfriend or brother, we didn't differentiate. ... We don't have to be too concerned with people's sexual orientation. It's 2001 - homosexuality isn't a taboo. There are gay men and women all over the world."
  — Jose Martinez, reporter for the Boston Herald

• "We tried to treat the information on every victim the same, like listing people or loved ones they left behind. We tried to treat them the same. ... The policy on person's sexual orientation is to mention it only if it is relevant. ... It was something like naming a person's spouse. (David Charlebois') article was treated like the rest of the 160 articles that we covered."
  — Keith Harriston, Deputy Metro Editor for The Washington Post

  ---

  
  Omitted sexual orientation:
  Los Angeles Times
  http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-091601chaplain.story

  Included sexual orientation:
  Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) news selections
  http://www.glaad.org/org/news.html

  HBO's Real Sports
  http://www.hbo.com/realsports/cmp/features.shtml#story_3_more

[Senator Pardek]

If one of these heroes was into group sex, would it be relevant?

[FormerLib]

These folks are still attempting to advance their perverted agenda by standing on the graves of the dead. Truly pathetic!

[Russell Scott]

When homosexuals "turn from there wicked ways", they will be real heros in the eyes of the only person who matters, Jesus Christ.

[Travis McGee]

Maybe some of the 9-11 heros have foot fetishes, or do it wearing scuba suits, shouldn't that be mentioned?

[MileHi]

Does that make them more heroic? Gimme a break...

[klee]

What is it these people expect? The media to list next to each victim's names their sexual orientation? The heroes werent restricted to those on the plane, but also trying to evacuate buildings. Include those people on the list, and the fact a relative few of the heroes were gay would be would be insignificant.

[M_Man]

What's the relevance of anyone's sexuality in this arena? Mabye at a bath house or at an orgy? Did these brave homos bewitch the hijackers? Seduce them in order to disarm them? I think their sexual peccadillos were irrelivant, as they should be everywhere- except in the privacy of their bedrooms.

[Lilly]

Is it ever right to be dishonest? Is it ever alright to be a homosexual/fornicator?

What does the Lord have to say?

Leviticus 18:22, 1st Corinthians 6:9...

CNLGLFG.com

[VaBthang4]

[11th Earl of Mar]

I'm sure Joyselyn Elders does not want to miss out on the action. I'll bet that before too long she will be holding a press conference to proclaim that one or more of the heros masterbaited on a regular basis.

[lawdude]

Who gives a rodents rectum?

[Gordian Blade]

I have a strong suspicion that several of the hijackers were homosexual, possibly repressed. I'm pretty sure about Atta. Should we trumpet that also?

[DouglasKC]

When I heard about them, I didn't even consider who they liked to have sex with...either hetero or homo. They were just heroes.

[VA Advogado]

The only ones that want to make the heros' sexuality an issue are those that want those people remembered not for their courage but their flaws.

[not-an-ostrich]

I have ready a great many news articles in USA Today, Dallas morning paper, and the Internet. I have not read any factual stories of any homosexual heroes. Who are they?

[athiestwithagun]

Were any of the 911 heroes freepers? Does it matter? Does anyone care?

[Pete53]

How in God's name can Victims be considered heros?

[gg188]

If NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, Time or NYTimes or Wash Post HAD known any particular individual was homo I guarantee that they would have heralded it. We would all have known it if the mainstream media had known it.

[Rightwing Conspiratr1]

Ok so why didn't the press report how many of these "heroes" buggered animals, the deceased, or children? How many had foot fetishes? Don't these groups count? *kof* *puke*

[Flying Circus]

If you have to bring up the sexual preferences of the people involved everytime a gay does something, does that not imply the deviancy of the gay lifestyle? I mean, if homosexual preferences were healthy and common then then the public would not always assume that people are straight. Take religion for example, outside of terrorists who were modivated by their muslim beliefs, not one word has been mentioned about the religious beliefs of the passengers involved. It is not mentioned because, outside if the terrorists, it is not of interest to most people.

The sexual preferences of the passengers played no part in their actions. Does an individual's gayness may their sacrifice any greater? The opposite is probably true. The man with a wife and child dies leaving that family behind to grieve for him and survive without his income and support. The gay man _maybe_ leaves a partner, who is probably quite self sufficient and certainly no children. The fact that a passenger was gay is important only to the gay activists who want to rub the rest of society's nose in their sex life. The guy on the plane most certainly did not think 'I'm gay so I better stop this'.