[gopwhit]

I agree too. If the 2004 GOP platform includes some kind of anti-gay stance (and I apologize I'm not sure what it currently says about Gays--if anything) I will be the most pissed off Republican in the state of Georgia. This kind of thinking (among other issues I realize) is what weakened our base in 1992 and turned GOP heads to Ross Perot. It started with Pat Buchanan's keynote at the GOP convention and it led to the worst 8 years this country has ever seen. Gay people are citizens, and Marc is giving them the respect they deserve.

[Trace21230]

Exactly. In 2000, the gay vote went 25% for GWB, arguably handing him his margin of victory (1.1 million votes).

http://www.logcabincolumbus.org/VOTE%20ANALYSIS.htm

Now, I realize this is from the Republican gay group, but I haven't seen any other analysis of the gay vote.

Particularly interesting is the comparison between the gay vote for Bush (1.1 million) and the total vote for Pat Buchanan (@400,000). Suggests to me that tolerance is a winning political issue.

If anyone else has competing studies of the gay vote, I'd be interesting in seeing them

Trace

[ElkGroveDan]

Gay people are citizens, and Marc is giving them the respect they deserve.

Yes they sure are citizens. But the question is do they deserve special laws based on behaviors they chose to partake in?

Do Pedophiles deserve respect? Necrophiliacs? Cannibals? If they are differnet, please tell us WHY they are different.

They are all "citizens" who have chosen to engage in behavior that most of society has agreed is repulsive. Should we pass special laws everytime someone thinks up some new sick behavior? That is what the debate about, not whether or not they are citizens

[Luke21]

I am a Christian and I have no problem with the GOP meeting with homosexuals. I have a few gay friends and they often allow me to minister to them. They sometimes open up to the entire Gospel and begin to inspect their lives as a result.

There is a difference between receiving people, treating them fairly and as human beings, and endorsing the extreme elements of the gay lifestyle and agenda. These people are used to rejection and often their rhetoric reflects that. Going out of our way to offend them accomplishes nothing.