See!

My good friends at the Log Cabin Republicans have a short little memo, here, about why "gay Republican" isn't automatically an oxymoron.

The point that struck me the most is #3, which reads:

3. The party will change only from the inside. Pressure from the outside, from the far left won't work. The GOP must be transformed one person at a time, across America on the grassroots level by gay Republicans and their fair-minded allies. Across America, gay Republicans are shattering stereotypes and educating rank-and-file Republicans about the importance of fairness and equality for gay and lesbian Americans. This is the right path to progress.

I think all GLBT individuals would prefer a more inclusive GOP rather than the dichotomy we have now, but leaving the party and criticizing from the outside will only make the homophobic in the party even more resolute. If the GOP automatically makes the Gay = Democrat connection (as many in both parties do), GLBT individuals become an even more dangerous political enemy (the line of thinking goes like this: not only are they going to hell, they want to use our tax dollars to help get them there and take more with them). It's not until enough Republicans realizes that there ARE gay folks who believe in many (though admittedly not all) of the same things and can be allies, that we will start seeing real equality based on sexual orientation. Similarly, abandoning the party will only increase the proportion of the homophobic in the GOP, and making the fight for equality a party fight won't get us very far at all.

Also, I am feeling bold today. I haven't told anyone new--though mostly because no one has asked. We'll see how long this lasts.