In what will surely be a hot news topic during the next few days, former chair of the Republican National Committee Ken Mehlman has just come out. Mehlman was also President Bush’s campaign manager in 2004, and held these influential positions in the GOP as the party mounted a significant anti-gay rights charge.
This is a big deal, but I think some people will consider it a big deal for the wrong reasons. This is a big deal because Mehlman is the most prominent Republican yet to come out, and he has said that he remains committed to the Republican Party and to advancing a pro-gay rights agenda within the GOP. This also means that he will reach out to the gay community as a Republican, and will hopefully encourage other closeted Republicans to come out if they would like.
Mehlman’s choice, however, does not mean that Republicans are hypocrites, nor is this a reason why the Republican position on gay marriage is wrong. Let me be clear: the Republican position on gay marriage is wrong because it is morally misguided, discriminatory and motivated by arcane sexual norms. That was true yesterday and it will be true tomorrow. It will continue to be true regardless of how many Republicans come out. And that more Republicans may come out is not a sign that the GOP’s policy is more wrong. Advocates for gay marriage should not say, “Support gay marriage, because, look! Even Ken Mehlman, who ran the party in 2006 when it was significantly anti-gay, is gay himself!” They should say, “Support gay marriage because we live in a free country whose rights should extend to all citizens.”
I don’t even think Mehlman is a hypocrite, and he shouldn’t be chastised for waiting this long to declare his sexual orientation. Coming out is a tough decision that revolves around countless factors, and Mehlman deserves support and understanding now. It is unlikely that his absence from the campaigns of 2004 and 2006 would have mitigated the role of anti-gay activism in the Republican platform, and had he come out at that time the media would have created hell for him, not to mention the attacks he would have suffered from his own party.
It will be interesting to see how Mehlman approaches gay rights from now on. He is already a significant player in a large gay rights fundraiser next month. So let’s support him and his actions, rather than using them as a poor tool to combat what is already a misguided policy.
