| Editor's Letter
Most of the people reading this magazine are
criminals. If you live in Texas, and you have
sex with individuals of the same gender, you violate
the law. I am a native of this state, where the
residents and their legislators express pride
in independence, so my government's keen interest
in the private lives of gay folks always puzzled
me. Growing up in a place where reactionary conservatism
usually trumped the old-line liberalism I knew
at home, I also struggled to understand how the
right could be at once eager to keep government
out of the schools, the church, and industry,
yet so insistent on inserting the politicos and
courts in the bedroom (not to mention the womb).
This month, the Supreme Court will hear arguments
in Lawrence and Garner v. Texas, a case
in which two men from Houston challenge the power
of the state to regulate the ways we are intimate
with one another. What is potentially more significant,
a reconsideration of the Texas Homosexual Conduct
statute, popularly known as the sodomy law, by
the Court could result in the abolition of a tool
for discrimination. Then, one often-cited legal
basis for inequality in regard to GLBT people
(The sodomy law says you are bad, so we won't
allow you to marry, adopt children or even keep
your biologically conceived kids, live here securely
with your non-citizen partner, have inheritance
rights, etc.) will be removed.
As Josef Molnar writes in this issue, a judicial
victory for the GLBT community in the current
case will not instantly fix everything. Even with
the courts on one's side, society tends to change
slowly. But bringing another aspect of the law
into compliance with the Constitution would be
a start. (Josef will be in the Supreme Court chambers
when Ruth Harlow of Lambda Legal presents the
case to the Justices and will report on the proceedings.)
Two men involved in the struggle for our rights
contribute work this month. Mitchell Katine, the
attorney for Lawrence and Garner, offers a personal
perspective on the historic case. Randall Ellis,
executive director of Lesbian Gay Rights Lobby,
sounds an alarm about the resurgent homophobic
forces in Austin.
As I write, the Bush administration strives to
avoid peace. By the time you hold the magazine,
missiles may have hurtled into Baghdad. In preparation
for a possible war, we asked several people in
the community to respond to events. See News Briefs.
The magazine looks and feels different this month.
With this issue, we experiment with a return to
a slicker paper. Whatever the ingredients, OutSmart
both reflects and relies on the community.
As always, we hope you enjoy our work and encourage
your response.
Tim Brookover
Editor
If you have any comments about this article,
please email them to letters@outsmartmagazine.com.
|
