On Gay Rights and Government Intervention

I read a blog recently where someone responded to UT's Anti-ENDA legislation. Two respondents surmised that by disallowing business to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, the Government is over stepping its bounds and interfering.

The original article:

http://jlooney.com/2009/02/18/the-politics-of-discrimination/


Two words really come to mind here - Government Intervention.

When is it appropriate?

I'm fairly libertarian on many issues. But I believe that there are times when, what would otherwise be seen as, extreme government intervention is warranted to effectuate a change that is ultimately necessary for the survival of the republic, the survival of the market, or to maintain the social contract upon which the republic was founded.

In each of these instances a culture usually develops that is so counter to the direction that must be taken, that the intervention must be more extreme than the counter culture in order for the government to exercise its supremacy in the matter.

This very thing always teeters the republic on a razor's edge. It does so because of popular sovereignty.

If massive government intervention is required, it is because there is a large segment of the population that is unwilling to culturally move in the direction that the rest of the population/republic is going. The government has to wait until it has enough social momentum, and political capital to move on the issue or else it risks dividing the republic asunder. This is true, even where there the thing being forced to change, is in gross and flagrant disregard of, and is repugnant to, the social contract, and the founding principles and documents of the republic itself.

But it ultimately leaves the government riding the wave of social change as opposed to being on the forefront of shaping public opinion. By the time government steps in to intervene, a large enough section of the population has already made the cultural shift such that the government isn't fighting its entire sovereign base, but is rather fighting those elements of the sovereign base, who refuse to move in step with society, with the republic, and with the social contract.


I grew up in the American South. My state and school district were some of the last places in this nation to racially integrate. As late as 1989 we were still busing little white children and little black children to each other's neighbourhoods for school. Such drastic state intervention, has been deemed necessary for the very reason expressed by Ben (one of the respondents). The Government IS Chusing Our Friends.



Yes yes I know they cannot force us to be friends with each other, BUT the cross town busing, and the summation of that experience served to mix two conflicting cultures enough that the fear, anger, hurt, and divisions betwixt the two, that was allowed to develop over centuries, began to be torn down.

People my age (Im 33) and younger are much more racially integrated, and/or racially neutral than my father's generation. And even my younger sister, who is 13 years my juniour, has fewer racial hang ups than myself and my friends.

In short, the great experiment is working. It is breaking down walls, and it is slowly, creating an American South where there is less animosity between whites and blacks. It has made our world safer and created more opportunities for young black Americans. And it has begun to equalise a playing field that has been skewed for hundreds of years.

Is it perfect? NO!, not by any stretch of the term. Could it have been done by less drastic ways. Honestly. I do not believe that it could. I honestly think that enough whites were too set in their ways to even consider voluntary integration. In fact, we know they were. We saw George Wallace on every television in America.



Could have it been done sooner? I don't think it could have either. I think that men and women like Thurgood Marshal who chipped away at the social order that was so repugnant to the foundations of our republic, those men and women were on the forefront, they were the ones to created the social momentum that gave the government its impetus for action. They greased the tracks so that the government could later act drastically to force the rest of the republic to move forward to protect the founding principles and social contract.

So what does this have to do with Gays?

Just like with racial integration the gay population is asking the government to intervene on its behalf. Gay's feel that their liberty interest is being trampled, and that they are being treated unequally before the law. They feel that this is in violation of the social contract, that it is in violation of the founding principles of the republic, and that it is in violation of the 14th amendments guarantees of due process and equal protection. They feel that they are targeted for unequal treatment by both government, and private entities.

They believe that because they are an unpopular minority, who are targeted for unequal treatment, that they qualify, under the government's rules, as a class that must be protected from discriminatory behaviour.

I think it is pretty much a given that gays are class of persons. That they are a minority, that they are unpopular, that they are targeted as a class for discrimination and violence by individuals, and that they are targeted for discrimination, as a class, by private entities. Anyone who hasn't accepted the clear and convincing evidence of this by now, need only look to the left of this column.

It is fairly blatant that in the past gay's have been targeted as a class for discrimination by the government. SCOTUS has moved to equalise this. They decriminalised homosexual behaviour, and struck down a state constitutional amendment aimed at taking away gay's rights to court access and remedies.

There is a current legal battle in the 9th circuit to determine if they were and are being targeted as a class, for discrimination, by the government. It is alleged by gays, that the current state constitutional bans on same gender marriage were floated specifically to target their class for unequal treatment before the law, and that such were proposed as a result of animus towards them.

In other places it is argued that ENDA type legislation is necessary because gays are targeted as a class, for employment discrimination.

The broader question then becomes:

Government Intervention? ? ?

Do Gay's deserve government intervention?

Is discrimination against them, repugnant to the social contract, the principles of the republic, and our founding documents as gays argue that it is?

Like racial inequality before the law was. . . sexual orientation inequality before the law is, at a crucial point in its own history. Enough of the population has shifted towards the side of treating gays and gay relationships equally before the law, that there is now a targeted push by gays and gay supporters to get the government to intervene. Unlike racial inequality, however, gay's have not yet built enough social momentum for the government to have the political capital to take up their cause in full.

As witnessed by prop 8 however, the government has not yet been armed with a majority mandate for gay equality. BUT is there enough momentum to act without tearing the republic in two? That is the million dollar question. I personally think that in the very near future there will be enough momentum, and that the government will act to protect gays from discrimination. It is up to gays and their supporters to continue building that momentum. The next few years will be crucial in the fight for gay rights. As more states adopt ENDAs and same gender marriage, shift will bring the government enough momentum to drag the rest of the country kicking and screaming into the modern era with respect to gay rights. And it will.

Ultimately we may not see Thomas Monson, Mitt Romney, or Mike Huckabee on the six-o'clock news baring the doors to the court house, nor standing at the doors to of state governments to deny gays the right to work there, but I think radical government intervention will happen. It will have to happen. Only by making an extreme social and economic disincentive to Anti-gay discrimination will the government effectuate a change in culture. It is after all, a culture war that is being fought, and winning it means to do away with the culture of hating gays because they have same gender sexual relations, do away with the culture of fear, and begin to foster a culture of understanding. much the same way that happened in race relations. It is for this, that government intervention will happen.

Of 9-11, Human Rights, and The Role of Government

Last night I was confronted by both, a friend who posited that government has become too intrusive by creating a society dependent upon government to provide for it, and a young lady who called me a liberal and told me that my ideas about government were going to destroy our country.

I've been taught by a wise woman that when ever I'm confronted like that, instead of kicking back, I get to soak in that person's feedback and ask myself to name three ways in which the accusation is true. The nature of this exercises brings clarity, and openness and usually releases me from any tunnel vision that I might be momentarily caught up in.

I let my mind think for a while and rest on the notions of what these two said to me. I think it was an excellent jumping off point to sit back, and get some clarity. . .


Today is September 11th 2009.

Eight years ago terrorists took over several planes flying over the United states. Two planes crashed into the two tallest office towers in Manhattan, NY. Shortly afterward another plane crashed into the headquarters for the US War Department in Washington D.C. Within minutes of that third crash, the United States Air Foce, acting on order of the Vice President, shot down the the 4th plane into a field in Pennsylvania. This was done to avoid the plane hitting a township when the American hostages on board bravely attempted a seemingly unsuccessful coup to regain control of the airship.

We've heard A LOT of rhetoric about perpetrators of these crimes, of their motives, of their ideology, of their backgrounds etc. My personal opinion is that this was a crime against humanity. A crime against the human rights of all of us.

But given the accusations of last night. I had to ask myself WHAT DO I BELIEVE ABOUT GOVERNMENT?

My background is steeped in government. I come from a military family, both of my grandfathers were lifers. Every Ord in my line has worn a uniform since the 1880's, myself included. I worked side by side with several congressmen on both sides of the isle before I ever graduated high school. I went to prep school at the U.S. Air Force Academy. I hold a Bachelor's Degree in Government Admin and International Relations (heavy on the Econ), from one of the most conservative universities in the United States. I hold a degree in Law from one of its most Conservative Law Schools, which is also a constitutional law "powerhouse," I have spent the vast majority of my life connected to and working in government and the DOD. So, I may have something to say on the topic. But what do I believe about government?



I've read the works of the great theorists of the ages, and I've come to the clear conclusion that Government exists to secure the Universal Human Rights of its citizens, and inhabitants.

But what are those universal human rights?

The Americans summed them up as Life, Liberty and The Pursuit of Happiness, the French, as liberté, égalité, fraternité, but just where are these nebulous human rights summed up and enumerated?


After World War II, one of my greatest heroes spent most of 1948 chairing a gathering of the world's then established governments to create a world consensus on what are the universal human rights of all people. From their notes, it is evident that the committee was not attempting to beholden humans strictly to positive law, but was seeking to enumerate natural law, and bind governments, via moral pressure and moral mandate, to respecting those principles, laws, and rights that were granted us by our maker. The resultant universal declaration of human rights succinctly summarises them.

Since we seldom actually read those rights, I'm going to include them herein. They are 30 statements on what your rights are as a human. Governments exist solely for the purpose of securing these rights for you and your fellow humans. There are multiple theories a to how that gets to happen, and how much of that labour is your responsibility, but in all cases it is the government's job to defend these rights from any that would infringe upon them, for the sake of all humans under that government's jurisdiction.



And with that here are our basic rights:

Article 1
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 3
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 4
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Article 5
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 6
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 9
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Article 11
1. Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
2. No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.

Article 12
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 13
1. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
2. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including their own, and to return to their country.

Article 14
1. Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
2. This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 15
1. Everyone has the right to a nationality.
2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

Article 16
1. Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
2. Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
3. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

Article 17
1. Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article 18
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 19
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 20
1. Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
2. No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Article 21
1. Everyone has the right to take part in the government of their country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
2. Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in their country.
3. The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 22
Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.

Article 23
1. Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
2. Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
3. Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
4. Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

Article 24
Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

Article 25
1. Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
2. Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 26
1. Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
2. Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
3. Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Article 27
1. Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Article 28
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

Article 29
1. Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
2. In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
3. These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 30
Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.



Now I don't know about you, but for me, these simple declarations of my INALIENABLE rights as a human being give me great comfort. They provide a standard to which I can hold my government. To which I can hold myself, to which I can hold my neighbours.

I am a product of the American system. I have been raised with the notion that there is in fact a social contract between governments and their citizens. That the citizens make up the government, and give it the power to conduct the business of the people. That the business of the people, the responsibility of government, is to insure the above rights are not trampled by other people, nor by corporations and businesses, nor by non-governmental organisations, nor by other governments. In turn, citizens have the duty to make sure their rights are not trampled by government. It is a relationship of checks and balances.

. . .And it came to pass that government, in the United States, eschewed its responsibilities in defending these, the people's, rights against those who would infringe upon them. And it came to pass that the infringers used all manner of secret combinations, including but not limited to, corporate shields, religious shields, a host of legal loopholes, and a game of, misinformation/hide-the-ball worthy of praise from the best of first year torts professors.

And so we find ourselves in the land of the free, and home of the brave, with freedom being eroded, and few who seem brave enough to be a stand for our rights, nor dare to wage a war against those that would impinge upon those same rights, which rights were equally endowed within each of us, individually and collectively, by our creator.

At the end of the day, I am a stand for these declarations of human rights, and I live by them, and when they are trampled I fight to restore them and restore the balance that protects them. I do this in in the interest of all of us, because in when it comes to human rights, your interest is also my interest.

Yes President Ahmadinajad There Is A Homo Clause

"DEAR EDITOR: I am a 41 year old head of State for The Islamic Republic of Iran.
"Some of my Politicos and Imam friends say there is no Homo Claus.
"Papa says, 'If you see it On Al Jazeera it's so.'
"Please tell me the truth; is there a Homo Claus?

"Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
"The Islamic Republic Of Iran."

President Ahmadinejad, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of an age embracing ignorance, war, and hate. They do not believe except [what] they wish to see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All closed minds, President Ahmadinejad, whether they be men's or children's, yours or Bush’s, are little. In this great universe of ours closed minded man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, President Ahmadinejad, there is a Homo Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to the lives of some, if not yourself included, its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Homo Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no Cher, Madonna, Barbara, or Liza. There would be no fabulous clothes then, no poetry, no romance, no Abercrombie, no musical theater, no fabulousness to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, especially in sense and sight. The eternal light with which Homos fill this world, and make it beautiful and fabulous, would be extinguished.

Not believe in Homo Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! Oh, you don’t? Don’t worry girl we’ll take you to Chelsea that’ll make a believer outta anyone!
You got your Government to hire men to watch all the clothing, music, and shoe stores in Tehran to catch Homo Claus, but even they did not see Homo Claus, just the fairies, which they promptly arrested and carted off to sweep under the rug. What did that prove? Nobody sees Homo Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Homo Claus. The most real things in the world are ideas that closed minded men cannot see. Did you ever see fairies dancing in the club? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the numbers of homos there are unseen and unseeable in the world. Yet their impact is seen and felt by all, on the daily.

You may tear apart the night spots, coffee houses, gathering places, safe houses, and block the internet sites to create a veil covering the unseen world which Iran’s Homos live in. But not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, with their guns, prisons, beatings, hangings and persecutions could make your fairies straight. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, fashion, music, open dialogue, acceptance, freedom of assembly, and of movement, can push aside the curtain of ignorance and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory which comes by accepting people for who they are -ACCEPTING PEOPLE FOR WHO THEY ARE. Is such at all possible or real? Ah, President Ahmadinejad, in all this world there is nothing more real and abiding.

No Homo Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever! A thousand years from now, President Ahmadinejad, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make fabulous the world of men.

The Mormon Boy and Mephistopheles

In the land of tobacco and cotton, where yesteryear and the tech age seem to intertwine, and where accents and a slice of pecan pie are both drawn out experiences - a white Pontiac glided south on Interstate 85.

The Pontiac’s Virginia license plate read “Bashmnt.”   Bashment: a word describing the driver?  Bashment:  a party that is lively, exciting, and full of life.  Bashment! - A Jamaican word pegging the driver as fresh of the boat.  This driver however, didn't originate in Jamaica.  It was but an island stop on the journey, and the land of cotton, it wasn't his final destination either, but, it was a destination. 

The Pontiac cruised past a red pick-up.  The guy in the cab looked over and thought, “That kid’s either a gypsy or a student cause he’s got everything he owns stuffed in that car. Who the hell goes to college in May?”  A yellow sticker in the tinted back window read “LDS.”  The truck driver thought “Must be the kid’s fraternity.” He didn’t know it was a church.   

Back in the white car, a Mormon boy with dark hair raced across the border into North Cackalacky - the Commonwealth of his childhood, a blur behind him.  He was in fact running to something, but more importantly he was running from something, and that car couldn’t carry him to Durham fast enough.  

Excitement coursed through his veins, and nervousness; a little fear. . .and a bit of lust.  Durham was a safe distance from home, his family, his ward, his bishop and his life in Hampton Roads, but even Durham wasn’t far enough to run.  No, Durham was a stop that held something else, something the boy with dark hair hadn’t quite embraced, had only scarcely tasted, was mortally afraid of, but somehow sensed was akin to freedom and safety.  Durham pulled the boy like a magnet. Or maybe the boy was hurling himself toward Durham.  In either event, the attraction grew stronger as the distance closed betwixt the two.

A winding off-ramp.  A ditch on the side of a seemingly country road. Pine trees blocking the sun.  A standard Carolina neighbourhood.  A grey asphalt road with no curb. The crab grass tall and gone to seed.  A cheaply built two-story house with vinyl siding. A small porch.  Shudders.  A driveway.  A red Mercury Cougar, and . . . a warm smile.  

The Mormon boy got out of the Pontiac.  Stopping to glance at all his possessions he thought he looked rather like a refugee.  The young man with the inviting smile stood in the driveway.  He had maybe 28 years on his face but at least 35 in his eyes, he wore light blue medical scrubs.  He was, 6’3”, closely cropped sandy coloured hair, blue eyes, broad shoulders, very muscular under his gunny sack work attire, and he had the faintest scar on his upper lip, the result of a childhood surgery for a once cleft palate.  Smiling at the young man, The Mormon boy knew that danger lie in Durham, North Carolina.   

The two hugged like old and fast friends - a hand-shake with “hug” and two slaps on the back.  Then the Mormon boy, with effort, pried a small bag out of the car and they went into the house.  The floors in the house were maple, the décor minimalist and Asian.  A gloss black baby grand Kawai sat in the middle of the dining room.  The blonde offered water, the brunette accepted, the blonde went into the kitchen, the brunette into the family room.

The blonde called from the kitchen; “I just got the first Harry Potter movie on DVD.”  “Do you want to watch it?” 

“Of course, I love Harry Potter!”

“I hoped you would say that.” 

The dark haired boy stood by an end table holding a 5x7 frame of a beautiful black woman.  A figure in scrubs stood behind him with a glass of water. The guy in scrubs seemed to tower over the 5’11” dark haired boy.  The blonde was standing so close the Mormon boy could feel his body heat.  Instantly, the Mormon boy felt goose bumps form all over him, the hair on his body stood on end.  He froze, terrified to move.  The blonde reached from behind and handed the other a glass of water.  With his free hand he reached for the picture.

“That’s Tamika, she’s my best friend.”

“She’s beautiful.”  The two held the picture each from a different side.  The Mormon boy felt awkward and let go of the frame. 

He looked out the window and the sun was setting over the Carolina piedmont, Atlanta was only six hours away.  If he left now the Mormon boy could be in Chamblee by 2 a.m., but that wasn’t in the plan.  The Mormon boy knew why he was in Durham.

“Can I take a shower before we watch the movie?”  “I’m grungy from driving.”

“Sure, let me get you a towel.”

The Mormon boy grabbed his bag and the two started up the stairs. A trip to the hall closet, an explanation of the quirks of the bathroom, and the blonde was closing the door to leave the Mormon boy alone. 

Alone!. . . . . .

His body heaved forward finally releasing the tension he had been carrying since exiting the freeway.  Hands gripped the counter, then his hair. The exhale was loud; the fan dampened its noise; the 26 year old stared into the mirror.  Was a he boy or a man?  He hardly knew any more.  The events of eighteen months ago raced through his mind.  How could any of that have happened?  He wished it were a blur but the details were in high definition.  He had to hold it together.  He was scared.  He splashed cold water on his face.  It didn’t work, so he turned the shower on and let it run.

His shorts and tee shirt came off to reveal standard Mormon garb. A set of white religious undergarments:  merely a tee shirt and a pair of long legged boxer shorts. Or were they just clothing?  They stopped just above his knee. He looked back into the wall length mirror.  He felt the stitched markings on the nipples of his shirt, symbols of his covenants to remain faithful to the doctrine and church from whence they came. 

He knew his purpose for being in Durham, he knew what The LDS Church said about being on earth, but for some unknown reason, he felt like he had to do this.  If he accomplished this task, would it be enough to sort things?  He was a mess of emotions, he imagined himself a terrible person, Lot’s wife or Faust.   But in this case, Mephistopheles was a blonde in medical scrubs.  He got into the shower and let the hot water run over his head and down his back.

            Walking down stairs, hair damp, pajamas on, religious garments under his clothes, he felt very relieved, as though relaxation had taken him and his troubles were gone.  He ran his fingers through his short, spiky, damp hair.  The nervousness was still there, but the tension disappeared, and remaining was a young man with an uneasy resolve.

            Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs he caught a glimpse of the blonde.  This time the young man was wearing a different pair of scrubs; no, they were pajamas, cut to look like scrubs.  Flannel bottoms, a bit warm for a Carolina summer, but then, the air conditioning was blowing full force.  The Mormon boy realised at first glance just how striking the blonde man was.  Those soul piercing blue eyes were turned on him again.  They were gentle, kind, and the scary part. . .inviting.  He walked over and plopped clumsily on the sofa next to the man in flannel.  

            The blonde was clearly an expert at this, the Mormon boy - shy.  He realized that his wet hair was causing him to shiver just a little.  He snuggled his dark damp hair against the chest of the elder blonde.  Warner Brothers opening credits began to play. . . .

            Harry Potter runs amuck of Professor Snape; A shift on the sofa; a soft touch; a caress; a soft kiss; Professor Mongonagal speaks; the feel of the blonde’s stomach and abs; A quidditch match; A roaming hand; the loss of a shirt; the touch of skin - soft skin.   It was nothing yet, and still it was everything the Mormon boy ever thought it would be. . . The Mormon boy. . . .The Mormon boy. . . He. . . .  

            The Mormon boy had removed his religious garment top



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

            The act sent a shock wave through his mind.  He got quiet, deadly quiet.  Indeed, danger did lie in Durham, North Carolina. 

            The blonde sensing something was wrong placed a hand gently on the Mormon’s cheek and turned his head so that their eyes met.

            “We don’t have to do anything you don’t want.” 

            The Mormon boy slowly shook his head, fighting back tears. He wanted it, all of it, everything he had secretly dreamed of since age seven was right in front of him - right for his choosing - And the only thing separating him from his dream and fantasy, were two powerful symbols stitched into the chest of a tee shirt - A tee shirt that lay on the floor at the foot of the sofa.

            The young man held the Mormon boy in his built arms, they continued watching the movie.  The Mormon boy went deep into himself and began to process.  .   .November, November, November. 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

            In a mild autumn, eighteen months prior, a dorm room on Virginia’s colonial peninsula was decorated in muted earth tones.  A dull lamp lit the room, where a short directors chair faced a padded desk chair.  A football player sat in the desk chair and asked the Mormon boy “How do know you if you’ve never tried it?”  

            With a blink he is back in Durham.  The Mormon boy closes his eyes and kisses the blonde but sets his mind to figuring out what is wrong with him, why is this thing, this . . .attraction so appealing, enticing, promising, compelling, comforting, exposing, and disquieting all at once.  Just like eighteen months ago, he surrenders himself to his desires, curiosities, and fantasies.  He forgets about the world, the church, his family, and expectation.  For one night in the Mormon boy’s existence he starts to live for himself.  He chooses to live for himself.

            And then something happened – excitement, every sense over loaded, smell, taste, touch, emotions, sensuality at its peak, sexuality intertwined, the loss of himself into a raging torrent, and the excitement of riding the current.  It was like nothing he had ever experienced. A click, a perfect fit, a light going off in his head illuminating what had theretofore been missing in plain sight. This is how it was supposed to be. But more than that, another emotion crept into the Mormon boy, and that emotion slowly took over and when deeds were done, bliss achieved, and bodies collapsed with exhaustion, the one emotion that was left to linger was not what the Mormon boy had been expecting - Safety. The Mormon boy felt safety.  After surrendering, the fear went away, the disquiet ceased, and what replaced it. – Safety. 

            Cuddling through the night the Mormon boy awoke and lay there thinking.  He was awake, but untroubled.  There was no guilt, there was no awkwardness, he barely knew the blonde sleeping next to him, but for the first time in ages he felt like he really had chosen the right. . .he wouldn’t realize until later that this night marked the beginning of a paradigm shift, a crossing over into a new world. 

            07:00 comes early when you’ve slept but three hours.  An English muffin, and spoon of grape jelly, a small glass of orange juice, and a kiss goodbye.  The Mormon boy walked with a spring in his step.  He was in love.  The blonde would soon be moving to Atlanta.  Two young men get into their cars.  The red Mercury Cougar and the white Pontiac both leave the driveway.  The Cougar drives to hospital, the Pontiac towards Atlanta Georgia. The Mormon boy had no idea he was driving right into the centre of something which lie in wait  Webs were already woven thick in the heart and capitol of “the New South.”

I Too Have A Dream

Written on Thanksgiving Day 2007 reflecting on a night in Nov. 2005

Two years ago. . I stood on a cool November night, on the steps of the Lincoln memorial in the very spot that Dr. King delivered those fateful words and I wept

I cried for the thousands, millions even who went before me and lived in this country as second class citizens.

I wept for the oppression that was exercised by my own slaveholder forefathers.

I wept to honor the bravery of men and woman who dared stand up against the lynch mobs and their nooses.

I wept for my Latin brothers and sisters who are experiencing the Jim Crow of today.

I wept for Matthew Sheppard who did nothing of import to have been pinned to a fence and beaten and left for dead.

And lastly I wept for myself who has stood amongst all kinds of men, served in my country’s armed forces, served my God and church as a missionary, earned degrees from the most revered of our educational halls, consulted in the halls of congress, and stood in the very oval office of the President of the United States, and who despite that, is still a second class citizen. Unable to be treated equally by the law, unable to marry the man I love, pushed to the back of society’s bus. . .

Standing on that hallowed ground, I looked out on the night sky and the lights along the National Mall, blurred by the quite emotional tears rolling down my face I looked out with hope. . .In an instant my resolve shifted - I felt less the victim and more the soldier. My boyfriend stood at Lincoln’s feet some distance behind me, Alone in that spot, on the stairs of the memorial I heard the voice. “You’re day will come. But, you too must stand, act, and say alowed: “I too have a dream”. . .”

J. Knight Ord III

My Los Angeles

Los Angeles. . .So much about this city changes on a daily basis and yet the life running through it's veins remains the same. The money is as ever - grand and illusive, the lights are as ever - bright, the draw of fame and fortune are like pheromones to midwestern youth. Forgotten stars line "The Boulevard" and the Angels watch from heaven but their vision is obscured by the blessed marine layer that makes Los Angeles as mild as it makes her harsh.

No, in Hollywood, the circle of life continues; shows are made, shows are canceled, movies soar and others flop, players shift, the pieces change, the faces start to age, get a little nip and tuck and you're back in the game for spell only to be replaced with the next generation of young looks.

And right in the middle, on Serrano Ave. there is a small and innocuous apartment building with a Mediterranean court yard, an avocado tree, two squirrels, a lazy cat sitting on the hood of a warm car, a small Sicilian balcony looking out toward the hills, a picture window with a view of James Dean's final winding road, and a small table with a macintosh laptop.

And this my friend is my Los Angeles. . . .