Changing Attitudes due to LGBT Community Coming Out and Speaking Up

February 22, 2010

Indiana Gazette
February 21, 2010
Steve and Cokie Roberts write about changed attitudes as a result of LGBT people speaking up and coming out of the closet: ``Twenty years ago, the military were strong advocates of `don't ask, don't tell,' when I was secretary of defense,'' Dick Cheney said last Sunday on ABC News, ``I think things have changed significantly since then. I think the society has moved on. I think it's partly a generational question.''

In criticizing Republicans who demonize homosexuals, our friend George Will recently joked that, to young people, being gay is ``about as interesting as being left-handed.'' That's a little too glib. But even macho college fraternities are now taking in openly gay students. To many kids, it's just not a big deal. They have grown up knowing gay people who have not tried to hide who they are. And that makes a huge difference. In an ABC poll, 63 percent said they had a friend or family member who is gay or lesbian, and they're much more likely to support equality than those who don't.

"`In the almost 17 years since the `don't ask, don't tell' legislation was passed, attitudes and circumstances have changed,' Colin Powell said in a statement. He's right. They've changed because men and women stood up and told the world that they - your friends, your children, your co-workers - are gay. So are your soldiers. With Powell and Cheney's help, they may soon be able to say so."  [Link]