South Carolina: Not “So Gay” After All

South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford today said he will reject some of the federal stimulus money earmarked by Congress for his state. In what is clearly a move motivated to increase his popularity among Right-wing Conservatives, Stanford said,

“Our objections to the so-called stimulus bill have been well-chronicled for the way it spends money that we don’t have and for the way this printing of money could ultimately devalue the American dollar…”

Meanwhile, conditions in South Carolina are dire. The state ranks #2 in unemployment, and #11 in child homelessness. Governor Sanford’s posturing and self-serving decision is unacceptable, and his citizens should says so.

Last year, the state ran ads saying, “South Carolina is so gay”. Governor Sanford refused to allow the state’s tourism board to pay for ads it had run, forcing the resignation of the employee who placed the ads. 

The long-term outlook for the state’s gay citizens is also concerning. On-Top magazine reports, 

“Four term South Carolina Representative Gresham Barrett announced his candidacy for Governor of South Carolina Wednesday morning. Barrett, who has a long anti-gay voting record, is considered a rising star in the Republican Party.”

“While in Congress, Berrett’s voting record is clearly anti-gay: Voted against prohibiting job discrimination based on sexual orientation (ENDA), co-sponsored and voted in favor of a constitutional amendment to define marriage as a heterosexual union (the Marriage Protection Amendment), and opposes legislation that would repeal the military’s ban on open service (Military Readiness Enhancement Act).”

“In grading members of Congress, The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest gay rights advocate, has consistently scored Barrett at 0% for gay and lesbian rights.”

What may be worse, RNC Chairman Michael Steele, whose LGBT record is atrocious, may be out of a job soon, and may be replaced by Katon “white-only country club” Dawson. Dawson may be worse for the gay community. Bilerico’s Michael Crawford writes today, 

“…some in the RNC really would have elected preferred to elect Katon Dawson. Dawson, as you may remember, was chair of the South Carolina Republican Party and a longtime member of “whites only” country club until he decided to run for RNC chair.

The rest of the country is primed for change and ready to move forward while the Republican Party offers nothing more than lipstick on a political pig. And Michael Steele may be about to find out that he was not the right shade.”

South Carolina has already banned gay marriage. It also disallows any type of state-recognized union or domestic partnership. It allows single-parent adoption but not dual gay parent adoption. This strategy is just one more way the Right has to make gay marriage less likely and to diminish the public perception of the ability of gays to forms loving, complete, successful families. 

There is some hope. The Bilerico Project reports,

“…Nick Shalosky is Secretary of the South Carolina Stonewall Democrats. He is the first openly-gay elected official in South Carolina. At the age of 21, Shalosky was elected with 22 votes to the Charleston County District 20 Constituent School Board with a write-in campaign primarily organized through Facebook. He is a junior at the College of Charleston.”

It’s a start.