Opinion: Gay forum not marked by disagreements

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The crowd began gathering in the late afternoon heat along Vine Street a couple of hours before the first gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender meeting with presidential candidates. The site: a video production house in Hollywood.

There was tight security for the 200 invited guests including Camille Tovar and her friend Rhonda Ashby. ‘It’s really a huge deal,’ said Tovar. ‘It’s bringing gay issues to the forefront and the candidates have to recognize that this is not just about a small percentage of people, but has to do with human rights.’

Guests were carefully instructed on when they could talk, stand, leave, etc. ‘It’s best to think of this as a Broadway play,’ one producer told the crowd.

It certainly wasn’t a debate. The set looked more like a living room with a couch and easy chairs. It wasn’t widely available across the country on a broadcast network but was streamed online at logoonline.com.

The forum was more of a love-fest among most of the Democratic presidential candidates (Joe Biden and Chris Dodd did not attend) and an audience and panel that appreciated finally being courted by national candidates.

The crowd was more interested in applause and affirmation than confrontation. The applause was frequent and enthusiastic, and there was even some laughter. ‘Are there many gays in Alaska?’ panelist Melissa Etheridge asked Mike Gravel. The audience erupted in laughter.

Etheridge later asked Gov. Bill Richardson if he thought homosexuality was a choice or if they were born that way. He stumbled somewhat saying he was no scientist and preferred to deal with people as people, all of them equal, that he had experienced some discrimination as a darker-skinned Latino and it was a question of equality. The issue of overwhelming gay voter participation in elections was covered here in a previous item, as was the danger that being so closely identified with the gay community might pose for Democrats in some key swing states.

The Times’ Joel Rubin was on the forum scene and has a full story on this website and in Friday’s print editions.

--Andrew Malcolm