I missed "threat day" in lobbying class

After a month-long absence from publishing his gay rights newsletter THE LIST, John Aravosis blesses his audience with his views on the Congressman Schrock outing. He takes pains to divorce himself from the Schrock incident, ostensibly to let fellow outer Mike Rogers take the cake. His praise, however, is untempered:

This is an incredible victory for the gay community. Why? Because the entire Congress has been put on notice that if you mess with the gay community, you risk losing your entire career. I'm not exaggerating, it's high time we started acting like all the other lobbies in this country. You don't mess with us, or you pay a very dear price.

While these comments certainly fly in the face of Rogers' interview with the Hampton Roads Daily Press (wherein he noted: "If anyone thinks this is a victory in my community, not true."), they go well beyond claiming victory. Aravosis' threat advocacy shouldn't pass for progress in a civil world, and certainly not in a civil community; commentary like this pulls the gay community away from a strong history of acceptance and understanding and toward a "we're coming to get you" mentality.

Perhaps he's right in saying the gay lobby should act like "all the other lobbies" in this country; the other (successful and respectful) lobbies would have muzzled a reckless firebrand like Aravosis months ago.

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