‘Gay’ dog dumped at shelter; don’t tell me homophobia is dead
My heart broke recently when I read about a sweet dog named Fezco who had been unceremoniously ditched at a shelter here in North Carolina. His offense? According to shelter officials, the adorable brown and black mix was abandoned after his owners saw him “humping another male pooch and feared he might be gay.”
Seriously, a gay dog? I know my own pup humps males and females alike and he’s never made national headlines, as Fezco did. As veterinarian Michelle Droke told me, humping is not an indication of sexual orientation. “Some dogs will do it as a show of dominance,” she said. “Someone who returns a dog to a shelter for being ‘gay’ is just misinformed and terribly homophobic.”
I would dismiss all this as a shaggy-dog story if it weren’t so telling about the times we live in. After all, are people who abhor the thought of a gay dog any different from those pushing back so hard against LGBTQ people these days? Across the nation legislators are seeking to ban transgender youths from the bathrooms and sports teams that match their gender identities; clinging to invalidated laws that would roll back marriage equality for same-sex couples; and stifling classroom discussions, lesson plans and library books that mention LGBTQ issues.
What is everyone so worried about?
Alas, I’m not being rhetorical. Republicans in statehouses across the country are pushing a historic wave of new bills targeting LGBTQ kids and teens. Nearly 240 ANTI-LGBTQ bills had been proposed in the first months of this year, according to an NBC News report published in March.
Evan Wolfson, founder of Freedom to Marry, told me via email: “There are real threats to our democracy, and to Americans’ reproductive freedom; rights to participate in schools, the marketplace … without discrimination, and yes, freedom to marry the person you love.”
This is a slow-motion disaster taking place right in front of us. Why are so few people seeing it?
Those who watched the highly charged questioning of Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson witnessed a direct affront to the 2015 Supreme Court ruling that recognized same-sex couples’ constitutional right to marry. GOP Sen. John Cornyn of Texas took the lead, arguing that the Obergefell v. Hodges decision had “articulated a new fundamental right, which is a right to same-sex marriage.”
At first glance it may appear to be just grandstanding Republican senators playing to their base (you know, there’s a national election this fall). Some are dismissing the idea that there is a cohesive legal strategy aimed at overturning Obergefell. “We couldn’t possibly lose our right to marry,” one friend told me. But remember when we thought Roe v. Wade was established law? Now abortion rights are an open question before the court. Witness what Cornyn said to Jackson: “The Constitution doesn’t mention the word ‘abortion’ ... just like it doesn’t mention the word ‘marriage.’” Clearly both abortion and marriage are now back on the block.
How could that be? A majority of Americans support a woman’s right to choose whether to have an abortion, and 70% now support same-sex marriage, including 55% of Republicans. Why are we allowing bigotry and ignorance to drive judicial decisions instead of the will of “we the people”?
Growing up I never imagined I’d be able to marry a man, but I did just that in California in 2013. Obergefell made that right nationwide two years later, and I never imagined it could be taken away. But I’m starting to worry – and so should the half million married same-sex couples in the United States.
Looking for hope, I return to the story of Fezco, who was quickly adopted by a gay couple and rechristened Oscar (as in Wilde, the late gay poet).
The question before the rest of us is this: What can we do about this new wave of bigotry and ignorance? The first step is to recognize what’s right before our eyes. And, then, if you believe in kindness, compassion and fairness – for four-leggeds as well as two-leggeds – speak up and speak out.
Steven Petrow, a writer on civility and manners and a member of USA TODAY’S Board of Contributors, is the author of five etiquette books. Follow him on Twitter: @stevenpetrow.