HOME > VIEWPOINT > LETTERS
COMMENTS
 
To the Editors:
Re “New HRC boss tied to ‘inner circle’” (news, March
18):
The group of LGBT leaders who became known as the “Boston Mafia” —
not the “Massachusetts Mafia,” and why would we want to label our
own with such a distasteful moniker? — was not limited to the Human Rights
Campaign alone.
The group included Urvashi Vaid (then the executive director of the National
Gay & Lesbian Task Force), Kevin Cathcart (Lambda Legal’s director),
Richard Burns (then-head of the New York LGBT Center), Eric Rofes (head of the
Los Angeles LGBT Center in the mid-1980s), Sue Hyde (NGLTF’s Creating
Change producer), and me (HRC executive director from 1989 to 1995).
There were other early leaders from the Boston area as well: Congressmen Barney
Frank and Gerry Studds (who were the only “out” members for many
years), author Brian McNaught, political activists Ann Maguire, Martha Jones,
Vin McCarthy, Steven Tierney, Joe Martin, Arlene Isaacson, not to mention Elaine
Noble, the first open lesbian elected to a state legislature (in 1974).
The legacy of that group continues with leaders like Cheryl Jacques, Mary Bonauto
and Gary Buseck, Log Cabin Republicans leader Patrick Guerriero, and HRC’s
new president, Joe Solmonese.
That so many LGBT movement leaders came from the Boston area is largely serendipitous
in my view, but the fact that Boston’s universities attracted many of
us has to be a factor. Few of us were actually born in Boston.
In addition, the liberal, some would say revolutionary, atmosphere of Boston
in the mid-1970s allowed us to be open earlier than our colleagues elsewhere.
The influence of the Gay Community News collective was also a determinant, as
was the courage of leaders like Noble and David Scondras, who blazed trails
for all of us.
Obviously none of these historic facts has anything to do with HRC’s
perceived powerbrokers. The two stories have no alignment at all. I hope we
can replace the old label “Boston mafia” and the more alliterative
term, “Massachusetts mafia,” with something more accurate like the
“Massachusetts missionaries.”
It was and remains a privilege to be part of a group of people who early on
devoted their professional lives to the mission of the LGBT movement.
Washington
To the Editors:
Re “A black mark for Black Party” (editorial by Steve Weinstein,
March 18):
I want to thank Steve Weinstein for an honest and open evaluation of the persistent
efforts by some to totally destroy members of the gay community.
I’m constantly perplexed by the self-defeating behaviors that are completely
detrimental to gay men. Yet many pretend that we are helpless to stop the onslaught
of AIDS, so it’s acceptable to promote its prevalence in our community.
Knowing how AIDS is transmitted and still choosing to engage in those behaviors
is complete cowardice. Weinstein should be commended for being the voice of
reason in a sea of voices that have decided to self-destruct.
Washington
To the Editors:
With the news that Democrat Bob Casey, the opponent of incumbent homophobic
Senator Rick Santorum, has a slim lead, (“Leading anti-gay senator faces
2006 challenge,” news, March 18) we should view this as a golden opportunity.
Gays and our allies from all over the country should zero in on this election
like none other and pour money and volunteers into Casey’s campaign. We
should go after this anti-gay senator for his vile anti-gay stance the way our
opponents attack.
By defeating this despicable politician and short-circuiting what would have
seemed like a promising future for him, it would send a strikingly clear message
to all politicians and pundits that gays are indeed a force that needs to be
dealt with.
Clarksville, Md.
To the Editors:
A California judge held March 14 that gay couples — including one that
has been together 51 years — are entitled to the same legal rights as
any other married couples. (news, March 18).
Judges in New York City, Washington state and, of course Massachusetts, have
found the same thing.
This is great news for Republicans, who scare the ...
| 
