Perpetuating pride

LGBT people in Wisconsin have a lot to be proud of.

Our state was the first in the nation to ban anti-gay employment discrimination (1982) and the first to elect an out gay or lesbian non-incumbent (Tammy Baldwin) to Congress.

Wisconsin is one of only 14 states where legislatures have enacted some form of recognition for same-sex couples. And Milwaukee hosts a Pride festival every June that’s widely considered one of the nation’s best.

But despite all this, our LGBT community has a long way to go.

Community events are often sparsely attended and our organizations tend to be poorly supported. The “isms” that pervade American society as a whole – racism, sexism, ageism, etc. – also divide our community. Many gay and lesbian Wisconsinites still live in the closet out of fear, both real and perceived, of losing their jobs, their friends and their social standing.

The state’s LGBT community faces a number of urgent challenges. More of us continue to live unhealthy lifestyles than our straight counterparts, with higher rates of smoking as well as alcohol and drug abuse. HIV infections among young gay and bisexual men, particularly African-American men, are on the rise. Also, hate-motivated violence toward us, as evidenced by the recent slaying of Milwaukee transgender woman Dana Larkin, persists.

The November mid-term elections pose a serious threat to the political gains LGBT people have made in the state. The Republican Party here, as elsewhere, has taken a sharp turn to the social right, pushed by the Tea Party movement. As the party that’s now out of power, Republicans stand a strong chance of capitalizing on voter disaffection over the economy to seize control of the Legislature and the Governor’s mansion. If this occurs, some of the positive developments we’ve seen in recent years, including the establishment of the state’s domestic partnership registry, will be imperiled.

As we join with people throughout the world in celebrating LGBT Pride this month, let’s recommit to our community by becoming more involved, more inclusive and more politically engaged. We must remember that the freedoms we enjoy today were not just handed to us, but won through decades of activism and perseverance.

That’s something to be proud of, and something we must continue.

Listecki culpa

Marquette University ended an exhaustive two-year search for a new dean of its college of arts and sciences in April, when officials offered the position to out lesbian scholar Jodi O’Brien. The search committee interviewed her several times, reviewed her academic record and decided she was the best candidate for the job.

But shortly after O’Brien accepted Marquette’s offer, university president Robert A. Wild abruptly withdrew it, making vague references to writings she’d published in peer-reviewed academic journals about lesbian sex and same-sex marriage. These writings, already well-known to the search committee, were deemed incompatible with Marquette’s Roman Catholic mission.

As the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported last week, Wild’s change of heart came after pressure was exerted by new Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki. His opposition to O’Brien is hardly surprising, given the hard-line activism he demonstrated as head of the Diocese of La Crosse.

But diocesan politics have no place at a research institution. Listecki’s interference has opened deep wounds within the Marquette University community and cast a shadow over the university’s reputation.

All Jesuit universities face a difficult balancing act. They must provide the academic freedom needed to produce ground-breaking scholarship without collapsing the framework of Roman Catholic theology that hovers just overhead.

For years, Marquette University managed to successfully navigate these sometimes conflicting interests. But Listecki has thrown the state’s largest private university seriously off course, sending shock waves throughout academia.

Listecki’s action will cost the university in terms of the quality of faculty it will be able to attract in the future. The insinuation of church intervention into scholarship coupled with the shockingly unprofessional manner in which O’Brien’s job offer was handled will deter the best and brightest from seeking positions at Marquette.

Many of the most gifted and ambitious students will also be wary of applying to a school whose name on their degrees might be associated with academic controversy. LGBT students especially will be turned off.

In one misguided application of homophobia, Listecki has immeasurably tarnished the Marquette University brand.