All this anti-gay legislation popping up in Arizona, Uganda, and even Washington is troubling for its permission of discrimination, of course, but I'm also troubled by another facet that I haven't seen discussed much. When we talk about anti-gay legislation, what do we mean by 'gay'?
You see, if a government were to say specifically that it is all right to discriminate against 'gay' people, or 'homosexual' people, what exactly do they mean by that, and who gets to make the determination? If I don't consider myself to be 'gay', but a business owner does, can that business owner refuse to grant services to me on that basis? Whose call is it?
Eventually what this will require is for the government to develop a clear definition of 'gay', so that we can all know who is and who isn't.
Does the definition require one to have had some sort of intercourse with someone of the same sex? If so, would the government need to prove that? How would they do so?
Is it just 'gay' thoughts? Will there be chips installed in people's heads to moniitor these? Will our reactions to different pictures be monitored and catalogued? I'm not even being facetious; I actually do not understand how such an is-or-isn't determination could possibly be made.
Does the definition require someone to state in public that they are 'gay'? What if they take it back? What if it was a joke? Is there a form to be signed? An affidavit? An oath? A club? A box to be checked on our taxes? A certain patina that can be verified spectrophotometrically?
I just think it would be really quite astonishing to have legislation treat people differently because of personal things they may or may not do, or thoughts they may or may not have, which can't even be proven. Would the government issue a letter to be worn? A big sparkly "G"? Would that make it easier for everyone?
Again, none of this is in the least facetious. How people are to be officially defined as 'gay', and how we are to keep track of that for legislative purposes, is a question I simply do not have an answer for.
Maybe someone could help me with that?