Anti-LGBTQ attacks show that the fight is not over
-- Finally, just this past week, in San Diego, in what authorities are calling a hate crime, a gunman opened fire in the Hillcrest neighborhood, which is considered the epicenter of the city's LGBTQ community. Armed with a high-powered AR-15 rifle, Stefano Parker allegedly shot 19 rounds through the window of restaurant after posting an anti-LGBTQ comment on Facebook. There were nine people in the establishment, but no one was hurt. Parker was charged with nine counts of attempted murder.
Just curious. What decade is this? I'm asking for friends and family.
The conventional thinking is that -- with millions of dollars in AIDS funding, the Supreme Court having struck down laws banning gay marriage, and scores of LGBTQ characters and storylines on film and television -- all the battles have been fought and won.
Not even close. Members of that community say they fear a rollback of hard-earned rights, privileges and protections, and that they'll force the issue in the 2020 presidential election. This is the conversation America needs to have.
In the 1990s, the mealy-mouthed compromise was: "Don't ask, don't tell." Today, in many families, it's more like: "Don't talk, don't share."
Our fellow Americans are hurting. They're marginalized, threatened and beaten. Then they're told there is something wrong with them.
This has to f------ stop!
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Ruben Navarrette's email address is ruben@rubennavarrette.com.
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