Moving the Conversation Forward

Every day in my work at GLAAD, I see the power that personal stories have to change hearts and minds about the issues that matter most to our community, issues that play a direct role in how we take care of the ones that we love, how secure we feel that we’ll be evaluated based on our work alone when we’re on the job and how safe we are in our communities.

More and more, our issues have played a meaningful role in the national conversation around the election, and that has a lot to do with the fact that our stories have been front and center in the media, creating opportunities for people to feel comfortable being open at home, at work, at their places of worship and in their communities.

However, unlike his counterparts, Sen. John McCain has been relatively silent on the key issues facing our community, though he has voiced opposition to marriage for gay and lesbian couples and previously supported a ballot initiative in his home state of Arizona (though he’s said he would not support a federal marriage ban).  However, the media coverage of his stance on issues like employment and hate crimes – not to mention marriage – has been scant compared to coverage of Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama’s stance on those same issues.

Today, that changed.  Sen. McCain appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres show, and Ellen asked him point-blank about his stance on marriage – and, as always, used her disarming sense of humor to drive the point home.

It was an awkward exchange – for a very important reason.  When politicians speak about our issues in the abstract, it’s easier for them to dismiss the importance of our issues.  Sen. McCain couldn’t do that – people know Ellen. And Portia.  And as the audience response to both her initial announcement and her comments to McCain suggest, they fully support Ellen and Portia’s love and commitment to one another and their wish to be able to take care of each other.

The moment underscores just how important both our stories and their presence in the media have for our community.  Though Sen. McCain said that he and Ellen had a “respectful disagreement” on the issue, those in the studio audience and watching at home knew what that “disagreement” might mean for Ellen and Portia.

With the recent California State Supreme Court ruling on marriage, our issues are back at the forefront of the national conversation in an election year with high stakes for our community. Thankfully, we all have an opportunity to make a difference by sharing our stories.  And while they may not reach the same audience as Ellen’s, they still have tremendous power to change the hearts and minds of those who will play a significant role in determining what happens next for our community come November.

Rashad Robinson is the Senior Director of Media Programs