From: WildcatPrs@aol.com

Sen. Peter Hoekstra (R, Mich) isn't as bad as some in the gay community make him out to be. He was the chairperson of the 1995 House investigation of "influence of homosexuals in education," which got foisted on him through Newt Gingrich's promise to Lou Sheldon that the House would investigate.

Here in Los Angeles, I and other members of the Gay & Lesbian Education Commission were very concerned about this hearing, as GLEC was at the top of Sheldon's official hit list, along with Project 10, EAGLES Center and other programs in the L.A. Unified School District that are beneficial to LGBT students. Hoekstra may not have been all that happy that someone like Sheldon could order up a House probe with a snap of his fingers. Through the efforts of PFLAG and Log Cabin Republicans, Hoekstra was willing to schedule 4 witnesses for our side. Thus it was, on the day of the hearings, that Sheldon had to sit there and listen to (among others) PFLAG leader Mary Griffith tell the story of her son's suicide, and how her religious strictness was a contributing factor. People who were there told me that this testimony affected a number of Congress members deeply. Thanks to Hoekstra's willingness to listen, a religious-right dog-and-pony show was turned into an opportunity to have LGBT youth issues aired in Congress for the first time. I think Hoekstra should have some credit for his open-mindedness. It is important for us to pursue communication with conservatives like him, and not just write them off as anti-gay moralist pinheads.

Patricia Nell Warren
Wildcat Press