# Fine day for persecuting gays: Bush, "deathstyle" gay basher, and sodomy laws **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 24, 2003, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fine-day-for-persecuting-gays-bush-deathstyle-gay-basher-and-sodomy-laws/150697 "2003-01-24T20:33:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fine-day-for-persecuting-gays-bush-deathstyle-gay-basher-and-sodomy-laws/150697/1 "2003-01-24T20:33:35Z")
[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30410-2003Jan22.html](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30410-2003Jan22.html) Great. A Bob Jones graduate and teacher, who says things like this: “Homosexuality is not inborn biologically, just as incest and bestiality are not inborn. Studies have show that thousands of homosexuals have been set free from this sin.” This, guy, as of next week, is on the HHS panel for dealing with AIDS and HIV. Fucking wonderful. He and Bob Jones University have also apparently hidden away some of his more egregious web material and speech transcripts. Well, then there’s this: those harmless sodomy laws at work: people are still trying to use them to bar gay people from government jobs like judgeships. Luckily Virginia wised up and voted this lady in anyway. [http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page=\Nation\archive\200301\NAT20030122b.html](http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page=%5CNation%5Carchive%5C200301%5CNAT20030122b.html) But then there’s this, trying to prove that she’s either a hypocrite or a criminal: “I don’t think there’s any homosexual without the ‘sexual’. In other words, this idea of identity without actions is nonsense, it’s non-existent,” Knight said. “To forge an identity based on engaging in a wrongful activity such as homosexuality shows, at the least, lack of judgment.” ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fine-day-for-persecuting-gays-bush-deathstyle-gay-basher-and-sodomy-laws/150697/2 "2003-01-24T20:37:29Z")
Fortunately Jerry Thacker has withdrawn from the council. But it is still distressing that he was nominated to begin with. ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fine-day-for-persecuting-gays-bush-deathstyle-gay-basher-and-sodomy-laws/150697/3 "2003-01-24T20:59:34Z")
> [@](#): > > “I don’t think there’s any homosexual without the ‘sexual’. In other words, this idea of identity without actions is nonsense, it’s non-existent,” Knight said. “To forge an identity based on engaging in a wrongful activity such as homosexuality shows, at the least, lack of judgment.” For what’s it’s worth, I’m Heterosexual and yet I haven’t done anything sexual with the opposite sex. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![grendel72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/91b2a8/32.png) [@grendel72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grendel72)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fine-day-for-persecuting-gays-bush-deathstyle-gay-basher-and-sodomy-laws/150697/4 "2003-01-24T21:03:21Z")
Fuck fuckity fuck fuck fuck. I’m just going to have to quit reading these threads, or pretty fuckin’ soon my head is going to explode. What the hell is wrong with people. Do they just _like_ being ignorant pieces of shit? ---
**Author:** ![Profane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47774/32.png) [@Profane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Profane)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fine-day-for-persecuting-gays-bush-deathstyle-gay-basher-and-sodomy-laws/150697/5 "2003-01-24T21:06:39Z")
I’m so glad I live in Virginia. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Sterra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@Sterra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sterra)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fine-day-for-persecuting-gays-bush-deathstyle-gay-basher-and-sodomy-laws/150697/6 "2003-01-24T21:21:36Z")
Bush seems to like to try to appoint people that support his views and then have them withdraw if word actually gets out about what those views are. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fine-day-for-persecuting-gays-bush-deathstyle-gay-basher-and-sodomy-laws/150697/7 "2003-01-24T21:27:12Z")
Yeah, that’s the pisser about the whole thing. Bush knew damn well what this guy’s views were, and as soon as it got too hot for him, he flip-flopped. ---
**Author:** ![light\_strand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a6a055/32.png) [@light\_strand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/light_strand)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fine-day-for-persecuting-gays-bush-deathstyle-gay-basher-and-sodomy-laws/150697/8 "2003-01-24T21:29:55Z")
[Here’s](http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=2101104) a bit more about Mr. Thacker. He’s called AIDS a “gay plague” and “AIDS was something that bad people had to worry about”. He’s also called homosexuality a “[deathstyle](http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=7460)” and believes that Christians can “rescue” gays. I’m with Homebrew, on this one. It’s not so disturbing that he has these views, many people do, it’s very disturbing that the Bush administration did so little homework on this guy that they thought he should serve on this committee. ---
**Author:** ![grendel72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/91b2a8/32.png) [@grendel72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grendel72)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fine-day-for-persecuting-gays-bush-deathstyle-gay-basher-and-sodomy-laws/150697/9 "2003-01-24T21:51:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sterra \* > \*\*Bush seems to like to try to appoint people that support his views and then have them withdraw if word actually gets out about what those views are. \*\* To be fair, I don’t think Bush supports the views of the extremist bigots he appoints. I think the problem is that he doesn’t _get it_, he doesn’t understand just how appaling those views are. He thinks it’s a minor issue that can be ignored. ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fine-day-for-persecuting-gays-bush-deathstyle-gay-basher-and-sodomy-laws/150697/10 "2003-01-24T21:54:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by light strand \* > \*\* It’s not so disturbing that he has these views, many people do, it’s very disturbing that the Bush administration did so little homework on this guy that they thought he should serve on this committee. \*\* I wouldn’t assume that they weren’t aware of at least some of these views. ---
**Author:** ![december](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@december](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/december)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fine-day-for-persecuting-gays-bush-deathstyle-gay-basher-and-sodomy-laws/150697/11 "2003-01-24T22:07:23Z")
Jerry Thacker’s selection to an AIDS panel must have appeared reasonable to the person who selected him, because _Thacker and his wife both are HIV positive._ I agree that his homophobia makes him a terrible choice, and I’m relieved that he resigned. However Bush deserves credit for appointing a number of “out” gays to various positions. > [@](#): > > But President George Bush has quietly nominated six gay men for positions in his administration, including the recent appointment of another gay San Franciscan to a board that could play a key role in the war on terrorism – and the nominations have been approved with comparatively little opposition. ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fine-day-for-persecuting-gays-bush-deathstyle-gay-basher-and-sodomy-laws/150697/12 "2003-01-24T22:17:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by december \* > \*\*Jerry Thacker’s selection to an AIDS panel must have appeared reasonable to the person who selected him, because _Thacker and his wife both are HIV positive._ I agree that his homophobia makes him a terrible choice, and I’m relieved that he resigned. \*\* what qualifications did he bring to the panel, other than the fact that he was HIV positive (and, BTW, had contracted it via his wife who’d gotten it through a blood transfusion, IIRC, one of the lesser likely means of transmission presently)?? ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fine-day-for-persecuting-gays-bush-deathstyle-gay-basher-and-sodomy-laws/150697/13 "2003-01-24T22:18:08Z")
What the hell has happened to Virginia? It was the seat of classical liberalism at one time. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fine-day-for-persecuting-gays-bush-deathstyle-gay-basher-and-sodomy-laws/150697/14 "2003-01-24T22:26:48Z")
My guess is that the Bush administration knew perfectly well what his qualifications were, and he never really expected him to be placed on the panel. By nominating him, however, he send a message to the fundie right that he is on the same page with them on this issue. Later on, WorldNetDaily and CNS News will try to make it look like he was kept off the panel by the Evil Liberal Conspiracy. From the article in the OP: > [@](#): > > …Thacker, a former Bob Jones University employee, who says he contracted the AIDS virus after his wife was infected through a blood transfusion. Maybe it’s my inherent distrust of anyone who spouts the sort of hateful rhetoric Thacker spouts…but does this set off anyone else’s bullshit detector? It just seems like an awfully pious way to contract HIV, and a fairly unlikely one. (Certainly possible, of course, but not likely.) Dr. J ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fine-day-for-persecuting-gays-bush-deathstyle-gay-basher-and-sodomy-laws/150697/15 "2003-01-24T22:37:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Libertarian \* > \*\*What the hell has happened to Virginia? It was the seat of classical liberalism at one time. \*\* The press leaked something about Jefferson’s stance on slavery… ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fine-day-for-persecuting-gays-bush-deathstyle-gay-basher-and-sodomy-laws/150697/16 "2003-01-24T23:58:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by grendel72 \* > \*\*What the hell is wrong with people. Do they just _like_ being ignorant pieces of shit? \*\* No, just electing them. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2003, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fine-day-for-persecuting-gays-bush-deathstyle-gay-basher-and-sodomy-laws/150697/17 "2003-01-25T00:18:02Z")
> [@](#): > > Kent said the state legislature has every legal right to rescind Askew’s judgeship for the sole reason that she is a lesbian, and by definition, is in violation of Virginia’s sodomy law. I hear it all the time from the fundies: “we’re not doing anything against homosexuals.” Excuse me, but do you think it’s political pressure from the _rest of us_ that keeps those laws on the books? ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2003, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fine-day-for-persecuting-gays-bush-deathstyle-gay-basher-and-sodomy-laws/150697/18 "2003-01-25T00:33:13Z")
You know, this whole thread makes me wonder just how reprehensible a politician’s viewpoints have to be before the average Joe in the citizenry who generally agrees with the politican’s party stop defending him. I mean, on both sides of the political aisle, whenever a politico or politico’s appointment does or says something most in the mainstream would consider “bad,” there are all sorts of people falling all over themselves to defend that person, saying statements were taken out of context, or points of view repudiated. It just makes it feel all the more odd, to me, when NO ONE (except maybe radical fringes) steps up to talk about how unfairly treated this person was, especially on a politically aware message board like this… ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2003, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fine-day-for-persecuting-gays-bush-deathstyle-gay-basher-and-sodomy-laws/150697/19 "2003-01-25T00:34:04Z")
i see, and of course every woman in virginia who owns a dildo or vibrator is also going to be fired on the basis of the so-called sodomy law? thought not. i love the way that a country which purports to separate church and state blatantly doesn’t. l ---
**Author:** ![december](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@december](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/december)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2003, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fine-day-for-persecuting-gays-bush-deathstyle-gay-basher-and-sodomy-laws/150697/20 "2003-01-25T02:57:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by wring \* > \*\*what qualifications did he bring to the panel, other than the fact that he was HIV positive (and, BTW, had contracted it via his wife who’d gotten it through a blood transfusion, IIRC, one of the lesser likely means of transmission presently)?? \*\* His biography [here](http://www.rightideas.us/about.asp?flag=jerry) makes him sound like an ideal member of a Presidential AIDS panel – an AIDS sufferer, who is an expert in marketing, has written a book about AIDS, who does work in AIDS prevention, and whose message has been presented in churches, pastor’s seminars, at private and public school assemblies, for civic groups and on college campuses. However, I’m very glad he’s off the panel. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fine-day-for-persecuting-gays-bush-deathstyle-gay-basher-and-sodomy-laws/150697.md?page=2)