Wednesday, June 26, 2013

A Straight Republican at Pride: An Invitation to a Conversation, Not a War

I met this bright, articulate fellow Episcopalian at a high class whiskey bar called "Proof" some months ago. I was with my wife and our son and his wife and one of my daughters enjoying a farewell evening before my son and his wife shipped out to her new Navy post in Hawaii. He told me that he was sure that he would be the first, and perhaps only, Irish-Puerto Rican that I would ever meet. Joseph Adamje ("AJ") Feeney Ruiz. A Republican who is an LGBT ally. When he found out that I am a South Carolina Episcopal Priest, he said, "I have a question. 'Why can't we, as Christians just get along?'" I offer you this article as food for thought, and to invite everyone to a conversation, not a war.

A Straight Republican at Pride               AJ_Feeney-Ruiz_WEB.png                          

Posted by   on Wed, Jun 26, 2013 at 4:00 PM

Guest writer for NUVO "Indy's Alternative Voice"

"Bill is just a part of why I have been an LGBT ally as long as I can remember. Being an ally isn't particularly easy as a straight Republican, yet not for the reasons you may think. Of course I get flack from some on the fringes on the far right, but the most resistance I've encountered has been from staunch Democrats. As a former two-time candidate for elected office in Downtown Indy, I cannot tell you how many times Democrats, many of whom are gay, have tried to "out" me as a political maneuver — to try to shame me if I was gay.
I wouldn't be ashamed if I was gay. I'm not, and this is the first time I've ever really put that out there. But there is a point. I am ashamed of my Democrat friends attempting to make a political issue of Republicans having the audacity to participate in the Indy Pride festivities on June 9."  

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