There is a recent story about the Republican Congressman from Phoenix Arizona that is against marriage equality even though his son is gay. I feel sorry for him, letting his hate and insecurities overwhelm his love for his son, but there is more to this.
Obviously the external pressure on him from the outside to conform to the Party politics is immense. His district in the conservative suburbs of Phoenix and his Mormon church, will kick him out the moment he changes his view — a view about the evils of homosexuality that he has been loud and proud about — so maybe there is more than a little bit of trying to save his own butt.
In fact, there is a heartbreaking interview with his son and his son's boyfriend in the Phoenix New Times from September 2010:
(This is an archived page, so the formatting is bad. Scroll down a bit and you will see the article.)
When Salmon's parents learned in January that Kent wasn't just a friend but was dating their son, he was no longer invited to come around. "The thing is, they like Kent," Salmon says. "They think he's an awesome person. They just don't like me being in a gay relationship. They don't like that we're together."
"Everybody's pretty much told me, 'You're fine, we love you, but your partner's not welcome because we don't want gay around us,'" Salmon says. "And I'm like, 'Well, I am gay. What if he doesn't act gay? Is that okay? Can he come around?'"
So when Rep. Matt J. Salmon says "My son is by far one of the most important people in my life. I love him more than I can say…" it is important to remember that however much he loves his son, he loves his office and church a bit more.
Now we see that the 3TV News interview is just a desperate attempt at playing both sides. A bit like Obama's "evolving" view on marriage equality, Salmon is hinting to the progressive part of his audience that he might change his view Real Soon Now , while at the same time reassuring his church and electorate that he holds steadfast in his bigotry.
Matt Salmon's generation of homophobic politicians is coming to an end at a record pace. Maybe we will have an openly gay or lesbian president in my life time. Who knows, maybe it will be his son, Matt R. Salmon, that breaks that barrier.
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