Former Long Beach City Council member Douglas Drummond, 72, was turned down for the job by the California State Senate “for voicing support of Fidel Castro’s sequestering of gays in Cuba, applauding the fact that same-sex couples don’t reproduce and saying about gay political activity: ‘How do we deal with it short of killing them?'” Drummond argued he made amends for those 1993 comments by donating to gay organizations and marching in gay pride parades; during the Senate confirmation hearing, he apologized and admitted “I wrong wrong. It was awful.” [LAT]
Schwarzenegger’s Parole Board Pick Nixed For Wanting to Kill Gay Activists
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AlanInSLC
Sometimes there are just things said that shouldn’t be forgiven or forgotten. His comments fall in that catagory.
paulied
You do not make amends for such outrageous bigotry by donating a few dollars to gay organizations or marching in gay pride parades; you make amends by disappearing into obscurity and never being seen or heard from again.
my_god_joe
Really? He who casts the 1st stone… the man has gone out of his way to make amends, which is more than I can say for most people.
Bri
He marched in gay pride parades? Not sure they should have let him.
Sceth
He timed those amends with his political campaign for public office. Clearly he now sees the importance of not bringing indignation to Teh Gay, but I think his past betrays what he will do if he gets an excuse.
Bruno
It should be noted the parole board voted 3-2 to nix him. TWO of them thought this guy would serve the community well. I guess he showed them pictures of himself on one of those nifty Pride floats?
ksu499
I’d have to say I’d have to look at what he’s done and said since then. A lot can change in 15 years.
paulied
@Bruno: And let’s not forget the governor’s nomination.
Alec
@Bruno: I thought that was the senate committee vote?
@ksu499: While I agree that a lot can change, he timed his participation in gay pride and his donations to coincide with his appointment. Moreover, the statement is pretty heinous. What can they do short of killing us?
And finally, the statement was made in 1993, not 1955.
Raphael
@my_god_joe:
If you read the article, you’ll see that his efforts to make ammends exactly coincided with his run for mayor of Long Beach.
The sincerity of his remorse is entirely open to question.
Jake the libertarian
Just gonna say it here. Sometimes former bigots can prove to be quite useful when they know they have to toe the line. Robert Byrd has been a strong black supporter as a forgiven KKK member. The blacks own him because he can never get out of line with his past. A few of those for us homos wouldn’t be so bad.
Alec
@Jake the libertarian: In a world where same-sex marriage is voted down in California, I don’t think they’re that useful….yet. It took a revolution in consciousness to transform Byrd (who was a major DOMA supporter, btw). We’re not there yet.
Jake the libertarian
Haha, per my name, I am not going to be a Byrd supporter. But having a politician by the short and curlies by being able to end his career is useful.
I would argue that supporting this assholes insincere apology and making sure he knows that he now works for us is better than sending him into obscurity. He has to act right. Now, as he will not be on an appointed board, and his political career is over, thanks to gays (please don’t misunderstand me here, I don’t really give a fuck what happens to this guy)… Guess who will be an enemy instead of a reluctant ally.
Alec
@Jake the libertarian: An enemy of that magnitude is harmless in California.
Anyway, I wouldn’t want someone like that on a parole board in any event, however “reformed” they purport to be.
DeAnimator
Donations do not make up for hate. You can’t throw money at something like that.
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