I don't know who first labelled us "homocons", but the label stuck. It's a contraction of "homosexual conservative", but it's being applied to many, mostly Libertarians, who are not technically conservatives.
The term caught on, despite its inexactness, because an umbrella term is needed for us gay Republicans and Libertarians and Objectivists and Democrats-who-deplore-the-far-left-bias-that-has-taken-over-their-party.
Indeed, the term "conservative" itself can be misleading, as many conservative thinkers have pointed out. The term should be used to describe people who want to conserve an existing state of affairs, but two conservative heroes, President Ronald Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, both made significant changes in their countries, much to the benefit of both. The brilliant philosopher Thomas Sowell pointed out that "black conservatives", of which he is one, certainly have no past time they wish to conserve or return to; black Americans went from slavery to segregation to affirmative action. Similarly, a Jewish conservative hardly wishes to return to quotas, shtetls or ghettoes. However, the term is the generally used and understood one right now.
So how do I decide who belongs on my highly inclusive "homocon" website? Well, gay Republicans obviously belong here. Gay Libertarians do as well, because there is a great deal of common ground between Republicans and Libertarians. This is because the values of Libertarians — individual rights and freedoms — have traditionally been important in America. We conservatives like tradition (among other things). So American Libertarians are conservatives by accident, and are often inaccurately referred to as such; most of them don't really care that much about tradition in itself, but they happen to like the ones we have here.
Thus far, Tammy Bruce is the only registered Democrat whose work is referenced on this site. She is often featured on Fox News and her columns appear on numerous conservative websites, and while she is gay and pro-choice she is also pro-death penalty and pro-war on terrorism, and she voted for Reagan. She keeps her Democratic registration because she refuses to abandon her party. It seems there was once a time when not all Democrats were insane, but I'm too young to remember it. Ms. Bruce has denied accusations that she has "moved to the right" by saying that she stood still while everybody else in her party moved further and further to the left.
The TV series The West Wing has featured a gay Republican congressman. I have to digress here to compliment the show's portrayal of Republicans; ironically, the show is blatantly pro-Democrat and yet its depiction of Republicans is actually accurate! This is because they use genuine prominent Republicans as consultants for their dialogue. Their depiction of Democrats, however, is clearly skewed by their desire to promote the donkey party. In the episode "The Portland Trip", we are presented with the improbable scenario of a compassionate, enlightened Democratic president who is just dying to legalize gay marriage, but all those other mean people — not just Republicans, but the 60% of ordinary Americans, crossing party lines, who oppose it — just won't let him. I guess this was supposed to make us all forget the reality of what Democratic presidents are like.
But on the plus side, this episode (complete transcript here) gives us Matthew Skinner, gay Republican congressman, making our case:
"You know, I never understand why you gun control people don't all join the N.R.A. They've got two million members. You bring three million to the next meeting... call a vote... All those in favor of tossing guns — Bam! Move on.... I agree with 95% of the Republican platform. I believe in local government. I'm in favor of individual rights rather than group rights. I believe free markets lead to free people and that the country needs a strong national defense. My life doesn't have to be about being a homosexual. It doesn't have to be entirely about that."
Rich Tafel, former executive director of the Log Cabin Republicans, pointed out that among homosexuals, some of us are radicals, who want to change and overthrow everything, while others of us are "assimiliationists", meaning that we believe that the basic societal structure is sound, we just believe it needs some reform. A homocon is an assimiliationist.
I think the best summary of the homocon attitude — and I am using the term "homocon", as usual, in its broadest sense, so that it includes Libertarians and Tammy Bruce — is the one the neoconservative Marvin Liebman gave us in his book Coming Out Conservative: "the conservative view, based as it is on the inherent rights of the individual over the state, is the logical political home of gay men and woman." Let me paraphrase: Conservatism is about individual rights and individual responsibilities, and as such is the natural home of the gay rights movement.
A homocon is not Andrew Sullivan. Or rather, Andrew Sullivan is not a Republican and not a conservative, though the media won't stop calling him both. He voted for and endorsed John Kerry. He supported the judicial murder of Terri Schiavo, parroting the brainless argument that obstructing a man's efforts to murder his wife is a violation of the sanctity of marriage. (Personally, my own enthusiasm for gay marriage has dimmed considerably now that it's been demonstrated that my wife would have the power to have me subjected to a slow and agonizing death.) He has stated, "Take national security away, and I'm much closer to moderate Democrats than 90 percent of the big spending, moralizing Republicans." And finally, he dutifully recited the tolerant left-wing mantra: "Maybe some gays will vote for Bush this time around. But they must know it's a little like chickens voting for Colonel Sanders." (link) No one who rehashes this hackneyed potshot can expect to be taken seriously.
Lavender (But Not Pink), or, How Can You Be Gay and Conservative?
Books That Belong in Every Right-Wing Queer's Library.
Gay Marriage.
Gays in the Military.
Homocons and AIDS
Links of interest.
Outing Gay Republicans: The New McCarthyism
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