Letters

Campbell Spears Spear Again

For the historical record, Lavender might like to note that Senator Allan Spear’s 1974 coming out was not seen by many leading Minnesota gays at the time as particularly “courageous.” Spear came out only under strong threat of “outing.” It is probably even true that so many people in public life already knew he was gay by the time he came out, his interview with the local newspaper was pretty anticlimactic.

Personally, I would withhold the title “preeminent” gay political figure for someone who fought more consistently for gay marriage, and against the persecution of gay men for certain rather popular quickie-sex opportunities. Until we can marry, and have Lewinskies as casually as Bill Clinton, we are not equal.

Hello to all my friends in Minnesota.

Tim Campbell
Houston Texas

Note: Preeminent himself, Tim Campbell was the Publisher and Editor of the now-defunct local GLC Voice Newspaper from 1979 to 1992. He held a longstanding dislike of the late Senator Allan Spear, whose politics were markedly different from Campbell’s.

—George Holdgrafer