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Speaks Simultaneously against 'Hate Crime' Legislation Author Grants a Unique Interview in Genre's April Issue |
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Compiled By GayToday
Having authored, he says, "the first American novel to treat homosexuality as something normal and natural" Vidal tackles issues such as gay marriage, hate crimes, and police and political corruption. In the heat of recent political debates over the proposed legalization of gay marriages, Vidal offers an opinion that is almost contemptuous of such moves. He says: "Of all the non-issues on Earth, this is the greatest." He argues that one of the best features of "same sexuality" is that the heterosexual family structure is not a social expectation.
Vidal also considers "hate crime" to be an un-Constitutional label, reasoning that it is not the court's place to judge motivation. The logic, he claims, is backwards. "You judge the law on which the crime was based: Was it constitutional? That's all you have to do, not sit around and say, 'Oh, he did that because he hated Chinese lesbians and was just waiting for the chance to drown them in a cauldron of wonton soup.' It is rather tortured to try and bring this sort of thing in as evidence. Stick to the facts." Vidal's own hypothetical political platform would focus on a drastic reduction of defense spending, an increase in funding for social welfare, and "the disestablishment of the CIA - the secret police." |
