By Kathleen Gilbert
January 12, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - More influential political positions in Western Europe are being taken over by individuals who openly profess themselves as homosexual.
A Time.com article to be published January 18 highlights the ascendency of several open homosexuals in various positions across Europe. The most widely-publicized of these is Iceland's Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir, who was elected last February, thereby becoming the first openly homosexual world leader.
Interestingly, Sigurdardottir’s sexual orientation reportedly received little media attention within Iceland itself. Margret Bjornsdottir, the director of the Institute for Public Administration and Politics at the University of Iceland, told Time: "The media silence echoed the sentiment of the public. Nobody cared about her sexual orientation. Being gay is a nonissue here. It's considered unremarkable."
While Iceland's highly pro-homosexual culture may be unusual, it is not the only place to see increased acceptance of homosexuality among elected officials. There are 11 openly homosexual men and women, two of them Cabinet members, in the British Parliament. There, both political parties have taken steps to welcome homosexuality with open arms: top Conservative officials in October took a shot at their reputation as being anti-gay by hosting the party's "first official conference gay night" at a gay bar in Manchester as part of a broader party conference.
In France, President Nicolas Sarkozy appointed gay television presenter Frédéric Mitterrand as Minister of Culture in June. Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoë, a member of the Socialist Party and an open homosexual, is considered a potential candidate for the French Presidency in 2012.
Germany's top homosexual officials include Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor Guido Westerwelle, Berlin mayor Klaus Wowereit, and Hamburg mayor Ole von Beust.
While not a government official, LGBT Youth Scotland chief executive James Rennie was considered the top advisor to the Scottish executive branch on gay youth issues before he was arrested as the suspected leader of a vast pedophile ring in May of last year.
American politics are a different story: corresponding to polls showing a far lower rate of complacency with homosexual leaders in the U.S. than in Europe, homosexuals occupy a smaller fraction of major elected positions. Time reports that, according to the homosexualist political advocacy group Victory Fund, 450 of America's 511,000 elected offices are occupied by open homosexuals.
However, President Obama has helped change that climate with controversial homosexual appointments to prominent positions among his Cabinet. He recently came under criticism from pro-family groups for selecting Amanda Mitchell, a transgender man, as Senior Technical Adviser in the Commerce Department.
Obama's selection of leading homosexual advocate Kevin Jennings as the White House's "Safe Schools" Czar also aroused controversy after it was revealed that Jennings was executive director of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) when the group taught sexually violent practices to Boston youth in what became known as the "fistgate" scandal. Critics also pointed out that the group promoted a highly pornographic reading list for youths grades 7-12 while Jennings was in charge.
See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Pedophile Ringleader was Top Advisor to Scottish Gov't on Homosexuality and Children
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09051411.html
Eye-Witness Teacher Says Safe Schools Czar Present at "Fistgate" Conference
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/dec/09121411.html
Obama's "Safe Schools" Czar Dreamed of "Promoting Homosexuality" to Schoolchildren
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09061113.html