Collegiate Times

Kenneth Sherrill, a political science professor at Hunter College in New York City, will be speaking in Squires 342 today at 8 p.m. His speech, sponsored by Virginia Tech's LGBTA, will be about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transsexual issues as they pertain to the upcoming election.

Sherrill has been a professor for 41 years and has written multiple books regarding the gay community and politics. He appeared as an expert witness in two Supreme Court cases. The testimony of one of these cases was transformed into his award-winning book, "Gays and the Military."

He sat down with the Collegiate Times to discuss the influence of LGBT issues on society and the election.

Q: What's the most important message that you want to get across to students who come to hear you speak?

A: People who think of themselves of LGBT are much more likely to vote Democratic, have much more liberal positions on a whole range of political issues, are more active and involved citizens than the average American, and also have gone through a kind of political and social transformation that occurs during coming-out years and appears to last a lifetime. It's a form of identity that appears to transcend identity transmitted within the family, to transcend economic class.

Q: What role do LGBT issues play in the upcoming presidential election?

A: I think LGBT issues play a very small role in the presidential election. That's because the candidates haven't spoken about them. Nevertheless, LGBT voters know that there are very sharp differences between the parties. The overwhelming fact about LGBT voters is that they aren't fools. They not only have a strong sense of self-interest but also a very strong sense of right and wrong that totally transcends traditionally gay issues. What we find is that on issue after issue LGBT voters are consistently to the left of the American public. This is a transformation that appears to occur during the coming out years.

Q: Why do you think LGBT Americans are often to the left of other Americans on issues that have nothing to do with LGBT issues?

A: When people are coming out, you think of how you're raised with the unquestioned expectation that you'll get married, have kids ... be just like your parents. And then you realize that's not going to happen. With the recognition of one's difference comes a whole new frame of reference for evaluating everything that you see and everything that's around you. Contrary to stereotypes, this does not appear to be alienating. Rather, it galvanizes people to engage in concern, activism. In many ways our study finds that gay people are model citizens in the sense of being so much more likely to engage in their communities.

Q: What are the most important issues to the LGBT community right now?

A: There are two categories -- one is ending discrimination or having protection against discrimination. Honestly, if I were to walk into a hotel with another man they could legally say we're not going to let you have a room. The other thing is relationship recognition -- marriage, adoption, a whole range of family issues, inheritance, being able to have a partner or a spouse who's a foreign national coming to this country.

Q: How do you think the rest of America feels about these issues in this election? Do you think they acknowledge the importance of these issues?

A: No. This is a not a year in which people are paying attention to issues of this sort ... These really aren't controversial issues. Allies who are supporters are not as intense in their belief as are those people who are opponents. We're in a situation in which an intense minority overwhelms an apathetic majority. It's the kind of thing that Alexander Hamilton worried about.