New York Times Positively Obsessed With The Gays - Maybe they're trying to overcompensate for the fact that 11 states have measures opposing gay marriage on the ballot next week, because the Times has run legthy features on the gay influence in American music and gay parenting.

So what constitutes this gay sensibility, you ask? Well, we're told that it's hard to pin down, what with "today's gay icons ranging from the brainy, unkempt liberal firebrand Congressman Barney Frank to the stylish, flamboyant and cuttingly funny fashion guru Carson Kressley of 'Queer Eye for the Straight Guy." I'm not sure "icon" would be my choice of words to describe either one of them, but it is interesting to note how little either one probably has in common with Aaron Copland.

And in terms of gay parenting, we're reminded that the

"central argument advanced against gay marriage is that gay relationships have a corrosive effect on the institution of the traditional family. In that context, the children of gay parents are not just aspiring filmmakers, or dropouts, or Phi Beta Kappas, or cross-dressers, or serial monogamists. They're also a form of evidence in the political debate. How do the children of gay parents turn out, when compared with the children of straight parents, in terms of eventual marital status, income, psychological well-being? If gay couples give birth, seek to adopt or become foster parents, what kind of adult members of society will they produce?"

I'd like to see the long term studies, following the kids of gays who inhabit the suburbs, as well as those who live in the West Village and summer at PFLAG camps in Provincetown. Being different is never easy for kids, they're resilient and I'd like to see the evidence demonstrating that the children of gay parents cope and thrive just as effectively as (if not better than) their peers with straight parents.