So It's Gay Men That Are Promiscuous? Think Again

  From from long before Thomas Jefferson, Grover Cleveland, Franklin Roosevelt and the "Johns" (Kennedy, Edwards and Ensign), through William Jefferson Clinton and now Arnold Schwarzenegger, married men have found it hard to keep their pants zipped. But I am continually struck by the perplexing question of why the perception persists that primarily gay and bisexual men are termed "promiscuous."From long before biblical references to Abraham, through King Henry VIII, to Robert Kennedy, Sens. Gary Hart and David Vitter, Govs. Mark Sanford and Eliot Spitzer, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Tiger Woods, men have engaged in sexual relations outside the confines of marriage. But I am continually struck by the charge that ensuring marriage equality for same-sex couples will cheapen and ultimately destroy the institution of marriage.

Currently, political pundits and psychologists alike impart their "reasons" why high profile and powerful heterosexual men commit "sexual transgressions," anything from the thrill in the risk of getting caught, to, in Schwarzenegger's case, the result of taking steroids during his body building days, which has turned him into the "sperminator." Virtually no one accuses these men, however, of destroying marriage itself.

Next time we hear accusations that extending marriage rights and privileges to same-sex couples will bring down the institution and civilization itself, investigate the facts so we can cut through the stereotypes and end the scapegoating.

-- Warren J. Blumenfeld, Ames

DesMoinesRegister.com