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Gerry StuddsOctober 15, 2006 Vehicles bearing STUDDS stickers have almost vanished from island roads, moved away or gone to Johnny Leite's junk and salvage yard, where Tesah Toyota went when she died in March 2003. Now Gerry is gone too, though likely not to Johnny Leite's. Just as well: Mr. Leite was locally notorious, back in Gerry Studds's penultimate congressional term, for agitating for the removal of two gay-themed children's books from the Oak Bluffs School library. Gerry Studds's support was solid throughout the 10th Massachusetts Congressional District, but on Martha's Vineyard it was cause for comment if he pulled less than 80 percent of the island vote. When Studds was in Congress, I did things I can barely imagine doing now: Make campaign contributions. Show up at political fundraisers. Attend the town meetings that Rep. Studds held regularly around the district, even on Martha's Vineyard, which not only is hard to get to but was also so solidly in his camp that he didn't have to bother. When Gerry retired in 1996 after 12 terms on Capitol Hill, I vowed no bumper of mine would advertise another candidate until I found one I could support as wholeheartedly as I supported Gerry Studds. In 10 years I haven't even been tempted. I moved into the district in 1985, two years after he came out publicly. Thanks to the shenanigans of former Rep. Mark Foley, Gerry Studds's coming out has been in the news again: it was prompted by the revelation of a former congressional page that he and Studds had had a relationship a decade earlier, when the page was 17. The Republicans have predictably been accusing the Democrats of hypocrisy for not speaking out in 1983, when Studds was censured by the House. Huh? Do the Republicans understand the problem here? Foley's indiscriminate behavior went on for several years. While talking sexy-wexy to underage male pages, he was posing as a defender of children and good ol' American homophobia. He apparently had a pretty serious alcohol problem. And the fucking Republican leadership covered it up. Gerry Studds's transgression, which he called "a serious error," was a decade old when it came to light. It wasn't part of a pattern of out-of-control behavior. What would have happened had the Democratic leadership found out about the affair in 1973, when Gerry Studds was a freshman representative from Massachusetts? They probably would have hung him out to dry. I'm glad they didn't get the chance. Yeah, Gerry Studds was a pioneer and an inspiration for gay and lesbian people all over the country, especially those interested in public service. In the early 1990s, at a fundraiser at the Field Gallery in West Tisbury, I had the honor of presenting him with an Island Lesbian & Gay Association tank top: emblazoned on the front was "Martha's Vineyard," and the V was a big pink triangle. (At the time you could wear the shirt down Main Street and hardly anybody knew what it meant. ILGA has been moribund for years, but I've still got two of the three T-shirts it put out.) But he was also an exemplary congressman. He knew more about and did more for the coastal waters and fisheries than just about anybody. The waters and fisheries off New England aren't generally thought of as a gay issue. I know. That's part of the point. Heterosexual politicians aren't expected to confine themselves to heterosexual issues. Gerry Studds, the first out gay member of Congress, demonstrated that human beings are a whole lot more than their sexual identity, a fairly self-evident truth that continues to elude many people. Island voters didn't keep endorsing Gerry election after election because he was gay. He earned those lopsided margins by being smart, committed, knowledgeable, and effective. As an out gay congressman, he did indeed expand the possibilities for outsiders in public life. And he set a high, high standard for public service. Republicans and Democrats alike could stand to learn from his example. I'm waiting for a candidate worthy of my bumper.
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