Arkansas’ first openly gay elected official, State Rep. Kathy Webb of Little Rock, was instrumental this week in quashing a vicious, anti-gay adoption bill that had already handily passed in the State Senate. The Arkansas Gay History blog said “(t)he efforts of Representative Kathy Webb could be seen throughout the session and were a cornerstone of the defeat.”

Kathy’s efforts were also hailed by Rita Sklar, executive director of the Arkansas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. Sklar told the Arkansas Democrat Gazette that Kathy made a real difference, adding, “I think for a lot of people, it was the first time they actually ever met an openly gay person, and realized that she’s just another human being.”

Kathy Webb is an excellent example of what openly gay leaders can do when they have a place at the table and a voice in the debate. She’s a hero to the LGBT citizens of Arkansas, and an inspiration to me.

Welcome to GayPolitics.com, the blog about LGBT politics

We’re going to try to do things a bit differently around here. Like any good gay-oriented blog, we’ll follow the news and offer opinion about it. But our aim is to delve more deeply into politics. Gay politics.

And by “gay politics,” we mean politics that involves openly gay political players, including candidates, elected officials and political professionals. We’re not so doctrinal that we’ll exclude talk of other political topics or avoid policy discussions outright, but the idea of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Leadership Institute is relatively straightforward: Openly LGBT people can and should step up as political and governmental leaders in an effort to advance true equality. The good news is that’s happening much more frequently in recent years. And real change is happening as a result of it.

The editors and contributors in this space hope to educate, cajole and argue with you. We’ll highlight the candidacies, accomplishments and news about LGBT leaders. We’ll read your comments and take your suggestions. And we’ll ask you to get involved.

So, again, welcome. We’re honored you’re here.

She’s no longer picking daisies in the political outfield, she’s gone out of the park and is on the first bus out of the city. Blogs and major news outlets alike have been buzzing about her CPAC appearance and she’s still at it, trying to defend her indefensible words.

It’s comforting to know that among the cheers and laughter that followed her comment, there were some in the room who could see her words as the ‘hate-speech’ they truly were (even though she says that dropping the f-bomb was just a joke and that “It isn’t offensive to gays. It has nothing to do with gays.”). A group of bloggers that were in attendance have pulled together, writing an open letter saying that Ann Coulter’s time has past, moving from a once amusing, right-wing loudmouth to a now offensive, right-wing loudmouth.

So cheers to them. Even though CPAC’s organizers, the ACU, can’t even muster up the guts to condemn her blatant bigotry and ensure she doesn’t get invited again, at least some good conservatives can.

Largo, Fla., city commissioners have voted (5-2) to fire their longtime city manager, Steve Stanton, because he came out as transgender and told them he was starting the process of transitioning. At a council meeting this week, some councilmembers said they no longer could trust Stanton, adding he was “selfish,” for coming out.

So, there it is–the latest talking point from the haters. We heard it when former NBA player John Amaechi came out as gay, too. LeBron James studiously avoided saying anything positive about Amaechi, but made sure everyone knew he considered it a “trust issue.” It’s not that they hate LGBT folks, they insist, it’s that they’ve been lied to all these years and can’t trust us now.

Here are Largo city commissioners trying to justify their vote to fire Stanton:

With her voice cracking, Commissioner Harriet Crozier recalled the future she saw for the city when, in 1993, she voted to hire Stanton. Then, she turned to Stanton and said, “Mr. Stanton, you have let your selfishness get in the way.”

Commissioner Andy Guyette said that after hearing Stanton talk about how he selected friends to whom he revealed his plans, he became suspicious of many of the city manager’s actions in recent years.

“I find that I can no longer trust his judgment,” Guyette said.

Black agreed, saying she had come to doubt Stanton’s integrity.

Commissioner Gigi Arntzen said Stanton was her friend and neighbor. After 24 hours of reflection following Stanton’s announcement, though, she felt betrayed. She was angry, she said, that Stanton had confided in the mayor on January 1 about his plans, but told no other elected officials.

Utter BS. The truth is the bigots hate it when people stand up and tell the truth about their lives. From politicians to athletes to actors to Vice Presidential daughters, a real live human being unafraid to tell the truth does more damage to the cause of our enemies than any march, protest or petition. And they know it.