Alan Keyes Disowns Lesbian Daughter

Via Pam's House Blend, Maya Keyes is blogging the dissolution of her relationship with her family.

To fill you in, last summer, lefty bloggers discovered the personal blog of Alan Keyes' daughter. This was during the campaign where Keyes, from Maryland, was bizarely recruited by the Illinois Republican Party to take on Barak Obama. Keyes is a rather hysterical homophobe and anti-abortion crusader, and the most sensational revelation uncovered at Maya's blog (and a related gay.com profile) is that she is a lesbian.

Stating that, "After all the arguments and tension over the years, I always hoped it would never actually get to this point, although I suppose given our vastly divergent political beliefs it was inevitable," Maya Keyes begins walking an especially painful path into adulthood.

My condolences, Maya Keyes, but I thank you for sharing this information. You come from a family whose fortunes have been made by promoting family values, and at this moment your parents are unable to practice them. I suspect they will see the light in time, but even if they don't, you appear to be a person with talents and skills that would take you far even if you didn't have that particular last name.

I hope that word circulates in general and that cooler heads in your parents' social circles sit them down to chat about these things. The overriding responsibility of a parent is to love the child, otherwise the word "parent" means only a biological event that happened once. Your father rails against irresponsibility in all arenas, and his own irresponsibility in attempting to remove you from your family as punishment for who you are will erode him as long as he doesn't learn to mend your relationship.

There will be difficult times ahead for you and difficult choices. Gay rights groups will likely have job offers for you that may verge on exploitation. Be careful not to use these platforms to hurt your father directly. You know, like I know, that we've already won the war for gay equality, and all that remains are a few skirmishes on the way to the Armistice signing. It is undignified to humiliate the defeated, so tread lightly as you go on your way.

Best wishes.