[Vision2020] Was Abe Lincoln Gay? (Things are simply too quiet)

[Tom Hansen]

>From http://www.diversityinc.com/ (subscription required) -

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Was Abe Lincoln Gay?
By C. Stone Brown

Arguably the nation's most famous president, Republican icon Abraham Lincoln
is being outed-at least if you believe the assertions in the recently
released book by the late C.A. Tripp, author of "The Intimate World of
Abraham Lincoln." 

The premise of Tripp's book is that Lincoln, the 16th president of the
United States who led the North to victory in the Civil War and signed the
Emancipation Proclamation ending slavery, was gay. 

Tripp, who died in 2003, reached fame in 1975 with the release of "The
Homosexual Matrix," a book about gay liberation. He spent 10 years
researching Lincoln's sexual orientation, which has been debated by scholars
for years. Lincoln being gay has been debunked by other biographers. But as
Tripp's book hit bookstores this week, critics are wondering if the topic of
Lincoln's sexual orientation is fact or fiction, or a gay writer's attempt
to stake claim to a famous historical figure.

"I don't think it's important to look at historical figures' sexuality in
order to validate gay people," said Stacy L. Sobel, executive director,
Center for Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights. However, "it does show that, as we
know, there have been gay people who have contributed to society in numerous
ways for centuries and when we find out about different peoples' sexual
orientation it just gives a greater tapestry in which to look at past events
and people in the past."