Express Gay News 10/14
Democratic Defender
Dealing with issues like AIDS and job discrimination turned this lawyer into a fiercely partisan activist
By JAY BARRY
Friday, October 14, 2005
As the new head of the Dolphin Democratic Club, Broward County’s gay and lesbian Democratic organization, it’s no surprise that Ken Keechl is an unyieldingly partisan man.
As the Dolphin’s president, Keechl’s job is to get gay men and lesbians to vote for Democrats, and to represent gay concerns to the Democratic Party.
According to exit polls, approximately 75 percent of gay and lesbian voters cast their ballots for Democrats.
Keechl’s conversion to Democratic politics came early in life, and came from his personal experiences as a gay man.
“The Republican response to the beginnings of the AIDS crisis in the ‘80’s opened my eyes,” he says, with anger still obvious in his voice. “Republicans did nothing to help people with AIDS or stop the disease. Reagan wouldn’t even mention the word.”
Apparently discounting third parties, Keechl says, “I realized that the Democratic Party is the party willing to address issues of importance to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.”
Politics pushed by gay experiences
Keechl at first put his political activism on hold while he focused on law school and career advancement. But the political issues were always on his mind, he says.
And gay experiences continued to shape his view of the political landscape.
“While in law school, a friend was fired for being gay,” he recounts. “I tried to look for any legal recourse. I found there was nothing to stop anyone from firing you for your sexual orientation” in Florida.
Then, in one of his law classes, “I discovered that we [gay and lesbian people] couldn’t adopt. Not that I had definite plans, but adoption was always an option I had considered in the back of my mind.”
As he became ever more politically inclined during his law school days at Florida State University in Tallahassee, “I saw that it was always the Democrats whose doors were more open regarding issues like AIDS or job discrimination.”
But he admits that being a Democrat doesn’t necessarily guarantee that a politician will be open to sexual orientation issues.
“Not every Democrat was gay friendly,” he says of his politically formative days. “But every gay-friendly politician was a Democrat.”
‘I blamed Reagan’
After law school, Keechl and his then-partner moved to Fort Lauderdale. Soon, his companion was diagnosed with AIDS.
Dealing with illness and a new job, there was no time for politics, Keechl says. But, there was political anger.
“It was such a scary time,” he remembers. “No one knew anything about AIDS. There were no medicines available. The gay community was paying for the government’s inactivity. I blamed Reagan.”
By the mid ‘90’s, Keechl’s partner died.
But Keechl also became a partner in his law firm.
With newly available time and resources, Keechl decided to get politically involved.
In his view, the Democratic Party was far ahead of the Republican Party when it came to being supportive of gay rights issues. So he volunteered with the Human Rights Campaign, the Stonewall Library and Archives and the Democratic Party.
“I saw that Democrats supported property rights and job protection,” he says. “Republicans opposed the right to privacy, favored sodomy laws, and would criminalize gay sexuality.”
Keechl became a die-hard Democrat.
The lesson of the last presidential election
Keechl admits the last presidential election was poorly handled by the Democrats
Kerry went “so wishy washy on the issues. He was given bad advice to move to the center. He had always voted the right way on gay issues, but he thought he had to fudge for the sake of national politics. He equivocated on his former pro-gay positions, and he didn’t gain a thing for it.”
Keechl believes Democrats should learn a lesson from the 2004 election, though his conclusions are different than the conventional wisdom
After Kerry lost, at least partly due to an anti-gay marriage strategy by the Bush campaign, pundits everywhere were warning the Democrats that embracing gay issues was a losing battle.
But Keechl believes the Democratic Party’s future is in what he dubs the “real Democrats” like Howard Dean.
“It’s ironic that Dean’s position in favor of civil unions as governor of Vermont was considered so radical,” he notes. “Now, it’s middle of the road.” ‑
Fighting Florida’s anti-gay marriage amendment
Since becoming president of the Dolphin Democrats earlier this year, Keechl’s political passion appears to be paying off.
The Dolphins’ membership is up to more than 350, and attendance at the monthly meetings is anywhere between 70 and 90 people, he says.
Though the current Dolphin membership is about 60 percent male, “our goal is 50/50 gender equity,” Keechl says. “Our vice president is a woman. We’re reaching out to people of color and the transgendered community. We try to represent the entire spectrum of GLBT community.”
Part of the revived interest in politics on the part of gays, he says, is, ironically, due to the “family protection amendment” proposed by the state’s religious conservatives.
Set to possibly go on next year’s ballot, “the proposed state constitutional amendment bans not only gay marriage but all civil unions, domestic registries, and employer health benefits for partners,” he explains. Concerned couples registered under Broward’s domestic partnership ordinance have “joined the Dolphins to work to protect the legality of their relationships,” he says.
Politics boils down to one simple question
Currently, Keechl is busy helping the Democratic Party organize for next year’s gubernatorial race in Florida.
Not surprisingly, Keechl has little good to say about Republican candidates hoping to be the state’s next leader.
He says all of the Republican candidates for governor are “typical anti-gay bullies.”
He grudgingly admits that not all Democratic candidates are all that stellar on gay issues, either.
“Although we are Democrats, we won’t support anti-gay Democrats,” he says of the Dolphin Democrats. “We do not offer blind support. There are Democratic candidates that we cannot and will not support. We actively work for good candidates, not just any candidate from our party.”
To this fiercely partisan and loyal Democrat, however, the good candidates are almost always the same as the Democratic candidates.
Politics is “a simple question for gays,” he says without hesitation: “Who are you better off with?”
For Keechl, the answer to that question is easy.
Dealing with issues like AIDS and job discrimination turned this lawyer into a fiercely partisan activist
By JAY BARRY
Friday, October 14, 2005
As the new head of the Dolphin Democratic Club, Broward County’s gay and lesbian Democratic organization, it’s no surprise that Ken Keechl is an unyieldingly partisan man.
As the Dolphin’s president, Keechl’s job is to get gay men and lesbians to vote for Democrats, and to represent gay concerns to the Democratic Party.
According to exit polls, approximately 75 percent of gay and lesbian voters cast their ballots for Democrats.
Keechl’s conversion to Democratic politics came early in life, and came from his personal experiences as a gay man.
“The Republican response to the beginnings of the AIDS crisis in the ‘80’s opened my eyes,” he says, with anger still obvious in his voice. “Republicans did nothing to help people with AIDS or stop the disease. Reagan wouldn’t even mention the word.”
Apparently discounting third parties, Keechl says, “I realized that the Democratic Party is the party willing to address issues of importance to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.”
Politics pushed by gay experiences
Keechl at first put his political activism on hold while he focused on law school and career advancement. But the political issues were always on his mind, he says.
And gay experiences continued to shape his view of the political landscape.
“While in law school, a friend was fired for being gay,” he recounts. “I tried to look for any legal recourse. I found there was nothing to stop anyone from firing you for your sexual orientation” in Florida.
Then, in one of his law classes, “I discovered that we [gay and lesbian people] couldn’t adopt. Not that I had definite plans, but adoption was always an option I had considered in the back of my mind.”
As he became ever more politically inclined during his law school days at Florida State University in Tallahassee, “I saw that it was always the Democrats whose doors were more open regarding issues like AIDS or job discrimination.”
But he admits that being a Democrat doesn’t necessarily guarantee that a politician will be open to sexual orientation issues.
“Not every Democrat was gay friendly,” he says of his politically formative days. “But every gay-friendly politician was a Democrat.”
‘I blamed Reagan’
After law school, Keechl and his then-partner moved to Fort Lauderdale. Soon, his companion was diagnosed with AIDS.
Dealing with illness and a new job, there was no time for politics, Keechl says. But, there was political anger.
“It was such a scary time,” he remembers. “No one knew anything about AIDS. There were no medicines available. The gay community was paying for the government’s inactivity. I blamed Reagan.”
By the mid ‘90’s, Keechl’s partner died.
But Keechl also became a partner in his law firm.
With newly available time and resources, Keechl decided to get politically involved.
In his view, the Democratic Party was far ahead of the Republican Party when it came to being supportive of gay rights issues. So he volunteered with the Human Rights Campaign, the Stonewall Library and Archives and the Democratic Party.
“I saw that Democrats supported property rights and job protection,” he says. “Republicans opposed the right to privacy, favored sodomy laws, and would criminalize gay sexuality.”
Keechl became a die-hard Democrat.
The lesson of the last presidential election
Keechl admits the last presidential election was poorly handled by the Democrats
Kerry went “so wishy washy on the issues. He was given bad advice to move to the center. He had always voted the right way on gay issues, but he thought he had to fudge for the sake of national politics. He equivocated on his former pro-gay positions, and he didn’t gain a thing for it.”
Keechl believes Democrats should learn a lesson from the 2004 election, though his conclusions are different than the conventional wisdom
After Kerry lost, at least partly due to an anti-gay marriage strategy by the Bush campaign, pundits everywhere were warning the Democrats that embracing gay issues was a losing battle.
But Keechl believes the Democratic Party’s future is in what he dubs the “real Democrats” like Howard Dean.
“It’s ironic that Dean’s position in favor of civil unions as governor of Vermont was considered so radical,” he notes. “Now, it’s middle of the road.” ‑
Fighting Florida’s anti-gay marriage amendment
Since becoming president of the Dolphin Democrats earlier this year, Keechl’s political passion appears to be paying off.
The Dolphins’ membership is up to more than 350, and attendance at the monthly meetings is anywhere between 70 and 90 people, he says.
Though the current Dolphin membership is about 60 percent male, “our goal is 50/50 gender equity,” Keechl says. “Our vice president is a woman. We’re reaching out to people of color and the transgendered community. We try to represent the entire spectrum of GLBT community.”
Part of the revived interest in politics on the part of gays, he says, is, ironically, due to the “family protection amendment” proposed by the state’s religious conservatives.
Set to possibly go on next year’s ballot, “the proposed state constitutional amendment bans not only gay marriage but all civil unions, domestic registries, and employer health benefits for partners,” he explains. Concerned couples registered under Broward’s domestic partnership ordinance have “joined the Dolphins to work to protect the legality of their relationships,” he says.
Politics boils down to one simple question
Currently, Keechl is busy helping the Democratic Party organize for next year’s gubernatorial race in Florida.
Not surprisingly, Keechl has little good to say about Republican candidates hoping to be the state’s next leader.
He says all of the Republican candidates for governor are “typical anti-gay bullies.”
He grudgingly admits that not all Democratic candidates are all that stellar on gay issues, either.
“Although we are Democrats, we won’t support anti-gay Democrats,” he says of the Dolphin Democrats. “We do not offer blind support. There are Democratic candidates that we cannot and will not support. We actively work for good candidates, not just any candidate from our party.”
To this fiercely partisan and loyal Democrat, however, the good candidates are almost always the same as the Democratic candidates.
Politics is “a simple question for gays,” he says without hesitation: “Who are you better off with?”
For Keechl, the answer to that question is easy.
