Op-ed: The Gay Tth About Ronald Reagan

Contents:

• PATTI DAVIS, DGHTER OF NANCY REAGAN, SAYS HER MOTHER SUPPORTS GAY MARRIAGE
• REAGAN’S DGHTER SAYS HE’D HAVE BACKED GAY MARRIAGE
• OP-ED: THE GAY TTH ABOUT RONALD REAGAN
• PATTY DAVIS AND MICHAEL REAGAN FD OVER GAY MARRIAGEWHAT WOULD DAD DO?PATTI DAVIS THKS HER DAD WOULD SUPPORT GAY MARRIAGE, AND HER BROTHER MICHAEL REAGAN SISTS HE WOULDN’T. BY LLOYD GROVE.LLOYD GROVEUPDATED JUL. 11, 2017 11:43PM EDT / PUBLISHED APR. 05, 2013 4:30AM EDT DENNIS COOK/AP“WHAT WOULD RONALD REAGAN DO?”—THE CCIAL QUTN REPUBLIN TE BELIEVERS ENDLSLY ASK THEMSELV—IS FALLY BEG BROUGHT TO BEAR ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGE, URTY OF TWO OF THE 40TH PRINT’S CHILDREN. PATTI DAVIS, THE NSERVATIVE IN’S DGHTER WH FORMER FIRST LADY NANCY REAGAN, SISTS HER FATHER, WHO DIED OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE 2004 AT AGE 93, WOULD FELY HAVE SUPPORTED THE RIGHT OF GAYS AND LBIANS TO SANCTIFY MTED RELATNSHIPS WH OFFICIALLY REGNIZED MARRIAGE VOWS.MICHAEL REAGAN, THE ADOPTED SON OM REAGAN’S PREV MARRIAGE TO ACTRS JANE WYMAN, IS EQUALLY SISTENT THAT HIS FATHER WOULD NOT HAVE.“MY FATHER WAS RAISED THE DISCIPL OF CHRIST AND WAS A TLY BELIEVG CHRISTIAN,” REAGAN, 68, TOLD ME BY WAY OF ANSWERG THE ETERNAL “WWRRD” QUTN. “DO I BELIEVE HE WOULD HAVE SUPPORTED GAY MARRIAGE? NO. WHAT MY FATHER WOULD HAVE DONE IS WHAT HE ALWAYS DID. HE WOULD HAVE PULLED BOTH SIS AND FOUND THE MON GROUND OF WHAT EVERYBODY WAS LOOKG FOR. HE WOULD HAVE PROTECTED MARRIAGE BETWEEN ONE MAN AND ONE WOMAN, BUT HE WOULD HAVE LOOKED AT THE GAY ISSUE AND SAID, ‘I UNRSTAND WHAT YOU’RE SAYG ABOUT RIGHTS, AND LET’S DO SOMETHG ABOUT MAKG SURE YOU HAVE THOSE RIGHTS.’ ” DAVIS, 60—WHOSE NEW NOVEL, TILL HUMAN VOIC WAKE US SPOTLIGHTS A LBIAN LOVE AFFAIR—IS JT AS SURE HER DAD WOULD HAVE APPROVED.“HE WAS OBVLY A STRAIGHT MAN. HE WAS OLD-FASHNED,” SHE TOLD ME. “WOULD HE HAVE EMOTNALLY UNRSTOOD TWO MEN LOVG EACH OTHER? NO, OF URSE NOT. BUT I DO NOT BELIEVE HE WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT ERNMENT SHOULD T ON TWO PEOPLE’S SIRE TO MAKE A MMENT TO ONE ANOTHER BEE THEY LOVE EACH OTHER. HE WAS WELL KNOWN FOR WANTG LS ERNMENT. HE WOULD TLY BE BAFFLED AT WHAT THE PROBLEM IS. WE’RE NOT TALKG ABOUT SOMETHG THAT AFFECTS ANYBODY ELSE’S LIFE.”THE PATTI VS. MICHAEL BATE AS REPUBLIN POLICIANS ARE CREASGLY BACKG SAME-SEX MARRIAGE, NOTABLY SENS. ROB PORTMAN OF OH AND MARK KIRK OF ILLOIS, AND THE U.S. SUPREME COURT IS PREPARG TO LE ON THE NSTUTNALY OF TWO LAWS NYG THE RIGHTS OF MATRIMONY TO GAY PEOPLE. THE FERAL DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE ACT (SIGNED BY A NOW-REGRETFUL BILL CLTON 1996) FORBIDS ERNMENT MARAL BENEFS FOR GAY UPL, AND CALIFORNIA’S PROPOSN 8 (PASSED BY POPULAR REFERENDUM 2008) OVERTURNED THE STATE LEGISLATURE’S VOTE TO LEGALIZE SAME-SEX MARRIAGE.THE DAVIS-REAGAN DISPUTE ME TO A HEAD THIS WEEK WHEN PATTI GAVE A YOUTUBE TERVIEW SPECULATG ON HER DAD’S HYPOTHETIL GAY-MARRIAGE POSN, AND MICHAEL WROTE A LUMN EXHORTG AMERIN CLERGYMEN TO EXPRS “MORAL OUTRAGE” BY “LEADG THEIR NGREGATNS THROUGH THE STREETS MASS PROTT” OF SAME-SEX MARRIAGE.MICHAEL HAS BEEN TAKG PARTICULAR HEAT FOR A LE HIS LUMN THAT MANY HAVE TERPRETED AS SETTG UP A FALSE EQUIVALENCE BETWEEN GAY MARRIAGE AND SER CRIM: “THERE IS ALSO A VERY SLIPPERY SLOPE LEADG TO OTHER ALTERNATIVE RELATNSHIPS AND THE UNNSTUTNALY OF ANY LAW BASED ON MORALY,” HE WROTE. “THK ABOUT POLYGAMY, BTIALY, AND PERHAPS EVEN MURR.” “GOSH! EVERYBODY’S GOG NUTS!” MICHAEL SAID, THE MORNG AFTER HE APPEARED ON CNN’S PIERS MAN LIVE AND THE BRISH HOST ADMISTERED A SEVERE BOLLOCKG OVER REAGAN’S ALLEGED ANTI-GAY BIGOTRY. “THE QUTNS I POSED THE ARTICLE ABOUT POLYGAMY, BTIALY, AND EVEN MURR WERE BASILLY THE WORDS THAT ME OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF JUDG. WHEN THOSE QUTNS HAVE BEEN POSED A URT OF LAW, THERE WAS NO OUTCRY.” PATTI, FOR ONE, WASN'T BUYG EXPLANATNS SUCH AS HER BROTHER'S, AND SAID THEIR FATHER WOULDN'T HAVE EHER. “I THK HE WOULD HAVE SEEN AS UGLY, AS ANY REASONABLE PERSON WOULD,” SHE SAID. “ARE WE PUTTG GAY PEOPLE THE SAME TEGORY AS PEOPLE WHO HAVE SEX WH DONKEYS?”PATTI AND HER YOUNGER BROTHER RON, WH WHOM SHE NOW ENJOYS A CLOSE RELATNSHIP AFTER YEARS OF NOT SPEAKG, GREW UP A FAY ATMOSPHERE WHICH GAY PEOPLE WERE WELED, SHE SAID. MANY OF HER PARENTS’ IENDS WERE GAY, PARTICULARLY HER MOTHER’S, AND PATTI SAID NANCY WAS PECIALLY CLOSE TO A LBIAN UPLE, PATTI’S “NTS,” WHO OCSNALLY BABYSAT THE REAGAN KIDS. THE TWO WOMEN EVEN SLEPT TOGETHER THE REAGANS’ MASTER BEDROOM THEIR PACIFIC PALISAS HOME WHEN RONALD AND NANCY TOOK A WEEK’S VATN HAWAII. (RON REAGAN, 54, A RAD HOST AND POLIL MENTATOR, IS A STRONG BACKER OF LEGALIZED SAME-SEX MARRIAGE; UNLIKE FORMER FIRST LADY LRA BH, ANOTHER SUPPORTER, NANCY REAGAN, 91, HAS NOT PUBLICLY STATED HER POSN AND ULDN’T BE REACHED FOR MENT.)AS FOR HER FATHER’S ATTU TOWARD GAY PEOPLE, “IT DIDN’T BEAR ANY EP DISCSN, WAS JT ACCEPTED,” PATTI TOLD ME. SHE RELLED THAT WHEN SHE WAS A PRETEEN GIRL, “MY FATHER AND I WERE THE N OF THE PALISAS HOE, STG THERE WATCHG PILLOW TALK. I REMEMBER WHEN ROCK HUDSON WAS KISSG DORIS DAY, I SAID, ‘THAT LOOKS WEIRD!’ AND MY FATHER GOT VERY TERTED AND ASKED ME, ‘WHAT DO YOU MEAN?’ I SAID, ‘I DON’T KNOW. HE JT LOOKS WEIRD KISSG HER.’ AND MY FATHER SAID, ‘THAT’S BEE HE DON’T WANT TO BE KISSG HER. HE WANTS TO BE KISSG ANOTHER FELLA.’ HE JT TOLD ME THAT SOME MEN LOVED OTHER MEN, SOME WOMEN LOVED OTHER WOMEN, AND THAT WAS . I JT WENT, ‘OH. OK.’”ON THURSDAY, VAR PRACTNERS OF THE DARK ARTS OF BLE TELEVISN WERE GLEEFULLY CHARACTERIZG PATTI AND MICHAEL’S DIFFERENCE OF OPN AS YET ANOTHER REAGAN FAY FD.“THIS IS THE PROBLEM AMERI TODAY,” MICHAEL PLAED. “EVERYBODY WANTS TO CREATE A FIGHT WHERE THERE ISN’T ONE, AND THEN ARGUE ABOUT . THERE’S NO FD.”PATTI ULD AT LEAST AGREE ON THAT POT. “LOOK, WE’VE ALWAYS HAD DIFFERENT OPNS,” SHE SAID. “I CERTALY HAVE NO NTROL OF WHAT MICHAEL SAYS. WE’RE RDIAL.” LLOYD GROVE

PATTI DAVIS, DGHTER OF NANCY REAGAN, SAYS HER MOTHER SUPPORTS GAY MARRIAGE

“She do, ” Davis said when asked if the former first lady supports gay marriage, addg that her mother “is not fortable gog out the public eye and gettg the firg le of anythg, ” and also notg wh a chuckle that “if she had disagreed wh what I said publicly about my father, she would have said somethg publicly. ” (Scroll down to listen to the full terview) Davis also addrsed ments by her adopted half-brother, rad talk talk show host Michael Reagan, who’d wrten an op-ed piece a day before her ments about Print Reagan and gay marriage which he attacked same-sex marriage and said uld lead to acceptance of btialy, polygamy and even murr.

Michael Reagan later also sharply disagreed wh Davis’ ntentn that their father would have supported gay marriage. “That op-ed, that wrten thg equatg gay people wh murrers and people who engage btialy or whatever, ’s all such ugly stuff and if Michael were the only person sayg that, you n say, ‘OK, whatever. ’ But there are other people who feel this way and who lump gay people wh people who have sex wh donkeys and farm animals.

REAGAN’S DGHTER SAYS HE’D HAVE BACKED GAY MARRIAGE

”Davis noted that Michael Reagan lived wh her and her parents while gay iends and fay members were prent and were accepted by the former print and first lady, and th she believ her brother knows that her father privately supported gay people. ”Nohels, Ronald Reagan has been sharply cricized by LGBT and AIDS activists for bowg to relig nservativ the Republin Party, holdg back gay rights, and tastrophilly failg rpondg to the AIDS epimic early on, not mentng the word AIDS until the late 80s, well after thoands had been fected wh HIV and died.

OP-ED: THE GAY TTH ABOUT RONALD REAGAN

“Part of the reason I thought was important to say that about my father, ” Davis said regardg her belief that he would support gay marriage, “is that he was late addrsg the AIDS issue. There were people around him that did not want him to al wh any issue that had to al wh gay people.

”Regardg her mother’s posn on gay marriage, Davis, who was tranged om her mother for many years but renciled wh her shortly after Print Reagan was diagnosed wh Alzheimer’s Disease 1994, said Nancy Reagan supports marriage equaly but is reluctant to say so publicly. ”Listen to the terview wh Patti Davis here: Before You GoGay Marriage In The Uned Stat. AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTApril 3, 2013WASHINGTON — As Republin policians wrtle wh same-sex marriage, the dghter of a party in — former Print Ronald Reagan — said an terview this week that she believ her father would have “been puzzled” by the polil fs and would have supported marriage for gay Davis, a Los Angel wrer and the oime rebell dghter of Reagan and his send wife, Nancy, said a telephone terview that she never discsed same-sex marriage wh the former print, who died 2004 jt as was emergg as a polil Ms.

Hudson “would rather be kissg a man, ” and nveyed, whout g the words homosexual or gay, the ia that “some men are born wantg to love another man. ) Pizzello/Associated PrsShe first shared her views about her father wh a iend, Howard Bragman, who has a YouTube show voted to gay issu and terviewed her about her Davis is not the only Reagan child speakg out on same-sex marriage.

PATTY DAVIS AND MICHAEL REAGAN FD OVER GAY MARRIAGEWHAT WOULD DAD DO?PATTI DAVIS THKS HER DAD WOULD SUPPORT GAY MARRIAGE, AND HER BROTHER MICHAEL REAGAN SISTS HE WOULDN’T. BY LLOYD GROVE.LLOYD GROVEUPDATED JUL. 11, 2017 11:43PM EDT / PUBLISHED APR. 05, 2013 4:30AM EDT DENNIS COOK/AP“WHAT WOULD RONALD REAGAN DO?”—THE CCIAL QUTN REPUBLIN TE BELIEVERS ENDLSLY ASK THEMSELV—IS FALLY BEG BROUGHT TO BEAR ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGE, URTY OF TWO OF THE 40TH PRINT’S CHILDREN. PATTI DAVIS, THE NSERVATIVE IN’S DGHTER WH FORMER FIRST LADY NANCY REAGAN, SISTS HER FATHER, WHO DIED OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE 2004 AT AGE 93, WOULD FELY HAVE SUPPORTED THE RIGHT OF GAYS AND LBIANS TO SANCTIFY MTED RELATNSHIPS WH OFFICIALLY REGNIZED MARRIAGE VOWS.MICHAEL REAGAN, THE ADOPTED SON OM REAGAN’S PREV MARRIAGE TO ACTRS JANE WYMAN, IS EQUALLY SISTENT THAT HIS FATHER WOULD NOT HAVE.“MY FATHER WAS RAISED THE DISCIPL OF CHRIST AND WAS A TLY BELIEVG CHRISTIAN,” REAGAN, 68, TOLD ME BY WAY OF ANSWERG THE ETERNAL “WWRRD” QUTN. “DO I BELIEVE HE WOULD HAVE SUPPORTED GAY MARRIAGE? NO. WHAT MY FATHER WOULD HAVE DONE IS WHAT HE ALWAYS DID. HE WOULD HAVE PULLED BOTH SIS AND FOUND THE MON GROUND OF WHAT EVERYBODY WAS LOOKG FOR. HE WOULD HAVE PROTECTED MARRIAGE BETWEEN ONE MAN AND ONE WOMAN, BUT HE WOULD HAVE LOOKED AT THE GAY ISSUE AND SAID, ‘I UNRSTAND WHAT YOU’RE SAYG ABOUT RIGHTS, AND LET’S DO SOMETHG ABOUT MAKG SURE YOU HAVE THOSE RIGHTS.’ ” DAVIS, 60—WHOSE NEW NOVEL, TILL HUMAN VOIC WAKE US SPOTLIGHTS A LBIAN LOVE AFFAIR—IS JT AS SURE HER DAD WOULD HAVE APPROVED.“HE WAS OBVLY A STRAIGHT MAN. HE WAS OLD-FASHNED,” SHE TOLD ME. “WOULD HE HAVE EMOTNALLY UNRSTOOD TWO MEN LOVG EACH OTHER? NO, OF URSE NOT. BUT I DO NOT BELIEVE HE WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT ERNMENT SHOULD T ON TWO PEOPLE’S SIRE TO MAKE A MMENT TO ONE ANOTHER BEE THEY LOVE EACH OTHER. HE WAS WELL KNOWN FOR WANTG LS ERNMENT. HE WOULD TLY BE BAFFLED AT WHAT THE PROBLEM IS. WE’RE NOT TALKG ABOUT SOMETHG THAT AFFECTS ANYBODY ELSE’S LIFE.”THE PATTI VS. MICHAEL BATE AS REPUBLIN POLICIANS ARE CREASGLY BACKG SAME-SEX MARRIAGE, NOTABLY SENS. ROB PORTMAN OF OH AND MARK KIRK OF ILLOIS, AND THE U.S. SUPREME COURT IS PREPARG TO LE ON THE NSTUTNALY OF TWO LAWS NYG THE RIGHTS OF MATRIMONY TO GAY PEOPLE. THE FERAL DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE ACT (SIGNED BY A NOW-REGRETFUL BILL CLTON 1996) FORBIDS ERNMENT MARAL BENEFS FOR GAY UPL, AND CALIFORNIA’S PROPOSN 8 (PASSED BY POPULAR REFERENDUM 2008) OVERTURNED THE STATE LEGISLATURE’S VOTE TO LEGALIZE SAME-SEX MARRIAGE.THE DAVIS-REAGAN DISPUTE ME TO A HEAD THIS WEEK WHEN PATTI GAVE A YOUTUBE TERVIEW SPECULATG ON HER DAD’S HYPOTHETIL GAY-MARRIAGE POSN, AND MICHAEL WROTE A LUMN EXHORTG AMERIN CLERGYMEN TO EXPRS “MORAL OUTRAGE” BY “LEADG THEIR NGREGATNS THROUGH THE STREETS MASS PROTT” OF SAME-SEX MARRIAGE.MICHAEL HAS BEEN TAKG PARTICULAR HEAT FOR A LE HIS LUMN THAT MANY HAVE TERPRETED AS SETTG UP A FALSE EQUIVALENCE BETWEEN GAY MARRIAGE AND SER CRIM: “THERE IS ALSO A VERY SLIPPERY SLOPE LEADG TO OTHER ALTERNATIVE RELATNSHIPS AND THE UNNSTUTNALY OF ANY LAW BASED ON MORALY,” HE WROTE. “THK ABOUT POLYGAMY, BTIALY, AND PERHAPS EVEN MURR.” “GOSH! EVERYBODY’S GOG NUTS!” MICHAEL SAID, THE MORNG AFTER HE APPEARED ON CNN’S PIERS MAN LIVE AND THE BRISH HOST ADMISTERED A SEVERE BOLLOCKG OVER REAGAN’S ALLEGED ANTI-GAY BIGOTRY. “THE QUTNS I POSED THE ARTICLE ABOUT POLYGAMY, BTIALY, AND EVEN MURR WERE BASILLY THE WORDS THAT ME OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF JUDG. WHEN THOSE QUTNS HAVE BEEN POSED A URT OF LAW, THERE WAS NO OUTCRY.” PATTI, FOR ONE, WASN'T BUYG EXPLANATNS SUCH AS HER BROTHER'S, AND SAID THEIR FATHER WOULDN'T HAVE EHER. “I THK HE WOULD HAVE SEEN AS UGLY, AS ANY REASONABLE PERSON WOULD,” SHE SAID. “ARE WE PUTTG GAY PEOPLE THE SAME TEGORY AS PEOPLE WHO HAVE SEX WH DONKEYS?”PATTI AND HER YOUNGER BROTHER RON, WH WHOM SHE NOW ENJOYS A CLOSE RELATNSHIP AFTER YEARS OF NOT SPEAKG, GREW UP A FAY ATMOSPHERE WHICH GAY PEOPLE WERE WELED, SHE SAID. MANY OF HER PARENTS’ IENDS WERE GAY, PARTICULARLY HER MOTHER’S, AND PATTI SAID NANCY WAS PECIALLY CLOSE TO A LBIAN UPLE, PATTI’S “NTS,” WHO OCSNALLY BABYSAT THE REAGAN KIDS. THE TWO WOMEN EVEN SLEPT TOGETHER THE REAGANS’ MASTER BEDROOM THEIR PACIFIC PALISAS HOME WHEN RONALD AND NANCY TOOK A WEEK’S VATN HAWAII. (RON REAGAN, 54, A RAD HOST AND POLIL MENTATOR, IS A STRONG BACKER OF LEGALIZED SAME-SEX MARRIAGE; UNLIKE FORMER FIRST LADY LRA BH, ANOTHER SUPPORTER, NANCY REAGAN, 91, HAS NOT PUBLICLY STATED HER POSN AND ULDN’T BE REACHED FOR MENT.)AS FOR HER FATHER’S ATTU TOWARD GAY PEOPLE, “IT DIDN’T BEAR ANY EP DISCSN, WAS JT ACCEPTED,” PATTI TOLD ME. SHE RELLED THAT WHEN SHE WAS A PRETEEN GIRL, “MY FATHER AND I WERE THE N OF THE PALISAS HOE, STG THERE WATCHG PILLOW TALK. I REMEMBER WHEN ROCK HUDSON WAS KISSG DORIS DAY, I SAID, ‘THAT LOOKS WEIRD!’ AND MY FATHER GOT VERY TERTED AND ASKED ME, ‘WHAT DO YOU MEAN?’ I SAID, ‘I DON’T KNOW. HE JT LOOKS WEIRD KISSG HER.’ AND MY FATHER SAID, ‘THAT’S BEE HE DON’T WANT TO BE KISSG HER. HE WANTS TO BE KISSG ANOTHER FELLA.’ HE JT TOLD ME THAT SOME MEN LOVED OTHER MEN, SOME WOMEN LOVED OTHER WOMEN, AND THAT WAS . I JT WENT, ‘OH. OK.’”ON THURSDAY, VAR PRACTNERS OF THE DARK ARTS OF BLE TELEVISN WERE GLEEFULLY CHARACTERIZG PATTI AND MICHAEL’S DIFFERENCE OF OPN AS YET ANOTHER REAGAN FAY FD.“THIS IS THE PROBLEM AMERI TODAY,” MICHAEL PLAED. “EVERYBODY WANTS TO CREATE A FIGHT WHERE THERE ISN’T ONE, AND THEN ARGUE ABOUT . THERE’S NO FD.”PATTI ULD AT LEAST AGREE ON THAT POT. “LOOK, WE’VE ALWAYS HAD DIFFERENT OPNS,” SHE SAID. “I CERTALY HAVE NO NTROL OF WHAT MICHAEL SAYS. WE’RE RDIAL.” LLOYD GROVE

Davis said she would not “get to a fay fd” wh her Reagan had a mixed rerd on gay rights. As print, he furiated many gay people wh his slow rponse to the AIDS epimic, but as a former ernor of California he joed a number of Democrats, cludg Print Jimmy Carter, opposg a ballot measure that would have barred gays and lbians om workg public Davis said her father “did not believe that gayns was a choice, ” although “as a straight man and an old-fashned man, ’s not like he unrstood .

Phyllis Schlafly, a nservative activist and gay rights opponent, said an terview that Mr. “Of urse, Reagan did associate wh all the Hollywood crowd, and chanc are he probably knew a number of gays, ” Ms.