Some folks thought the theme of our queer issue last year Where We’re Not Wanted was a little hysterical. If anything, it was prescient.

Urban areas, we pointed out in that package, the places where most homos choose to live, were progressive and relatively safe places for queers to live. The point we made in the 2004 queer issue was that many places in the United States were becoming so intolerant of homosexuals that more and more queers would have no choice but to move to leave rural areas or even urban areas in states like Texas and Virginia. Gay Americans have always been migrants, but with so many state legislatures attacking us, more and more of us would be refugees. The piece was the seed that lead to our post-election Urban Archipelago issue.

Since June of last year the situation has only gotten worse. Laws attacking the rights of gays and lesbians are being passed on a daily basis — and they're not all attacks on gay marriage. You can read about attacks on gay books, gay parents, and gay teenagers in the papers every day.

Earlier this week Texas Governor Rick Perry made a point of signing, even though it didn't require his signature, an anti-gay marriage referendum that's going to put before Texas voters this fall. He signed the damn thing in an evangelical church, at an event to which only Christians were invited. Nice.

Some gay folks, including gay veterans turned up to protest. When asked about them, Gov. Perry told them to move to another state. Read all about on DailyKos.

For the record, Seattle will welcome gay refugees from the Hate State of Texas. Come on up, queers. The BBQ isn't as good but the theocrats aren't running the show up here. At least not yet.

Sigh.

There's a war on at home — one that, conveniently enough, serves to distract Americans from the war the Republicans are screwing up in Iraq. (Yes, yes: I was one of those liberals who supported that war — but, believe me, liberals who supported removing Saddam from power are even angrier at how miserably the Bushies are prosecuting the war than you libs who opposed it are.) They're waging war on gays and lesbians. I wonder how much longer until the war at home becomes a shooting war.