Given the sensitivity with which law enforcement treats terms of a sexual nature, it's not every day you see a headline on the Los Angeles Police Department's official blog like the one today that trumpets "LAPD's Chief Bratton is 2008 Homo Hero of the Year."
So, it's not surprising that the blogger responsible chose only to post a simple hyperlink that says "click here to view article," with no further explanation.
Rest assured, the honor is indeed real, awarded by Queerty.com, a pro-gay Web site.
Queerty prefaces its recognition of Chief William Bratton by noting the sad history of the LAPD in regard to its treatment of gays and lesbians. It says the very reason the City of West Hollywood was incorporated was to deny the LAPD jurisdiction in what became a gay safe haven. That's not just "ancient history," says the site, which notes that as recently as 1998 gay and lesbian activists and businesses complained of being unfairly targeted by police.
But it was the police response to the recent protest marches against the passage of Proposition 8, the gay marriage ban, that changed a lot of minds in the gay and lesbian community about the LAPD, and Bratton in particular.
Queerty praises Bratton's public support of the No-on-8 campaign, but says "it is the way he and the Los Angeles Police Department treated the protesters that makes him Queerty’s Homo Hero of the Year."
In the end, says the site, "Bratton’s proved that even the most homophobic institutions are capable of change when led by people with courage."
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