If a controversial documentary about closeted gay politicians put the issue of "outing" on the front burner, this week's California Supreme Court ruling that banned same-sex marriage made sure the heat stayed up.
A few journalists, particularly in the gay community, have led a campaign to reveal the sexual orientation of elected officials who hide that they are gay or lesbian while supporting policies most in that community abhor.
I hear the reporters' righteous indignation. I understand their claims of hypocrisy. And yet a reporting experience from years ago makes me urge journalists to proceed with caution, as National Public Radio did in recent days, when reporting people's sexual orientation against their wishes.
As late as 1993, voters in Los Angeles still had not elected an openly gay candidate to the City Council. It seemed a good bet that the barrier would fall that year because a couple of gay candidates were among the front-runners in the 13th District, which includes Hollywood.
The Times assigned me to cover the race, and I soon learned that those candidates, Michael Weinstein and Conrado Terrazas, had been telling other gay activists that former school board member Jackie Goldberg was less worthy because she had never made a formal public declaration that she was a lesbian.
Goldberg's long-term relationship with writer and teacher Sharon Stricker had been an open secret, but some gay activists demanded early in the '93 campaign that she be more out.
I told my editors that this debate seemed to be having a real effect on endorsements and the tone of the race. They told me the Los Angeles Times had a policy against outing anyone.
That led to one of the more awkward interviews, a cockeyed version of ask, but don't necessarily tell.
When I called Goldberg, I reviewed the things gay activists had been saying. I explained that the newspaper wouldn't write about people's sexual orientation against their wishes. The way I recall it, she paused and said: "So are you asking?" And I said, "Well, other people are. I wonder how you feel about answering publicly?"
The candidate said she had never denied "who I am." She talked about her 13 years with Stricker and how they had made an agreement with their son, Brian: They would not deny their relationship if asked, but they would not broadcast it outside the home until after he graduated from high school, an event just a few months away from the start of the campaign.
