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| David Benkof, formerly known as David Bianco, left behind his life as a gay author
and media entrepreneur because it didn't fit with his religious views. (Photo
courtesy of Q Syndicate)
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HOME > NEWS > NATIONAL NEWS
By: CHRISTOPHER SEELY
COMMENTS |
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As David Bianco, he created a syndication service that provides articles to dozens
of gay media outlets, including this newspaper.
As David Benkof, he will soon appear on national television to oppose gay
marriage.
When a gay person comes out of the closet, rainbow flags wave and a celebration
ensues. But when a gay person opts to pursue opposite-sex relationships, that
support turns to silence or even attacks, according to Benkof, whose legal
name change will be final next year.
"Nobody gets a parade for leaving the gay community, and I'm one of the
more high-profile people to have gone through this transition and been public
about it," Benkof said.
Benkof was formerly well known in gay media circles as journalist-entrepreneur
David Bianco, who in 1995 founded Q Syndicate, a media service that provides
columns, cartoons, crossword puzzles and horoscopes to the gay press.
Now Benkof has come out in opposition to gay marriage, calling it unholy in "J," a
weekly northern California Jewish publication.
"Some love relationships can be holy and some — such as those between
members of the same sex — cannot," Benkof said in the Nov. 28 edition.
Later this month, he will defend his stance during an appearance on "Ricki
Lake" dedicated to the gay marriage debate, he said.
"I believe that marriage is a fundamental bedrock of society that comes
from God, that has a specific definition that God gave us, which is a man and
a woman," Benkof told Southern Voice.
Benkof's new political views, rooted in his religious convictions, leave gay
activists divided over whether Benkof is now an enemy to the gay rights movement
he once supported.
"The bottom line is that his religious views themselves are despicable
and detestable because they are saying that gay is bad," said Wayne Besen,
author of a recent book criticizing "ex-gay" ministries. "Anyone
who would say that is not a friend of the gay movement."
But despite Benkof's new beliefs, he is not anti-gay, according to Paula Martinac,
editor at Q Syndicate and a former co-worker of Benkof.
"In my opinion, David is neither actively working to 'convert' gay people
to heterosexuality nor trying to harm the gay movement," Martinac said. "Although
our political views are pretty far apart, 'anti-gay' is not a term I would
use for him."
Earlier this year, Benkof began the process of changing his name from Bianco
in honor of the 30-year anniversary of the death of his grandfather, Julius
Benkof, and "secondarily to reflect that I've changed sexual identity," he
said.
In 2001, Benkof sold Q Syndicate to Rivendell Media, another agency closely
tied with the gay press that distributes syndicates and works with advertisers
that want to reach the gay market.
In September 2003, Benkof severed his ties with the company completely, no
longer writing his column, "Over the Rainbow."
"It was increasingly odd to be supervising content for the gay media
on a day-to-day basis when in my own life I was moving away from gay identity," Benkof
said.
Politically, Benkof said he still supports allowing gays to serve openly in
the military and banning employment discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Benkof also supports allowing gays to adopt children, but believes that straight
couples should be given priority over gay couples, he said.
"I have tremendous respect for the relationship choices and integrity
of my gay friends, but I also have to say that I think opposite-sex relationships
are in some way better than same-sex relationships, especially when it comes
to raising of children," he said.
"I don't hate the sin, and I don't hate who I was 10 years ago," Benkof
said. "Gay sex is just inconsistent with traditional religious life."
But others disagree with Benkof's interpretation of the requirements of Jewish
faith.
"I find his version of Judaism to be backwards and at odds with how most
American Jews think," Besen said. "Maybe he and Dr. Laura can powwow,
but the majority of Jews think it is a slap in the face and an affront to Judaism."
Besen, who is Jewish, authored "Anything but Straight: Unmasking the
Scandals and Lies Behind the Ex-Gay Myth," released this year.
Modern knowledge of psychology, sociology and history has changed the role
of women in mainstream Judaism and should be considered when examining gays,
according to Rabbi Joshua Lesser, leader of Congregation Bet Haverim, a predominately
gay Reconstructionist synagogue in Atlanta.
"Judaism has never been an island — it has always shifted and changed
in relationship to the knowledge of the day," said Lesser, who is gay. "We
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