Recent hate incidents (involving attacks against students based upon their sexual orientation) have certainly not been limited to San Diego State. The University of San Diego reported that on Nov. 7, at the student union building, public safety officers responded to a report of a Pride poster that had been vandalized.

The poster that originally said “PRIDE is an alliance of undergraduate men and women at USD...” was altered to say, “PRIDE is an alliance of PERVERTS...”

Dean of Students at USD, Donald R. Godwin, wrote in the school paper, The Vista, that “Defacing of posters to denigrate a population of our community will not be tolerated.” Because USD is affiliated with the Catholic Church, he quoted a Pastoral Letter authored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which states, in part, that “God loves every person as a unique individual. Sexual identity helps to define the unique persons we are. One component of our sexual identity is sexual orientation....God does not love someone any less simply because he or she is homosexual.”

Defacing of posters on campus is common at local campuses. These are “hate crimes” under California law because they involve destroying “property” because of “sexual orientation.” (Penal Code sec. 422.55).

USD also experienced another hate incident involving a “car parked on campus with a noose hanging from the rearview mirror.” Public safety officers determined that the driver of the vehicle was not a university student, but a contractor. The man told campus officials that he didn’t think the noose would offend or threaten anyone.

Given the recent news accounts involving the Jena 6, the man’s behavior does seem a little naive. The Supreme Court has held that the First Amendment does protect the display of burning crosses, etc., but the key is always whether such displays are “intended to intimidate a specific person.” So hanging a noose on a tree where black people congregate would be a “hate crime” under California law because such a gesture is designed to intimidate them. Also, California courts have ruled that the noose is on their “property.” Not because they own the property, but because it is property “closely associated” to the students.

Bills to add “sexual orientation” to federal hate crimes and job bias laws look hopeless. Even if the Senate passes either of them, W. has vowed to veto them and the margins for their passage are so slim that his veto would not be overturned.

So we should be thankful that there’s only one more year left in the W. Bush administration. Pursuing these measures in the current climate seems pointless.

Hopefully, next year at this time there will be a new president with a more enlightened view on bias against all people, including the GLBT community. And, perhaps just as important, the Democratic majority in both the Senate and the House will become so large so as to be “veto proof,” in the event the country elects another person who takes orders from evangelical leaders.

In the Senate, the Democrats could gain a few more seats, and with the help of the few moderate Republicans, there could be a majority of 60 Senators that would be able to secure a closure vote and pass our bills.

If we can do this, we could see the end of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the end of homophobic abstinence education programs, and the end of funding for “faith-based programs” that provide “reparative” therapy.

Ideally, bills to protect GLBT people from hate crimes and job bias should fly through quickly, and hopefully federals will guarantee same-sex couples the same rights granted to straight couples.

When W. was appointed to the presidency by five members of the U.S. Supreme Court in 2000, some of us were actually happy about it. Not because we thought anything would improve for us. Rather, we figured that if the right wing had the White House, the Senate and the House, as well as the Supreme Court, in four years the voters would never let them control again. Sometimes the country has to take one step backwards in order to move three steps forward

That’s what we should all hope for. And that’s what the right wing fears most.