Several anti-gay remarks were posted recently to the San Diego Police Officers Association (SDPOA) online message board, critical of the Dec. 7 Gay & Lesbian Times issue that featured Mayor Sanders and Police Chief William Lansdowne on its cover.

Sanders and Lansdowne were recognized as our 2006 “Persons of the Year,” which incited such disparaging remarks by SDPOA members as: “Sorry but I find this shameful! The last thing I want my kids to see is my boss on the cover a magazine like this! It makes me sick.” and “Very cute! Pardon me while I go vomit!”

As reported in this week’s San Diego News story on page 14, since the message board is anonymous and open to the public, there is no verifiable way to distinguish actual police officers and SDPOA employees from random users. However, the way in which the comments are authored infers a direct and professional relationship with the San Diego Police Department.

“If indeed the comments were written by officers, which one may surmise by the possessive tone of the comments, those individuals need to take a long, hard look at themselves and re-evaluate their duty as police officers,” said Bill Nemec, president of the SDPOA.

Lansdowne assured us that these anonymous postings are in no way reflective of the SDPD, but words do little to quell concerns that such blatant homophobia potentially exists within the department.

This story comes just two weeks after we reported on a wrongful death lawsuit filed against the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department by the mother of a transgender woman who died while in the custody of law enforcement. Violence and discrimination against our community by those very people hired to protect us is not unheard of, and therefore any indication of anti-gay sentiment within law enforcement should be taken very seriously.

There is a silver lining of sorts, however. Several postings were quick to come to our defense: “Uh maybe we should cast aside the hate and bigotry folks. Out of all the news/media broadcasts I have seen (U/T, 10 News, Fox News, NBC 7/39, KUSI, etc.), this author from this little known magazine had the most accurate numbers and honest-hitting answers. Personally, I am impressed.”

Another author raised an excellent point when asking SDPOA members what their reactions would be if the NAACP or Hispanic Weekly, for example, had nominated the mayor and police chief. How would the community react if racist or anti-Semitic remarks suddenly appeared in an online discussion among members of the police department? There’d be hell to pay. Yet discrimination and outright bigotry against the GLBT community remains pervasive and in many situations socially acceptable.

After apologizing to the Gay & Lesbian Times and the GLBT community at large, Nemec took the brunt of the blame.

“Because our organization’s name is directly on the site, as the president of the San Diego Police Officers Association, we take complete responsibility for the ignorant comments made,” he said. “These individuals behaved very unprofessionally.”

Nemec said he will initiate a three-prong action plan designed to prevent future offenses, which include hiring a Webmaster in charge of reviewing content and omitting invidious comments, and requiring users to disclose their identities as a condition of joining the message board. Finally, he said sanctions would be applied to anyone who then chooses to post offensive material on the message board.

While we applaud Nemec for taking action, changes to policies that govern the association’s message board do little to remedy the real issue here – namely homophobia in law enforcement agencies. The SDPD may need to step up its sensitivity and diversity training, including trans issues.

The problem, however, goes beyond the scope of the SDPD. Organizations such as the military and the Boys Scouts of America, for example, who openly discriminate against the GLBT community, are big feeders into law enforcement agencies. Ending the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy may go a long way in changing anti-gay sentiment and ultimately protecting our community.