Thus, that Cheney represents a party historically hostile towards gay rights is no reason to laud his response as foreword thinking or excuse the ambivalence it conceals. And that Lieberman has sponsored legislation aimed at eradicating discrimination against homosexuals and currently has a running mate who has derided the lack of federal action in support of gay rights is no reason to ignore his own reluctance to be a trailblazer now.

We must demand that our next leaders do more than "think about" and "wrestle with" the idea of equal rights, as Lieberman and Cheney, respectively, say that they will. We must hold them accountable for action, legislative reform and genuine respect for the dignity of all individuals. The next leaders of our country must be willing to bridge the gap between tolerance and acceptance--between the attitude that homosexuals are an unavoidable aberration that, for political purposes, must be granted legal concessions and the attitude that homosexuals are equals, deserving of the same fundamental rights as all citizens.

Without such a step our nation cannot rightly call itself just.

Lauren E. Baer '02 is a social studies concentrator in Dunster House. Her column appears on alternate Wednesdays.