Mainstreaming homosexuality: the annual "gay pride" parade in Northampton, Mass., exemplifies how those seeking to homosexualize Middle America are marching right along. (Culture War).

In 1909, Calvin Coolidge, a devout Protestant and a fiscally prudent Yankee, was elected mayor of Northampton, Massachusetts. Nearly a hundred years later, Clare Higgins, famous for being badly dressed and openly lesbian, is the mayor of this small city.

Addressing the Holy Name Society in Washington, D.C., Coolidge once stated, "The institutions of our country stand justified both in reason and in experience. I am aware that they will continue to be assailed. But I know they will continue to stand. We may perish, but they will endure. They are founded on the Rock of Ages."

One wonders, then, what the man who became the 30th U.S. president would think of the annual Northampton Pride March, a celebratory parade and rally for the active "gay," lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community. (Transgender, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, means "exhibiting the appearance and behavioral characteristics of the opposite sex.")

Celebrating Homosexuality

Now in its 22nd year, the event begins at Lampron Park, located next to an elementary school, and ends with a rally at Veterans Field. This year an estimated 8,000 people participated in the homosexual march, a typically festive event that featured a rainbow arch of balloons and community spirit galore. The Pioneer Valley Humane Society, Quakers from the Mt. Toby meeting, clergy affiliated with the United Church of Christ, and a local car dealership are among the groups who participated in the parade.

At the post-parade rally, Mayor Higgins welcomed the crowd but didn't bother to read the official Pride Day proclamation. Been there, done that. "It's the same proclamation every year. Just refer to your tape of last year's march," said Higgins.

Next up was rally emcee Rachel Maddow, a Rhodes Scholar and quirky radio personality, described as a "way-out-of-the-closet lesbian." She made wisecracks about Massachusetts Republican Governor Mitt Romney, who supports domestic partnership benefits for "gay" and lesbian couples. Maddow derided Romney as "our blow-dried, chest-shaving governor" who "not only opposes same-sex marriage" but "also opposes civil unions."

The crowd-pleasing barbs paved the way for the next speaker -- Jennifer Levi -- a staff attorney with the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders. Levi spoke on behalf of civil marriage for lesbian and homosexual couples. She also happens to be co-counsel in the case of Goodridge v. Department of Public Health in which she represents seven same-sex couples denied marriage licenses by their respective city (or town) hall clerks. Levi, in fact, appeared on the stage with two of the Northampton plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Heidi Norton and Gina Smith, and their two young sons whose surname is Nortonsmith.

"When we were asked by the (Massachusetts) Supreme Judicial Court why this state should be the first to take this step to protect gay and lesbian families, the answer that we gave is that because it's the right thing to do," insisted Levi.

While the crowd applauded Jennifer Levi and the Norton-Smith "family," other "pridegoers" remained occupied visiting the numerous vendors and information booths. Girl Scouts sold their popular cookies while representatives from the Gay Men's Domestic Violence Project distributed literature, and the flamboyant entertainers from Diva's Nightclub, a "gay" bar, cheerfully posed for photo-ops. There was even a special play area for children. But controversy soon appeared in the form of a slim, young woman with jet-black hair who briefly went topless to make a political statement. She said she doesn't care for the Northampton Pride March because "the mainstream gay movement totally disassociates itself with people like me -- sex workers and drug addicts."

To a visitor, her words and actions would be jarring, but she has a point. To describe Northampton, population 30,000, as a middle-class enclave for homosexuals would be no exaggeration. The figures released by the 2000 U.S. Census Bureau reveal that Hampshire County, where Northampton is located, had 3,931 households with unmarried partners of which 722 are lesbian couples and 133 are male homosexual couples. Queerhamp.org has described Northampton as follows: "The GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered) community here is one of the most substantial in the USA to be found outside of a major city center." Leslea Newman, the author of Heather Has Two Mommies, has stated that she drew her inspiration for the controversial book, in part, while "walking down Main Street in Northampton." Gazettenet.com, the local newspaper's website, has featured a nondescript promotion inviting the public to a "Healthcare for Lesbians" workshop, advertising a doctor and an "Interfaith Chaplain" as the speakers. Last winter the newspaper ran a story about a pair of 40-something lesbians who homeschooled their two children while the foursome embarked on a lengthy sea voyage aboard a 44-foot sailboat. To publicly complain about "alternative lifestyles" around here is to invite an avalanche of public scorn.

So, how did a city that once had a conservative mayor like Coolidge transform itself into a GLBT mecca?

John Spencer, a Northampton resident for the last 25 years, offers one explanation. "As Smith College became more liberal, it brought in more of the solid-left crowd. Also, property values started to rise, and more out-of-towners moved into the area. The first 'gay pride' parades were mostly local people coming out. Congregants from a local Baptist church would show up on parade day, and basically tell the gays that they were going to Hell. Now, the community has become more programmed and accepting of the situation," says Spencer.

Smith College, the school Barbara Bush left to marry George Herbert Walker Bush, is a Northampton landmark. Graduates include the likes of Julia Child, Gloria Steinem, and Sylvia Plath.

Melissa Parham, a Smith undergraduate and one of the few outspoken Republicans, recently wrote an article for The Sophian, the student newspaper, in which she offered a revealing snapshot of daily life in 2003 at this exclusive college for women. According to Parham, Smith students are faced with: "Anal sex lectures, porn-viewing student organizations, constant antiwar protests and anti-America demonstrations, the additions of 'transgender specialist' counselors into Health Services, the rewriting of the SGA Constitution to take out all gender pronouns, and multiple vocal anti-conservative faculty members." "The list goes on and on," writes Parham, "and culminates in the fact that one of the most popular professors on campus who just so happens to be conservative was denied tenure this year, probably because of his political persuasions."

No Community Is Immune

Northampton is not the only middle-class community in western Massachusetts that is a homosexual hotbed. Situated about 10 miles away from Northampton is Amherst, a picturesque college town. Its local public schools proudly promote a "progressive" agenda. "Love Makes a Family: Living in Lesbian and Gay Families," a photo/text exhibit, has been shown in Amherst's elementary schools. Amherst Regional High School has a student organization called SUDS (Students United by Diverse Sexualities), and GLBT "Safe Zone" stickers adorn many high school classroom doors.

One Amherst high school teacher, who declined to be named for fear of being fired, spoke to THE NEW AMERICAN about what it's like to work in such an environment. "As I was being shown around, I was told, 'We have a few teachers that are openly gay. Amherst is comfortable with that,"' he says of one of the first conversations he had with another employee.

He confides that there are frequent "attempts from the administration to crack down on the derogatory use of the word 'gay,"' but he doesn't think the efforts are welcomed by all the students.

"I think there are a lot of kids who are uncomfortable with the aggressive gay agenda," he says. He admits that seeing same-sex student couples engage in public displays of affection "like holding hands and kissing in the hallways" makes him uneasy.

But there are limits to the political correctness, even in Amherst. During the 2001-02 school year, Stephen Myers, the Amherst Regional High School principal, had to resign under a cloud of scandal after a male student alleged that the 50-something principal had asked to see his nipple and invited the student to his house, informing the teenager that he owned a hot tub. Sympathy for the principal, as well as for the superintendent and school committee (who had attempted to keep the affair quiet), ended after the local newspapers published information from an almost 100-page report, produced by investigators in Santa Cruz, California, where Myers had worked as an educator. The report included the principal's confession to being sexually attracted to minors, and his admission to having engaged in inappropriate play with a male foster child.

Undeterred by such scandals, however, homosexual activists in both Northampton and Amherst continue unabated in celebrating their lifestyle and promoting their agenda.

"Living here [in Northampton], life is pretty good, especially today," observes Heidi Norton, the longtime partner of Gina Smith, at the Pride Day rally.

Isabel Lyman, a homeschooling mom, holds a doctoral degree in social science and is the author of The Homeschooling Revolution (2000).