Alan Keyes daughter comes out of closet...

[Young Drachma]

Uh, wow. I knew the rumor had been out already, but for her to come out and start saying "hey, I exist and this is how it's been." Seems bold, but then, she comes from bold stock.



Link to CNN
Daughter of conservative Republican calls herself 'liberal queer'


ANNAPOLIS, Maryland (AP) -- The daughter of conservative Republican Alan Keyes referred to herself Monday as a "liberal queer" and urged support for gay and lesbian young people who have been deserted by their families.

Maya Marcel-Keyes, 19, addressed a rally sponsored by the gay-rights group Equality Maryland, saying she was motivated to speak out because of her rocky relationship with her parents and the recent death of a friend who had fallen ill after being thrown out of the house by his family.

Marcel-Keyes told several hundred supporters that her sexuality had created a rift in her relationship with her parents.

"Things just came to a head. Liberal queer plus conservative Republican just doesn't mesh well," she said. "That was making my life a little bit turbulent."

Later, Marcel-Keyes told CNN her parents "were not too pleased" when they learned she was a lesbian, but she said she loves them "very much, and they love me. They can't support my activities."

Her father, the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Illinois last year, created a stir in August when he said during an interview that homosexuality was "selfish hedonism" and that Vice President Dick Cheney's lesbian daughter was a sinner.

In a statement issued Monday night, Keyes said: "My daughter is an adult, and she is responsible for her own actions. What she chooses to do has nothing to do with my work or political activities."

Marcel-Keyes said she received an outpouring of support when disclosing her sexual orientation, but her friend did not.

"Like me, he grew up queer in a conservative household," she said. But where she got hundreds of e-mails, offers of a place to stay and a college scholarship, "he'd been out there two years and had gotten nothing."

"And the worst part is, he isn't the only one," Marcel-Keyes said.

[rkmsuf]

Why does this mean a hill of beans?

[Subby]

This means Alan Keyes is probably gay since being gay is genetic.

[Franklinnoble]

[mhass]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

"Like me, he grew up queer in a conservative household," she said. But where she got hundreds of e-mails, offers of a place to stay and a college scholarship. . .

You can get scholarships for being gay?

[Swaggs]

Sadly, she looks more like Alan Keyes than Alicia Keyes.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by mhass

You can get scholarships for being gay?

I think you can get scholarships for just about anything imaginable at this point.
But to answer your question -- apparently so
http://www.finaid.org/otheraid/gay.phtml

[BrianD]

Originally Posted by Subby

This means Alan Keyes is probably gay since being gay is genetic.

Good one.

[Draft Dodger]

I thought she already was out of the closet.

[BigJohn&TheLions]

I'm surprised nobody posted this yet...

[Klinglerware]

There was an article on her today in the college newspaper where she's been accepted to go to school. It looks like her parents kicked her out of the house and won't pay tuition. It's a little cold (since this is a case of "we're cutting you off because you're a lesbian" as opposed to "we don't have the money to send you" or "we don't believe in supporting you after you turn 18"), though I acknowledge it is well within her parents rights to do so.

I do wish her well, it'll be a tough road ahead to try to get through Brown without financial or emotional support from her family.



hxxp://www.browndailyherald.com/news/869642.html

Marcel-Keyes must fund U. education herself
By Jane Porter
Published: Friday, February 18, 2005

Before starting as a first-year at Brown in the fall, Maya Marcel-Keyes needs to take care of a few things.

She needs to find a home, because her parents kicked her out for being a lesbian. She needs to find a way to cover the cost of an Ivy League education, a cost suddenly thrust on the shoulders of a 19-year-old.

And, she said at a rally Monday, the world around her needs to find a way to address the issue of thousands of faceless queer teens living - and, as her close friend did last week, dying - on the streets. The gay-rights rally in Annapolis, Md., was her first public appearance.

"The main issue that I have been concerned about is the large population of homeless LGBT kids," Marcel-Keyes told The Herald. But she has a few of her own personal issues to take care of, she said, including "trying to find housing and things like that."

Things that include covering the cost of Brown tuition, which her parents refuse to help pay. Marcel-Keyes will visit the University this week to learn about the financial options available to students in her predicament, she said.

Marcel-Keyes already has some financial support on her side.

Last week, the Point Foundation, a national organization for students marginalized because of their sexual orientation and gender identity, announced that Marcel-Keyes will receive a scholarship to help cover the cost of tuition.

The public pays attention to her situation because of who her father is, Marcel-Keyes said, but she added that there are countless teenagers who have been abandoned by their parents and whose voices are never heard.

"It is really unfair that when something happens in my life, I get so much support, but for so many kids, they don't get any attention," Marcel-Keyes said.

Republican Alan Keyes, who lost the 2004 Illinois Senate election to Democrat Barack Obama and ran for the Republican presidential nomination twice, raised his daughter in a conservative household, sending her to Oakcrest School for Girls in McLean, Va., a small Catholic school that "was about as conservative as my parents," she said.

Alan Keyes' political views are centered on a pro-life, pro-family platform that strongly opposes gay marriage and emphasizes the need to treat what he calls "America's moral crisis."

"I grew up hearing how homosexuality was evil," Marcel-Keyes said. "When you are little, your parents really define your view of the world."

In her Monday speech, sponsored by Equality Maryland, a gay-rights organization, Marcel-Keyes said she has watched the issue of neglected queer teens go unnoticed for too long. "I won't be silent any longer," she told her audience.

"God works in really screwed-up ways sometimes," she began her speech. "There are times in life when he doesn't just nudge you gently in the direction he wants you to go, he sort of takes a two-by-four and whacks you over the head a few times. Last month felt a lot like that for me."

Last month, Marcel-Keyes was told she should pack her bags and leave her father's apartment. Last week brought the death of a close friend who was living on the streets for two years after being turned away by his parents for being gay.

But to a certain degree, Marcel-Keyes understands her parents' decision: "Funding my education would be funding me towards something they are against."

Marcel-Keyes is looking for financial support in other places. She hopes her trip to Brown this week will help her figure out what she is going to do about paying her way through college.

Each year, the University hears from a certain number of students who don't have the financial support of their parents, said Michael Bartini, director of financial aid. "We look at them on a case-by-case basis," he said, unable to comment specifically on Marcel-Keyes' situation.

Point Foundation Executive Director Vance Lancaster said he hopes Marcel-Keyes' situation will bring more attention to the problem of marginalized gay and lesbian youth - "a real issue out there that is being glossed over."

Many Point Scholars have found themselves in predicaments similar to Marcel-Keyes', Lancaster said. "A lot of the people we support were supported or loved by their families one day and disowned the next," he added.

Marcel-Keyes will be Brown's second Point Scholar.

Daniel Bassichis '06.5 is the first of Brown's Point Scholars. "Her experience is very different from mine, which shows the range of the Point Foundation," said Bassichis, whose family is supportive of him. But like Marcel-Keyes, Bassichis is also committed to social justice and addressing queer-related issues.

There is a strong need for more organizations like the Point Foundation, Marcel-Keyes said. Her time at Brown will be a step towards her goal of one day opening her own LGBT youth center, she said.

She hopes to study political science and to continue getting her message out to others, she said.

Marcel-Keyes shares her personal experiences on a blog she has been keeping for the past five years. The blog, which has gained tremendous recognition in the past few weeks, has generated a lot of "random angry hate mail" and a huge amount of supportive feedback, she said.

The quote in big purple letters at the top of her blog, she is embarrassed to admit, is from a Good Charlotte song: "You say I'm a dreamer, I say you're a nonbeliever." The quote has been there for years, she said, but recently it has taken on new meaning.

For Marcel-Keyes, the quote means the issue of homeless queer youth is one that can be helped. "It's all very well and good to wish these problems are solved," she said. " 'There are too many homeless kids out there,' they say. But everyone can do a little something to help."

[BrianD]

This post pretty much explains my belief on why homosexuality can't be a choice. Knowing that this story isn't all that uncommon, why would anyone choose this path?

[JeeberD]

Originally Posted by BrianD

This post pretty much explains my belief on why homosexuality can't be a choice. Knowing that this story isn't all that uncommon, why would anyone choose this path?

Yup, I agree with you completely there...

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by BrianD

This post pretty much explains my belief on why homosexuality can't be a choice. Knowing that this story isn't all that uncommon, why would anyone choose this path?

Because they're all evil - don't you know that ?

Seriously, try explaining to some of the people here, who live in the belief that being gay is a crime of sorts.

[Gary Gorski]

Um, boo hoo?

Why is this a story? Her parents kicked her out and won't pay for an Ivy League education - so? Then I guess maybe she should do what any other 19 year old would have to do in that situation. You know, get a job and go to community college or get a student loan that will bog her down for 10 years after she's graduated. Oh, she's the daughter of a political figure. Oh, she's gay. Well then I guess that means lets get enough people to contribute and pay her way through an IVY LEAGUE school.

I'm sorry but I don't believe you deserve a scholarship or financial aid, no less to an Ivy League school, because you're gay. She's not the first 19 year old to be kicked out of the house and cut off from the gravy train - where's the story about the 19 year old who got kicked out because she's pregnant? Where's the story about the 19 year old who got kicked out because his parents can't afford to take care of him any more and need to move into a small apartment for themselves?

Oh yeah, those people don't come from wealthy political families and don't have the means to promote their own agenda through the media because their parents aren't wealthy or important people.

I like how she talks about how unfair it is to all these other forgotten kids that she gets so much attention yet is more than happy to have her plight broadcast to the world so that everyone can help pay for her to have an Ivy League education. How very caring of her.

FN's right on the mark here.

[Klinglerware]

I'm not so sure that having the world pay for her Ivy league education is her motivation here. She apparently has scholarship money and no doubt will have to work and secure loans like everyone else to get through school--the scholarship money was probably applied for and received before she went public.

More likely, the death of a close friend of hers probably compelled her to say something. Most kids (especially people from upper-middle class/upper-class backgrounds) generally are apathetic and don't try to make waves unless something traumatic happens in their lives...

[chinaski]

FN's picture is more than right on....

[Crapshoot]

The fact that her parents kicked her out because she's gay is well within their rights. That being said, what is wrong with her making a point Gary ? She abhors her father's politics, and is trying to strike a blow towards them- what's wrong with that ? She was talking at a gay rights Rally at Brown - again, if the media picks up on it - its their thing.

Also, that scholarship is funded by a private foundation. If you can fund Christian ministries- why the hell can't people chose to fund a scholarship like this ? No one is saying Brown should fund her (and it is their right to do or not to do, as a private institution) - but she's now broke, and all colleges take that into consideration when providing financial aid.

[BrianD]

It sounds more like she is looking to get the story out, not that she is looking for financial gain. Actually, I'm guessing that the newspapers probably jumped to her to get the story. It is probably good for people to hear the story if her father continues to work his way through the political system. He would have to work pretty hard to get me to vote for him after something like this.

[chinaski]

Actually, it was CNN who tracked her down because they heard she was invited to speak at that rally. She has nothing to do with this other than agreeing to cnn's request to the interview. The interview was really bad, and Blitzer came across like a total tool... he was trying really really hard for her to condemn her parents and the whole time she never would speak down about her parents. Shes a pretty cool chick. I feel sorry for her, that her parents are so evil they would treat their child this way. But, with her story, family background - its not like shes gonna have a rough life regardless of what her parents do to her.

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by BrianD

It sounds more like she is looking to get the story out, not that she is looking for financial gain. Actually, I'm guessing that the newspapers probably jumped to her to get the story. It is probably good for people to hear the story if her father continues to work his way through the political system. He would have to work pretty hard to get me to vote for him after something like this.

And that's the point. She using her stance as a political issue, to further discourage (in her mind anyway) any would be Alan Keyes voters, or highlight the group he appeals to - and as a way to bring publicity to a cause she supports. Hell, more power to her.

[Klinglerware]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

The fact that her parents kicked her out because she's gay is well within their rights. That being said, what is wrong with her making a point Gary ? She abhors her father's politics, and is trying to strike a blow towards them- what's wrong with that ? She was talking at a gay rights Rally at Brown - again, if the media picks up on it - its their thing.

Also, that scholarship is funded by a private foundation. If you can fund Christian ministries- why the hell can't people chose to fund a scholarship like this ? No one is saying Brown should fund her (and it is their right to do or not to do, as a private institution) - but she's now broke, and all colleges take that into consideration when providing financial aid.

I agree with Crapshoot here. Keyes' daughter agrees too--in the article she says she understands why her parents cut her off. Her upbringing is showing here too: it appears that she is making a good faith effort in trying to take responsibility for her decisions and handle her financial situation on her own. It doesn't sound like she's begging for a handout...

[BrianD]

Originally Posted by chinaski

Actually, it was CNN who tracked her down because they heard she was invited to speak at that rally. She has nothing to do with this other than agreeing to cnn's request to the interview. The interview was really bad, and Blitzer came across like a total tool... he was trying really really hard for her to condemn her parents and the whole time she never would speak down about her parents. Shes a pretty cool chick. I feel sorry for her, that her parents are so evil they would treat their child this way. But, with her story, family background - its not like shes gonna have a rough life regardless of what her parents do to her.

Once again showing that news outlets are trying to create the news, not just report it. I understand they want the great sound bites to make their broadcast more valuable, but it annoys me when they try to manufacture something good.

[BigJohn&TheLions]

I used to repsect her father simply because in the 2000 republican debates he seemed to wipe the floor with everyone but McCain, even though he seemed to be the only one who didn't know he didn't have a snowball's chance. Now, he just seems like another far-right bastard.

Family values don't just mean that you love your kids if they meet your expectations. It's entirely possible she became a lesbian not because she doeesn't like men at all, but because she knew what her father's reaction would be. If my daughter would come out in 7 years (she's 12) I would be disappointed, but she's still my kid and I love her.

Mr. Keyes is done. He never should have bastardized himself with accepting a no-win situation in Illinois. In fact, I lost even more respect for the republican party for pressuring him into the run. Everybody knew that the only reason that he was asked was because he was the best available BLACK republican. If Barack Obama was Josh Johansson with blonde hair and blue eyes there is no way he is asked to run. He should have bowed out simply due to that, and the fact that the state of Illinois had to openly wonder if Keyes could find their state on a map (hint: it's a blue one)

[Crapshoot]

I did think he did a wonderful job in the debates, and I think Keyes is a highly intelligent man. That being said, he's pretty much trotted out there to show that crackpotts are present in all races - black, white, green etc. Nominating him for the Illinois bit was absolutely ridiculous.

[Gary Gorski]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

That being said, what is wrong with her making a point Gary ? She abhors her father's politics, and is trying to strike a blow towards them- what's wrong with that ? She was talking at a gay rights Rally at Brown - again, if the media picks up on it - its their thing.

Nothing's wrong with that - so she speaks out against her father's politics. Fine. I just am not impressed by how her story goes from my parents kicked me out because I'm gay to another story publicizing the fact that now she has nobody to pay for her Ivy League education. She's very careful to talk about all the people in situations like her and how bad she feels for all of them yet she is the one who is going to get her Ivy League education paid for and those people are going to get nothing.

I guess to me, if you're going to make a stand for some injustice it means you don't get to be first in line. If she's speaking out to help people then why isn't she requesting that all these well-wishers and benefactors give their money to other people who need the help? Why isn't she getting an education at the University of Illinois-Chicago or something so that these people like her deceased friend who have nobody to turn to can be helped.

I guess I just don't feel bad for people who speak out against something yet are the first in line to reap the rewards.

[chinaski]

Originally Posted by BrianD

Once again showing that news outlets are trying to create the news, not just report it. I understand they want the great sound bites to make their broadcast more valuable, but it annoys me when they try to manufacture something good.

Yup, you nailed it. Seems like CNN is doing this constantly now. Dont even get me started on those CNN fools 'reporting' on blog entries.

[chinaski]

I didnt see anyone else mention this, but she also said shes been out since she was 15 and her parents have known since that time. She's even talked openly about it on her blog site thats been up for 5 years.

[Klinglerware]

Originally Posted by chinaski

I didnt see anyone else mention this, but she also said shes been out since she was 15 and her parents have known since that time. She's even talked openly about it on her blog site thats been up for 5 years.

Hmm, that begs the question as to why she got cut off now. Perhaps it's not because she's a lesbian, but because she chose to speak up about it...

[chinaski]

Originally Posted by Klinglerware

Hmm, that begs the question as to why she got cut off now. Perhaps it's not because she's a lesbian, but because she chose to speak up about it...

good point. Its hard to tell since we dont know if CNN tracked her down at that rally and sudo cohersed her into the interview or if this was part of her 'public' coming out appearance, with her getting her cut off preceeding this event.