Glenn agenda facebook.jpg

The pink triangle symbol of the gay rights movement is well-known as an appropriation of the badge used in concentration camps to identify homosexual prisoners. As notoriously demonstrated by the pair of inverted yellow triangles used to tag Jews, the Third Reich deployed an elaborate system of colored triangles to cross-identify its hostages by enemy races, religions, nationalities, sexual practices, and much else. Infamously obsessed with human differences, they even had a specific insignia for Jewish "race defilers" who had the temerity to sleep with a non-Jew.

Identifying enemies based on sexual orientation is rare today, but state Rep. Gary Glenn, R - Larkin Township, has worked hard for decades to be exceptional. Earlier this week he read the biography of the incoming news editor of the Midland Daily News, which included a notation that the reporter is married to another man. Applying his own coding system to what he considers truly important details about one of the largest newspapers in his district, Glenn took to social media with an "Agenda Alert" to warn followers the new editor was both gay and had earned a political science degree.

He might have accomplished the objective with greater brevity by Tweeting out an image of the Federalist Papers superimposed over a pink triangle.

This is not an isolated incident. As head of the American Family Association of Michigan, Glenn has incessantly obsessed over the sexuality of gay people, frequently citing the sexual identity of critics he knows to be gay.

In a typical example from his campaign last summer, he shared on his Facebook page a quote from an MLive story about criticisms he was receiving from a conservative organization. But ahead of the name of the spokesperson for the organization, long-time conservative activist Greg McNeilly, Glenn injected the parenthetical reference "(Openly 'gay')" - a description of McNeilly not included in the article itself.

Glenn is less interested in the sex lives of straight critics, as he rarely if ever identifies them as "openly heterosexual."

His current behavior isn't a surprise. Two years ago the American Family Association of Michigan, under Glenn's direction, gave public support for the words of GOP National Committeeman Dave Agema, following Agema's reciting of delusional blatherings from a KKK leader regarding gays. (Example of blatherings: gays are 19 times more likely to die in car accidents.)

Thus has been the gay-obsessed career of Mr. Glenn since 1999. Despite post-election pronouncements that he would focus more on fiscal matters, he hasn't made it through his first three months without commenting on the sex life of a local newsman and worrying over the restroom usage of transgender patrons at a Midland business.

This is a representative democracy, with consequences for the reputation of communities. Mr. Glenn's obsessions have been well known locally, and this is the representative the people of the City of Midland and surrounding townships sent to speak for them at the State Capitol. Glenn clearly believes he is their voice, telling MLive last week that Midland County's vote in favor of the gay marriage ban in 2004 is proof the community craves this sex news about local media.

If this isn't who Midland really is, then the community leaders there need to prove it by finding an alternative who will take their voice back at the next election. This is a very safe Republican district, regardless of who wins the primary. Normally, the GOP House Caucus is expected to show institutional solidarity by directing volunteer and other resources to defend an embattled incumbent from a primary challenger, but Rep. Glenn hasn't been "normal" for a long time.

Ken Braun was a legislative aide for a Republican lawmaker in the Michigan House and worked for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. He has assisted in a start-up effort to encourage employers to provide economic education to employees, and is currently the director of policy for InformationStation.org. His employer is not responsible for what he says here, on Facebook, or Twitter ... or in Spartan Stadium on game days.