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Was he or wasn't he? The literal answer is no; despite the monument in Westminster Abbey, he wasn't an Anglican, and the word "gay" is problematic when applied to citizens of the 18th century. That's a cop-out, of course; the fuller answer, developed in more detail below, is that while there is no conclusive evidence one way or the other, he may very well have been. But more important than the answer is the question of why—and in what way—we should care.
On the morning of the consecration of Gene Robinson, an openly partnered gay man, as bishop of the Episcopal diocese of New Hampshire, I remember reading a quote in a Charlottesville newspaper from a member of a group of gay Episcopalians, comparing those who opposed the consecration to Nazis. Passions were running high, and I tend to blame the journalist who wanted something catchy for the story more than I blame the person quoted—I trust he thought better of it later. Nonetheless, as a theologically conservative Episcopalian, I felt seriously offended.
The basic pattern is a familiar one. Anyone opposing what might be described as a gay political agenda is in danger of being accused of anti-gay bias. For example, in a post dated February 15, 2007, on the gay-rights website Box Turtle Bulletin (boxturtlebulletin.com), Jim Burroway reports, "Many of my gay and lesbian friends assume that anyone who went to these [ex-gay ministries'] conferences would be filled with incredible hate toward the gay community. When I attended the Love Won Out protests in Palm Springs last fall, I was dismayed to see that the local protest organizers kept pounding on the word 'hate,' declaring Palm Springs a 'hate-free zone' and characterizing everyone associated with Love Won Out as being motivated by 'hate.' "[1]
While it is patently false to assume that any opposition to any aspect of homosexuality must result from bias, that doesn't do anything to diminish the evangelical image problem in this area. And it may possibly mask something more serious than an image problem. It's easy to dismiss someone who assumes that all opposition comes from bias, and it's easy to cite principle in support of opposition. The real question is whether, for any given person, the opposition to social or political goals held by many gay people comes purely from principle or whether it might be amplified by bias. For people who don't have many close relationships with gays and lesbians, this could be a difficult question to answer.
In February 2007, I attended a talk on the campus where I teach by John Corvino, a gay-rights activist who is also a philosophy professor. In general I was very impressed with (and entertained by) his presentation, but I felt that at a few points he had been unfair to theological conservatives, and so I asked him about it during the Q&A. I opened by identifying myself as theologically conservative but politically liberal on gay issues, having no problem with gay marriage and thinking that many of the gay couples I know would (or do) make fine parents, but not feeling that my reading of Scripture would allow me to approve of my rector marrying a same-sex couple. Having placed myself in a sympathetic light through the common ground of politics, I then tried to advocate for some of my more conservative friends who lack that common ground. Corvino had acknowledged that religious opposition didn't necessarily come from bias, and I agreed that it sometimes did, but I argued that his presentation had been unfair at a few points in mischaracterizing the theologically conservative position and implying a greater role for bias than is warranted. John admitted that he had been sloppy in his wording on a few points, and indeed in his DVD version of the lecture, "What's Morally Wrong with Homosexuality," which has since come out, he is consistently fair in dealing with those issues. I don't agree with his discussion of the Bible, but he doesn't take cheap shots, and many of his responses to secular arguments against homosexuality are really excellent.
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