The Toronto Star profiles gay Iraq hostage Jim Loney and his partner Dan Hunt, who says, “James had a lot of support (during his captivity). But I wonder how much he would have had if people had known he is gay?”
Loney will receive a “fearless” award tonight at Pride Toronto’s annual gala event.
Said Loney: “I don’t feel like a fearless person. Fearlessness means not being controlled by fear, even though fear is something all queer people feel in their lives — bashed, humiliated as they are.”
Loney recently accused the Knights of Columbus of pressuring a Catholic Youth Leadership Camp to close because of their discovery that Loney, who worked there as a staff member, is gay: “Staff members say the camp has been shut down after their chairman made reference to Loney in expressing his concern that the event was promoting a homosexual lifestyle.”
Loney was dismayed and publicly expressed his disappointment: “This is the litmus test for us: we love God as much as the one we love the least, and that’s what we’ve been trying to be about, as a leadership camp. We want the teasing and the bullying and the harassment that comes with homophobia to stop. We want the teenage suicide and the self-loathing of the closet to stop. We want people to be able to speak freely about what they are and what they believe without fear.”
