Not Like Us

In today's Spokesman-Review there's an article about woman running for the Idaho legislature. What is so remarkable about her? She's openly gay. What is the point of saying "openly"? Why the distinction? After all we never hear about closet gays running for office. Do we look at two people and say we think he is a Christian but she is openly Christian? Do we remark that someone is openly criminal? Openly polite? The article has one paragraph describing in general what the candidate wants to work for if elected. But the vast majority of the article is about her being gay and her opponent who thinks her sexual preference will help him get reelected. But it does say she is open but not effusive about being gay. What a relief. She won't be coming to my door like those openly Jehovah's Witnesses.