Dan Savage Versus GOProud in War of the F Word

Dan Savage is getting attention again for using the word "faggot," this time to attack a group of LGBT conservatives.

GOProud endorsed Mitt Romney earlier this week. And numerous LGBT rights groups have objected primarily because Romney supports amending the Constitution to ban same-sex marriage while President Obama supports marriage equality and repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act.

"The GOP's house faggots grab their ankles, right on cue," wrote Savage in reaction. "Pathetic."

Savage has a long history with the word. He used to begin each of his sex advice columns with the phrase, "Hey, Faggot," as part of his effort to reclaim it. But GOProud also has a history with the slur.

"I've just about had it with faggots who line their pockets with checks from antigay homophobes while throwing the rest of us under the bus," wrote cofounder Jimmy LaSalvia about a gay adviser to Rick Perry back when the Texas governor and presidential candidate aired an antigay ad.

LaSalvia later said he should not have used that word. And he called on Savage to issue a similar apology while saying there's a big difference between what he and Savage said.

"I don't hold myself up as the 'Antibullying Czar,'" LaSalvia said. "There's nothing wrong with having a glass of wine, but you are the head of the Prohibition Party, then you probably shouldn't buy a winery."

Savage is the founder of the It Gets Better Project, which fights antigay bullying in schools and tries to provide hope to young gays and lesbians who are contemplating suicide.

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation has also been dragged into the fight, with Village Voice writer Steven Thrasher writing a scathing article daring the group to condemn Savage.

"What, we immediately had to think, will GLAAD have to say about this?" Thrasher wrote. "It's not just that GLAAD has a 25-year history of policing what the media should and shouldn't say, but that they've left little room for even the satirical use of the word faggot itself."