Maya Marcel-Keyes is pro-life, generally pretty liberal, a lesbian, and Alan Keyes' daughter. She took part in his senatorial run last year, but differences with her parents recently led to a move out of the family home. Maya has spoken about her sexuality on her blog for some time, but has only recently become more "public" about her politics and sexuality -- for instance, she took part in the counter-inaugural in January.
[For those who don't know him -- and to his dismay, this would include quite a few people -- Alan Keyes is a strongly conservative speaker and repeated quixotic candidate for public office, including as a Republican candidate for President. Many blacks in particular are impressed by his skillful rhetoric, if not all aspects of its message.]
The parents and daughter had a fairly good, if naturally somewhat difficult, relationship. This is perhaps suggested by how low key Maya generally was about the whole thing when interviewed by the morning show on Air America. She in fact sounded like a quite ordinary quiet young woman (college student), somewhat surprising given the emotional tones her father often uses in public discourses.
Ah to listen in on the conversations between a father ("Cheney's daughter is selfish" ... Alan Keyes believes in consistency, except respecting carpetbagging Senate runs) and his lesbian daughter. Such things are private though, and we would do best to remember the personal difficulties involved as some obtain joy at the participants' distress.
At any rate, I'm sure the parents would have been proud that she reaffirmed her pro-life beliefs* and desire to save sex until after marriage (or the legal equivalent). The movement for sexual equality is well served by welcoming in such a woman, the symbolically valuable nature of her background aside. It is rather amazing that so many key Republicans have (out) homosexual/bisexual children or siblings (e.g., Newt Gingrich's half-sister) -- simple probability would not necessarily come out the same way. [Only a few percentage points of all people are homosexual and family norms influence accepting one's own sexuality.]
An interesting nature/nurture debate probably can be made here, but ultimately it just shows the true complexity of the human condition. The Keyes family suggest why equal protection under the law (and by society itself) is so important: at some point, we all will be negatively affected if the reverse rule applied. If conservative black parents with a liberal lesbian pro-life daughter does not make this point obvious, I don't know what will.
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* Maya Marcel-Keyes is thus one of that often forgotten class of pro-life liberals, a consistent philosophy made only more so on her blog with its vegetarian and vegan links. The interview did not specify if she felt abortion should be made illegal, but in general, her parents' strong religious beliefs did seem to cross over to her as well. As mentioned in the text, this complexity should be honored.
As an aside, I fully respect the pro-life philosophy, but personally find it wrong to cement it in the law. It might also be shown, perhaps, that criminality is counterproductive -- an act might be clearly immoral, but the power of the state is not necessarily the best way to fight such an evil (language used advisedly).