By Gary Barlow

Last chance
Not that it’ll do any good, but our soon-to-be-out-of-office president got a little dose of 21st-century reality last week when he traveled to Capitol Hill to give his final State of the Union address.

Heading into the House chamber, Bush spied openly gay Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) talking on his cellphone in the House speaker’s lobby. Bush, ever one to try to impress, walked by Frank, tapped him on the shoulder and said, “Tell him I said, ‘Hello.’”

Later, after the president’s speech, Frank sought him out to tell him who he’d been talking with. As Bush made his way out of the House, Frank got his attention, leaned into his ear and said, “Mr. President, by the way, the person I was talking to when you said to say hello was my boyfriend.”

Frank said Bush replied, “Well, I hope you said how open-minded I am.”

Frank said he thought about responding by telling Bush he wouldn’t marry him, but thought better of it.

I would have reminded him that, lame duck or not, he’s still president and there’s still plenty of time to show how open-minded he is, starting with “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Hey, it would have been worth a shot.

a real gay day
Another openly gay politician, the late San Francisco icon Harvey Milk, may soon become the first openly gay person to have his very own holiday.

California Assemblyman Mark Leno, who’s also gay, has filed a bill in the California Legislature to have Milk’s birthday, May 22, declared a state holiday.

Frankly, I’m amazed that no one’s tried to do that before now.

The charismatic Milk was elected supervisor in San Francisco in 1977. About a year later, fellow Supervisor Dan White assassinated Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone.

Leno said he wouldn’t add to California’s budget deficit by seeking to close state offices and give workers the day off on Harvey Milk Day. Instead, the day would be used to raise awareness of Milk and celebrate his legacy.

So how about Harvey Milk Day here in Chicago? Wouldn’t that be a great opportunity to raise awareness about homophobia in Chicago Public Schools? Isn’t this something we ought to be able to get through the City Council pretty quickly?

Devil’s island
One place where I won’t be rushing off to celebrate Harvey Milk Day or any other gay holiday is Jamaica.

Human Rights Watch reports that on Jan. 29 a mob attacked four gay men, beating them and possibly killing one. The mob attacked the men inside a private home after police failed to respond quickly to the men’s frantic phone calls for help.

That’s become an all-too-familiar problem in Jamaica. Not only do the police not respond quickly enough when gays come under attack, they sometimes even join in the attacks, Jamaican gays say. And police often refuse to take the complaints of gay people about attacks.

So far, HRW officials say, the Jamaican government has not responded to any of the group’s requests for dialogue about the issue.

So keep this all in mind as you plan your vacations. And be sure to tell your friends and family to ignore all those “Come to Jamaica and feel alright” ads until Jamaican authorities make it clear that everyone is welcome and back that up by cracking down on anti-gay violence. There are plenty of welcoming alternatives to Jamaica in the Caribbean.

A man in uniform
Of course, if you don’t mind a bit cooler climate for your vacation and want to go to a place where gays really are welcome, you might consider Edinburgh, Scotland.

And if you’re lucky while you’re there, perhaps you’ll encounter Lothians and Borders Police Chief Inspector David Lyle, who’s openly gay and in the running to be named the world’s sexiest gay man in the 2008 Sex Factor contest on Gaydar.

“It makes me smile—I feel slightly flattered,” Lyle told the Edinburgh Morning News. “I woke up one morning, saw somebody had nominated me and thought, ‘Good heavens.’ I feel quite chuffed.”

Well, in case you’re wondering, “chuffed” means “delighted” up in Edinburgh, and Lyle’s superiors say they’re just chuffed about Lyle’s nomination as well.

And if you’re curious, the 55-year-old cop has a profile with some topless pics on the Gaydar website—for those of you who get all chuffed about that sort of thing. Happy surfing!