It's Just Words. Isn't it?

Last week, the California Senate rejected a former Long Beach City Council member's appointment by Governor Schwarzenegger to the state parole board for anti-gay remarks he made in 1993.

Back in the day Douglas Drummond was censured by the Long Beach City council for voicing support for Fidel Castro's sequestering of the AIDS population in Cuba. Drummond applauded the fact that same-sex couples don't reproduce and said, about gay political progress:

"How do we deal with it short of killing them?"

The asshat then went on to say:

"Do you know why I don't worry about gay activity? I'm going to give you a clue. So far in San Francisco, over 10,000 have died. In Long Beach, over 1,000 have died."

Apparently the only kind of gay activity Drummond wanted to see was funerals.

Of course, with Arnie trying to give him a job that pays 120K a year, Drummond is changing his tune and apologizing. He says he's donated to gay causes and marched in Pride parades.

"I was wrong," he says now. "It was awful. I apologize, I really do."

Lawmakers were concerned that Drummond might be unable to make unbiased decisions about whether inmates deserved parole. Democratic State Senator Jenny Oropeza, who served with Drummond on the City Council, suggested his efforts at reconciliation with the gay community coincided with an unsuccessful campaign for Long Beach mayor, saying: "You made a judgment as an elected official to defame a group of people. How would we feel if in some of these quotes, we took out 'homosexual' and inserted 'Mexican American' or 'African American' or 'Jew'? These are serious matters, sir, and they are ones you can't brush under the rug."

Repug Senator Sam Aanestad defended Drummond, saying Oropeza was trying to crucify him, and adding: "This man is not on trial."

Ah, but in a way he is, Mr. Aanestad.

The vote was 3-2 against Drummond. A Schwarzenegger spokeswoman said the governor felt it was "unfortunate" the committee overlooked Drummond's "fair and unbiased" record on the board since last year.

One year of "fair and unbiased" does not erase years of bigotry and literally laughing at gay men and women who have died. An apology given in anticipation of a new job is not worth a damn.