Queer Eye For The Hue And Cry

I saw this story tonight:

Ohio mayor resigns over accusations of gay slurs

I was very curious what the slur was. Turns out it was this:

"I don't like a queer working for the village."

It seems to me that this isn't a slur so much as an expression of dislike. There is a difference. "Queer" isn't a slur. It's a mainstream colloquialism. Witness:

• Queer Eye for the Straight Guy
• Queer As Folk
• Brown University Queer Alliance
• University of Oregon Queer Studies Program
• and on and on....

Queer doesn't even have the "only we can say it" aura of nigger/nigga.

No, what is really going on here isn't that the mayor uttered a slur, it's that she has the wrong thoughts. She doesn't like gay people, and that's not allowed.