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Gay related news from the presidential campaign trail

By Lisa Keen

Keen on the trail

October 25, 2007

GOP ON PARADE: Republican presidential hopefuls had two high-profile forums for their views on gay-related issues this week. On Sunday night, October 21, Fox News broadcast a debate from Orlando, Florida, asking candidates about a proposed amendment to the federal constitution to ban same-sex marriage. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney supports such an amendment and reiterated that support, claiming that same-sex marriages affect not only heterosexual relationships but "also relate to our kids and the right of religion to be practiced freely in a society." Allowing marriage in one state, he said, means it "is going to spread to the entire nation." Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who previously indicated he would not support a constitutional amendment, changed his tune: "If a lot of states start to do that — three, four, five, six states, where we have that kind of judicial activism, and the kind of situation the governor is talking about actually occurs, if we're dealing with a real problem– then we should have a constitutional amendment." Rep. Ron Paul said he believes "All voluntary associations, whether they're economic or social, should be protected by the law" but said he opposes a constitutional amendment because licensing of marriage should be a state, not a federal, matter.

OBAMA'S CURSE: Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama named Eminem as one of his favorite performers. Obama was signing autographs after an event in Creston, Iowa, September 22, when someone in the gaggle of supporters surrounding asked him to name his favorite dance song. Obama took a moment to think about it and said that, even though it was revealing something about his age, he would note that he likes to dance to Stevie Wonder and Earth, Wind, and Fire. Then he went on to add that Beyonce's "Crazy in Love" is a good song, "and Eminen -he's got a–"
Obama stopped his sentence and started a new one -"although he curses sometimes." The LGBT community has had its issues with Eminem's language too -primarily his tendency to use anti-gay hate language as a staple in his rap lyrics.

AGREEING WITH HILL: At least three Republican presidential candidates agree with Democrat Hillary Clinton about one thing -though they made great pains not to put it that way. It was Clinton's response in a debate last month. When the Democratic candidates were asked whether they would be "comfortable" having a book about a prince falling in love with another prince read to their young children, Democrats John Edwards and Barack Obama said they would. But Clinton said it was "a matter of parental discretion." Republicans Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani issued statements making clear they think it should be left to parents, too. Romney tried to force a contrast, saying "Not one [Democratic] candidate was uncomfortable with young children learning about same-sex marriage in the second grade," but the bottom line, he said, was that "This is a subject that should be left to parents, not public school teachers." Giuliani said, it "should be left to parents to handle." Republican John McCain issued a statement saying, "While I don't believe that any group should experience discrimination, I also don't believe that public schools should enter into this sort of instruction."

DUCKING: Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jonathan Capehart recently shared his frustration in trying to get even a 15-minute interview with a Republican presidential candidate to talk about gay issues. In an October 1 column, Capehart says he got no response to two requests to the candidates. "I was hardly surprised," wrote Capehart. "Playing footsie with homosexuals won't win the candidates any votes with Republican primary voters."

CATCHING ON: Republican presidential hopeful Fred Thompson finally heard about the California legislature passing a same-sex marriage bill. Thompson told a crowd in Iowa in August that he thinks the chances of any state legislature approving same-sex marriage legislation is "virtually zero." Ironically enough, he made the statement on the same day the California legislature passed such legislation for the second time. But in Iowa on October 1, Thompson amended his campaign remarks to say: "No state legislature accompanied by a governor's signature has gone down that road." California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed the legislation both times.

NOT CATCHING ON: But Fred Thompson just can't seem to get a break for the far right-wing of the Republican Party. In an October 2 interview with the Des Moines Register, he said he thought it would be a "very bad thing" if a state legislature approved same-sex marriage. But he reiterated his position -slowly coming into clarity– that his solution for prohibiting same-sex marriage would be a constitutional amendment drawn "as narrowly as you can" to prevent judges from recognizing the legality of gay marriages. "If a state chose to recognize it, and the governor signed off and signed it into legislation, so be it," said Thompson. "My opinion would be that that would be a very bad thing and a very surprising thing." Christian Broadcast News commentator David Brody said he thinks Thompson's "so be it" response to a governor signing such a law "may be just a tad bit flip for social conservatives." "[I]f a state legislature approves slavery and a Governor signs it into law, then "so be it"? Of course not," wrote Brody.

HATE CRIMES VOTES: All four Democratic senators who are running for president voted for the hate crimes bill September 27; of the two Republican senators running, one – Sam Brownback of Kansas–voted against the measure, the other -John McCain of Arizona–did not vote. A audience member at a campaign stop in Exeter, New Hampshire, September 29, asked McCain why he did not vote on the measure. According to the Foster Daily Democrat, McCain said "he does not believe sexual orientation should be a part of judicial decision-making." "I support equal opportunity and rights for all people," said McCain, according to the paper, "but I don't support the hate crimes bill."

YELLOW BRICK ROAD ENDS: Republican presidential contender Sam Brownback of Kansas quit the presidential campaign October 18, saying ""My yellow brick road just came short of the White House this time." Brownback relied heavily on his social conservative positions -such as opposition to same-sex marriage–to appeal to conservative Republicans. But the Republican field is rich with candidates who hold very similar positions and many of those, including former Baptist minister Mike Huckabee, who, according to several media reports, drew the most enthusiastic response from a gathering of evangelicals in Washington, D.C. last week.

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