JUNE 7 . 2003 • Q-NOTES
Election
Dem Presidential candidates go a courtin'
Our votes count among Democratic
Presidential candidates
by John Wagner
ATLANTA — On the Presidential campaign
trail, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean touts
a law he signed allowing civil unions for gays
and lesbians. US Sen. |ohn Kerry of
Massachusetts, a decorated Vietnam veteran,
makes it known that he thinks gays should be
allowed to serve in the military.
And Sen. John Edwards voiced his support
for adoptions by gay parents during a keynote
address at a black-tie dinner that drew 1300
people to a downtown Atlanta hotel.
“I was raised to believe...in an America
that embraces everybody,” the North Carolina
Democrat said at the Human Rights Campaign
dinner. His speech also , included calls for
greater workplace protections and stepped-up
efforts to find an AIDS vaccine.
With nine Democrats seeking their party’s
Presidential nomination, the courting of the gay
voter is under way as never before. Iris partly a
reflection of a changing American culture and
partly an acknowledgment of political reality.
Exit polls from the 2000 Presidential elec
tion showed 4 percent of voters were gay and
close to three-quarters of them voted for Al
Gore, the Democratic candidate. In the 2004
Democratic primaries, their influence could
prove pivotal, activists say.
“in a crowded race or a close race, an
energized and mobilized constituency can
make a real difference.” said Dave Noble,
executive director of the National Stonewall
Democrats, a group promoting the gay agen
da within the party. “Right now, we’ve got so
many different candidates going after the
community, and there's not one candidate the
community has settled upon.”
President Bill Clinton made history in 1992
by openly courting gay voters and the two
major Democratic candidates followed suit in
2000, despite concerns that doing so could
alienate swing voters in the general election,
particularly in the South.
This cycle, several candidates including
Edwards, already have hired staff members to
advise them on gay issues. And US Rep.
Richard Gephardt of Missouri has said his
daughter, Chrissy, will be an ambassador to
gay groups. She is a lesbian.
“The gay community has become one of
the constituencies you have to meet to be a
viable Democrat,” said Steve Elmendorf, a top
adviser to Gephardt’s campaign. The jockey
ing for position was evident earlier this month
in South Carolina when the nine candidates
met for a debate in Columbia.
The candidates tried to one-up each other on
their gay-rights credentials, universally condemn
ing anti-sodomy laws as an invasion of privacy.
The latter issue also offered Democrats a
chance to contrast their views with those of
Republican US Sen. Rick Santorum, who
recently equated gay sex to bigamy and incest.
When Kerry’s record on gay rights was ques
tioned during the debate, he rattled off several
gay-friendly positions he’d taken in recent years,
including support for gays serving in the military
and sponsorship of hate-crimes legislation.
“My ■ position in fact is stronger than
Governor Dean’s,” he said.
Dean’s signing of Vermont’s civil-unions
Connie J. Vetter
Attorney and Counsellor at Law
LGBT Legal Se!*vices
including
Mediation for Break-ups,
Property Division, etc.
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law is among the reasons gay issues are getting
so much attention in the race’s early stages.
The law was prompted by a 1999 decision
by the Vermont Supreme Court declaring
unconstitutional the state’s denial of marriage
benefits to gay and lesbian couples. After a
highly emotional battle, the legislature created
a parallel system of civil unions, conferring
many of the marriage benefits to gay couples
without the religious overtones of marriage.
Though Dean did not champion the law at
the time, his decision to sign it in 2000 has
allowed him to cast himself as a path-breaker
on gay rights on the Presidential campaign trail.
It also has prompted other Democrats to
spell out their views.
Six of the nine candidates have endorsed
the idea of civil unions, though most won’t go
as far to say they support gay marriage.
During his Sjiecch in Atlanta, Edwards did
not explicitly address civil unions, though he
apparently was referred to the subject when
he said “not every one of us will agree on
every single issue.”
During his 1998 Senate race, Edwards said he
was opposed to gay marriage. Although he docs
not object to states’ recognizing civil unions, he
contitiues to have .reservations about both gay
marriage and civil unions, said Edwards’ cam
paign spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri.
“It’s an issue he thinks the country' — and
North Carolina — is not ready for,” Palmieri said.
Pushing for the establishment of civil
unions now could undercut efforts to fight
workplace discrimination and expand other
rights for gays, she said.
Among the rights Edwards strongly backs:
allowing gay couples to adopt children.
NC Sen. John Edwards voiced his
support for gay adoprions at Atlanta's
Annual HRC Dinner.
"In a world where far too many children
arc neglected or unwanted, we need to
encourage responsible, loving adults to raise
children, which is why I support the rights of
gays and lesbians to adopt children," he said
to great applause.
Earlier, Edwards mentioned that his two
youngest children often play in Washington
with the toddlers of Elizabeth Birch,"the
Human Rights Campaign’s executive director,
and her partner, Hillary Rosen, a lobbyist for
the recording industry.
“It’s given me a chance at a very personal
level to see what extraordinary parents they
arc and what a terrific family they are,”
Edwards said.
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