Legend Lost
Barbara Gittings dies
Taking Charge
Wounded soldier comes out
Noted . Notable . Noteworthy. LGBT News & V/ews
A Class Act
HRC Dinner a success
page 22
SPECIAL REAL ESTATE ISSUE
Volume 21 . Number 22 www.q-notes.com March 10.2007
If the election were held today...
A look at the top Democratic
contenders for president
by Mark Smith
Let’s face it, the current slate of Democratic
frontrunners chomping at the bit to be the
next president of the United States are without
a doubt the most photogenic crowd ever seen
vying for the tide.
Sure they’re nice to look at and all of them
are relatively liberal — but what about their
voting records on issues of concern
t for the LGBT community? Are they
standing beside us, or against us?
At press time, former First Lady
Clinton, Edwards, Obama (clockwise):
and current New York Sen. Hillary Clinton is
the frontrunner and thought by many to be
the best hope for the Democratic Party in ’08.
Darryl Logsdon, a Charlotte resident and a
former board member of the Charlotte
Lesbian & Gay Community Center, says he’ll
throw his support behind Clinton.
“She’s by far the most qualified,” says
Logsdon. “Brilliandy smart — and that is
badly needed after the last seven years. She
has the longest and most solid record of real
support for gays and lesbians.
“While she does not support marriage
equality, the other candidates don’t either,”
Logsdon continues. “And we
already know she will support
us in all other areas that count
— appointments to courts and
federd positions, employment
equality and setting the tone for
a national dialogue on equality.
“The best predictor of
future behavior is past behavior
and she’s always been there for
us.”
Chris Cannon, who works
for Replacements Ltd. in
Greensboro, says he’s standing
by Clinton, as well.
“Right now, I believe that
she is the only candidate who
is experienced and seasoned
enough to combat right-wing
attacks that are geared towards
LGBT Americans, minorities
and women,” says Cannon.
“She is a strong communi
cator and negotiator and will work hard to
build bridges with world leaders and
^ make our reputation in the world
more positive,” Cannon continues.
“It would be nice to have someone
in office that the leaders in the
world can respect again.”
So what do we know about
Clinton?
Born Oct. 26,1947, she
L currently serves as the jun
ior U.S. senator from N.Y.
Her husband, of
course, is Bill Clinton,
the 42nd president of
the U.S.
Clinton was
elected to the
Senate in 2000,
who would you choose?
FirsLady elected to public office and the first
female senator to represent N.Y. She was re-elect
ed in 2006. As senator, she sits on the Committee
on Armed Services, the Committee on
Environment and Public Works, the Committee
on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and
the Special Committee on Aging.
Now what’s her stance on LGBT issues? For
the most part, it’s pretty good.
She agrees that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
needs to be repealed.
“Fitness to serve in the military should be
based on one’s conduct, not one’s sexual orien
tation,” she said on a 1999 episode of “Inside
Politics.”
She may not sup
port same-sex mar
riage per se, but she’s
close. In an inter
view with CNN on
Feb. 11,2000 she
said: “We ought to be
providing domestic
partnership benefits
for people who are in
homosexual and les
bian relationships.”
Let’s look at her
voting record and
ratings:'
• Voted no on consti
tutional ban of
same-sex mar-
^e. (June 2006)
(December 2002)
• Rated 0 percent by the Christian Coalition:
considered to be an “anti-family” voting
record. (December 2003)
Charlie Smith, a real estate agent
in Charleston, says he believes our next
president should be Illinois Sen. Barack
Obama — who’s currently at second place in
the polls.
“If the election were held next week. I’d vote
for Barack Obama because I want that much
change in this countr)^’ says Smith. “Obama
doesn’t talk about what the‘inside the Beltway*
Democrats tell him he has to talk about. He
talks about what’s important — whether it has
the official stamp of approval or not. 1 respect
that in any candidate for public office.”
Rev. Tonyia Rawls, a minister at the Unity
Fellowship Church in Charlotte, says that she
thinks Hillary Clinton is the most qualified —
but because of the political baggage Clinton
carries, Rawls doesn’t believe she would be
allowed to govern free from an unreasonable
amount of political and social burden.
That said, Rawls now thinks Obama is the
man.
“Right now our nation needs someone that
Former Paddock owner dies
page 27
Voted yes on adding sexual orientation to
definition of hate crimes. (June 2002)
Rated 60 percent by the ACLU, indicating a
mbced civil rights voting record.
the majority can rally around to set our nation
on a corrective course,” says Rawls. “He is
see look on 5
‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repeal
page 30