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Presidential Primary
Pregame Show

on’t vote for George
D Bush. Don’t even think
of it! Not now. Not ever.

Now that I have made
myself clear, let’s discuss the
Vermont presidential primary
to be held on March 7. It will
help decide who becomes pres-
ident, which is vital to the
interests of gays and lesbians —
which means that all gays and
lesbians should be prepared to
vote.

The National Gay and
Lesbian Task Force has just
published “What’s at Stake,” a
guide for the gay lesbian,
bisexual, and transgender com-
munity to the choices and
issues in the 2000 presidential
election. This 50-page docu-
ment includes a comparison of
presidential candidates, and I
will base most of my remarks
on this study.

When you vote, you will be
asked to declare yourself a
Democrat or Republican for
this primary. If you choose the
Republican ballot, you have
two major choices: George
Bush and John McCain. If you
choose the Democratic ballot,
you can vote for Al Gore or
Bill Bradley.

From the GOP, weighing

in at...

Texas Governor George W.
Bush opposed including sexual
orientation in Texas’s hate
crimes statute. Arizona Senator
John McCain opposes the Hate
Crimes Prevention Act, though
he did support the Hate Crimes
Statistics Act, which told the
Attorney General to collect
data on violent crimes motivat-

ed by bias. . .
Bush opposed a sexual ori-

entation anti-discrimination
statute in Texas. He said he
would appoint gays and les-
bians to his administration “as
long as their political agenda
was the same as mine,” but
later said he would not know-
ingly appoint a homosexual.
McCain voted against
Employment Non-
Discrimination Act in 1996
when it lost by one vote in the
senate, and still opposes anti-
discrimination legislation.
Bush has said he will abol-
ish the position of White House

liaison to the gay and lesbian
community. He has refused to
even meet with gay and lesbian
Republicans.

McCain met with gay Log
Cabin Republicans and accept-
ed a $40,000 donation from
them.

Bush supported a Texas bill
to ban gays and lesbians from
being foster parents and he
opposes gay adoptions.
McCain has also made his
position clear: “I am opposed
to legalization of gay adop-
tion.”

“I am against gay marriage
because I believe marriage is
for men and women,” Bush has
said. McCain voted for the
Defense of Marriage Act — leg-
islation that removes obliga-
tions for the federal govem-
ment to recognize same-gender
marriages — in 1996, and
opposes domestic partnership
legislation. He objected to the
Vermont Supreme Court deci-
sion on gay marriage in Baker
v. State.

Bush opposes HIV/AIDS
prevention efforts. In Texas, he
implemented a statewide
names-reporting system for all
people with HIV. He supports
abstinence-only education.

On the up side, McCain co-
sponsored the Ryan White
Care Act and the Americans
with Disabilities Act. However,
he also supported requiring
spousal notification, requiring
health care professionals to
disclose their HIV status, ban-
ning HIV-positive immigrants,
banning federal funds paying
for needle exchange programs,
and cutting funds to gay com-
munity centers.

On the issue of gays and
military service Bush and
McCain both support the Don’t
Ask, Don’t Tell policy.

Republican bottom line
Bush opposes basically all
issues important to gays and
lesbians. ‘McCain at least will
talk with us, accept our money,
and on a rare occasion, has
supported an issue important to
us. Although McCain’s record
on GLBT issues is dreadfiil, if
you want to vote Republican in
the primary and want to pick

the most supportive candidate,
my recommendation is to vote
for McCain.

And in the Democrat corner

Former Senator Bill Bradley
and Vice-President Al Gore
share similar views on a num-
ber of issues. Both support the
Hate Crimes Prevention Act;
both oppose Don’t Ask, Don’t
Tell and think gays and les-
bians be able to serve openly in
the military.

Both men have a long and
basically supportive voting
record on AIDS and HIV
issues. Each has had small
lapses along the way in which
they voted against our health
interests.

Both men support the
ENDA. Bradley voted for it in
l996; meanwhile, the Clinton-
Gore administration has
appointed many open gay and
lesbian appointees and issued
an executive order banning
sexual discrimination in the
federal workplace.

Also on the issue of non-dis-
crimination, Bradley has sup-
ported amending the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 to include
gays and lesbians. Many,
including some gay activists,
have labelled such a move a
poor idea because, among
other things, opening up the
Act for amendment leaves it
vulnerable to dilution. Gore
opposes amending the Civil
Rights Act.

Bradley, supports allowing
gay men and lesbians to adopt.
Gore would leave gay adoption
to adoption professionals on an
individual basis.

In 1996, Bradley voted in
support of DOMA. Both
Bradley and Gore oppose
same-gender marriage, but
support legal protection for gay
and lesbian couples in the form
of domestic partnerships. Both
men oppose the Knight initia-
tive in California, a ballot
question that would ban gay
marriage in that state.

Democratic bottom line

Both Bradley and Gore sup-

"port almost all our issues. For

the most part, their records are
hard to tell apart, but there is

March 2000 | Out in the Mountains I13

one major difference. Gore has
been working with and for gays
and lesbians for the last eight
years. Where has Bradley been
lately?

One example of how
Bradley is not in touch with
recent issues is his support of
changing the Civil Rights Act
of 1964. That Act includes
affirmative action. Several
years ago, gays and lesbians
were indeed trying to get added
to the Act, but realized their
efforts could be more success-
ful if they clarified that gays
and lesbians were not looking
for special rights (such as affir-
mative action is perceived) but

equal rights. The prevailing
strategy then switched to sup-
port of a separate bill — ENDA.

Recently, both the Human
Rights Campaign and The
Empire State Pride Agenda,
New York’s largest lesbian and
gay political organization, have
endorsed Gore because of his
constant support for us. I also
recommend that Vermonters
vote for Al Gore in the
Vermont primary. V

Brendan Hadash is minister
of the St. Johnsbury UU
church.

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