Most gay friendly presidential race ever?
17th October 2008
As polls show a tightening presidential race in Georgia, high-ranking openly gay supporters of candidates Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) made their way to Atlanta last week to shore up support and get a look at conditions on the ground.
Patrick Sammon, chair of the national Log Cabin Republicans, and Tobias Wolff, chair of Obama’s LGBT Policy Committee, both made visits to Atlanta to speak with the party faithful about the Nov. 4 election.
Wolff’s visit was higher profile, incorporating public stumps at an “Out for Obama” event at Bazzaar and the Human Rights Campaign’s “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” fundraiser. Sammon’s visit was more informal, but he met with several Log Cabin Republicans at Einstein’s on his swing through Atlanta.
Both men said their presidential candidate is the most open on gay issues ever nominated by their party.
McCain “is not perfect on our issues, but certainly has an inclusive record,” Sammon said. “He’s promised he would be a president for everyone.”
Wolff, no relation to the author of the same name, said he originally tried to keep a count of how many times Obama mentioned gay rights in public.
“I have tried to keep track of the number of states and number of times he has mentioned gay issues in his stump speeches, and I’ve long since given up on trying to keep a tally,” Wolff said. “That’s very important. I don’t think presidential politics will ever step back from that.”
2008 UNLIKE 2004 CAMPAIGN
During the 2004 election, 11 states — including Georgia — had constitutional amendments banning gay marriage on their ballots. “Defending marriage” was a buzzword echoed at the Republican National Convention that year. Sammon believes it is noteworthy that “defending traditional marriage” has not come up with regularity since McCain became the Republican nominee.
“Certainly if you look at where we were four years ago, we had a president who was using gay and lesbian people, and using gay marriage, to cater to the base. We didn’t endorse him four years ago,” Sammon said of President George W. Bush’s 2004 campaign.
“Today we have a nominee who is focusing our party on core Republican principles, spending and low taxes, and a strong national defense. [McCain is] someone who has set aside social and divisive issues. Someone who is by far the most inclusive Republican nominee on gay issues,” he added.
McCain has met with the Log Cabin Republicans and sent a high-level aide to meet with the LCR group during this year’s convention. Sammon cited the e-mail questionnaire McCain answered for Window Media, Southern Voice’s parent company, and voting against the Defense of Marriage Act in the Senate, as other indications of his openness.
Wolff, too, said his candidate has a record of support for gay issues. While in the Illinois State Senate, Obama supported increasing HIV prevention funding and continued to do so at the federal level. In the Illinois Senate, Obama also consistently worked on a bill to include sexual orientation and gender identity into a workplace nondiscrimination laws, Wolff said. While the original bill Obama supported didn’t pass, Illinois does now include protections for gay and transgender workers.
At the Out for Obama gathering, Wolff also explained how Obama was a champion of hate crimes legislation including protections for sexual orientation and gender identity while also serving in the Illinois Senate. Wolff said Obama is focused on ensuring access to medical care for poor gay people as well. The Obama presidential campaign also includes a number of openly gay members in high-ranking positions.
“I wouldn’t claim that Barack is the first campaign to do that, but it is certainly a very important presence on the campaign,” Wolff said. “What Barack has been doing is making LGBT issues a part of what he has been talking to general audiences, and even to skeptical audiences, not just friendly audiences.”
Wolff noted as a historic moment the speech Obama gave at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church on Martin Luther King Jr. Day this year. “We have scorned our gay brothers and sisters instead of embracing them,” Obama told attendees.
Source: Southern Voice