OP/ED
A Debate Primer
OP-ED
A Debate Primer
by Greg D. Kubiak
With the Vice Presidential choices picked and the national party nomination conventions completed, the next major events in this campaign season will be the candidate debates. With the anti-GLBT provisions in the GOP platform, an openly lesbian daughter of the Republican Vice Presidential nominee, and the plethora of issues at stake in this election, here’s a wish list of questions for the debates to come up this fall.
Question: Mr. Cheney, do you believe that millions of GLBT Americans, like your daughter Mary, have a right to be protected from job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation? If so, does your ticket support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), sponsored by 173 Members of the House of Representatives and 37 Senators?
Question: Mr. Lieberman, implementation legislation to a treaty regulating international adoptions has passed both the House and Senate this year. An amendment was added to the House-passed version designed to limit the ability of gay men and lesbians from adopting children from countries participating in the “Hague Convention.” Would you support removal of this restrictive language in the House-Senate conference committee this fall?
Question: Mr. Cheney, almost two years ago, your home state of Wyoming was the site of the murder of Matthew Shepard, a young man targeted for being gay. Congress has yet to act this year on hate crimes legislation that would ensure federal prosecution of crimes where state laws may fall short. Given your ticket’s strong stand against crime, what would you do to see this bill passed?
Question: Mr. Bush, the GOP platform this year declares that a Republican Department of Justice “will energetically defend in the courts” the Defense of Marriage Act, the anti-gay marriage bill passed by Congress in 1996. Since this “states’ rights” law was passed, Vermont has enacted a civil union statute for gay and lesbian couples. What would your Justice Department do to reverse this state’s law, which promotes and provides virtually equal rights of committed gay and lesbian couples?
Question: Mr. Gore, you have boasted of the fact that you were an early and vocal proponent of lifting the military ban on gays inside the Clinton White House, and have been publicly supportive of doing so in your campaign. Were you equally vocal against the Defense of Marriage Act signed by the President, and would you also support its repeal if elected?
Questions: Mr. Bush, earlier in this election season, you stated there was no need to change the current “don’t ask; don’t tell” policy on gays in the military. Yet the GOP platform declares, as military policy did pre-1993, that “homosexuality is incompatible with military service.” The current administration has expressed concern for anti-gay harassment and other reasons why the policy should be strengthened to protect rights of gay soldiers. What would your administration do on this issue? And further, do you believe the daughter of your running mate deserves to serve openly and honorably to defend our nation during times of war and times of peace?
The chances of these questions being asked of the candidates might be remote, and straight answers to them even more so. But the important point is that the positions on our issues between the Republican and Democratic tickets are as different as night and day. Vice President Gore has spoken out forcefully for equal rights and against the unworkability of the current “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. He and Senator Lieberman are also strong proponents of both the Hate Crimes Prevention Act and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. Gore said some time ago, “It is time for all Americans to recognize that the issues that face gays and lesbians in this country are not narrow, special interests, they are matters of basic human and civil rights.” At the same time, we can take nothing for granted from politicians who probably want votes more than they want to deliver to our community.
And clearly, the GOP expo in Philadelphia in July attempted to show a compassionate face of the party, while their platform remains in the shadows of progressive thought. Their refrain is summed up in their platform: “We do not believe sexual preference should be given special legal protection or standing in law.”
From the early returns, there’s no contest on which ticket will work in our interest.
Greg D. Kubiak, author, activist, and public policy analyst, writes “In Our Interest” for several GLBT publications. The Vice Versa Award winner can be reached via OITM or by e-mail GKubiak@aol.com.