While many have
hailed Democrats' courtship of LGBT voters as one giant
leap for gaykind, perhaps the movement's future progress
lies on the GOP side of the fence
Remember 2004,
when President Bush threw his weight behind the Federal
Marriage Amendment to constitutionally deny same-sex couples
the right to marry? Or 2006, when the only real
question for GOP candidates was whether they backed
the FMA or, like John McCain, preferred to let
individual states decide to constitutionally prohibit
same-sex marriage?
Well, say hello
to 2008 and a field of Republican candidates as variable
on gay issues as their predecessors were rote.
Take Rudy
Giuliani, who nearly a decade ago, as mayor of New York
City, signed landmark domestic-partnership legislation
that was deemed a model for the rest of the country.
Better yet, he continues to support domestic
partnerships now that he’s running for president (a
stance made explicit, if guarded, on the Issues page
at JoinRudy2008.com), making him the first and only
GOP candidate for president to publicly endorse any rights
for gays whatsoever.
Sure, as his
candidacy thrived, Giuliani backed off a bit—these
days he’s saying no to civil unions because
they go “too far”—but when was the last
time a Republican candidate had to tack right on gay issues
to downplay his previously moderate views? That exact
question drew dead silence from Kenneth Sherrill,
professor of political science at Hunter College’s
Center for Sexuality and Public Policy in New York City.
“I’m trying to think of an
example,” he finally said, to signal that he was
still on the other end of the line.
Trivia questions
aside, it would mean one thing to gays if Giuliani, the
most gay-friendly candidate the GOP has ever seen, were to
nab the Republican nomination next year, and it would
mean something very different if one of his
competitors got the nod. All of this may sound rather
ho-hum to LGBT Democrats who are choosing from a bounty of
contenders who generally support civil unions, the
Employment Non-Discrimination Act, the hate-crimes
bill, and the repeal of “don’t ask,
don’t tell.” But how the eventual Republican
nominee runs on gay issues promises to affect the LGBT
movement in powerful ways.
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