With every new presidential election, the gap between Democrats and Republicans on gay issues grows steadily wider. Consider some glaring differences:
During a June 26 Democratic fund-raiser hosted by the Gay and Lesbian Leadership Council in New York, Michelle Obama declared, “We are only here because of those who marched and bled and died -- from Selma to Stonewall.” And in a letter read to the San Francisco–based Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club this June, her husband both pledged to “support extending fully equal rights and benefits to same-sex couples under both state and federal law” and sent his congratulations to “all of you who have shown your love for each other by getting married these last few weeks.” Barack Obama is also undoubtedly the first presidential candidate to repeatedly attack homophobia in the black community, while speaking before black audiences.
When he was still something of a maverick, John McCain did oppose the 2006 amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would have banned gay marriage. But now (unlike Obama) McCain supports the California ballot initiative that would reverse the decision of that state’s highest court to legalize gay marriage (just as he supported the unsuccessful attempt in 2006 to ban marriage equality and roll back domestic-partner benefits in his home state of Arizona). McCain also opposes the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act passed by the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives last fall -- and he continues to say he doesn’t know any military commander who thinks “don’t ask, don’t tell” is a bad idea. According to the Human Rights Campaign, as McCain geared up for this recent presidential bid, his pro-gay voting record plummeted from 33% in the last Congress to just 17% in the present one.
So why would any gay person want to vote for McCain?
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