Will the real
Rudy Giuliani please stand up? That's the question the
Empire State Pride Agenda, New York's LGBT civil rights
organization, was asking Wednesday when it released
"The Giuliani Files," a survey of his
fairly progressive record on LGBT issues while serving
as mayor of New York City. Giuliani has been
distancing himself from gays as he seeks the GOP
nomination for president.
The files created
quite a splash, receiving coverage in The Washington Post and New York magazine, among others.
According to the
Pride Agenda, not only did Giuliani show a
willingness to engage in a dialogue with the LGBT
population, he:
* took
part in the annual NYC Pride March and held annual pride
celebrations at Gracie Mansion, where he lived as mayor
*
established and funded a Hate Crimes Task Force in 2000 so
the city could fully investigate and prosecute bias
cases
* was one
of the first Republicans in New York to publicly support
statewide and federal hate-crimes bills that covered
violence motivated by antigay hatred
*
supported the passage of a statewide sexual orientation
nondiscrimination bill
*
maintained $1.5 million in funding in the city's
budget for the LGBT community center's capital
campaign
* made
high-level appointments of openly LGBT people to his
administration
* signed
domestic-partner legislation in 1998 that at the time was
the strongest such law of its kind in the nation.
(The Advocate)
