Health Promo 03 (Getty) | Advocate.com
||  News  ||
 
September 04, 2008

HRC Denounces Log Cabin Endorsement of McCain

Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solmonese released a statement Wednesday taking Log Cabin Republicans to task for its endorsement of Republican presidential hopeful John McCain and his running mate, Sarah Palin.

In the public statement, sent to all HRC members via e-mail and posted on HRC.org, Solmonese clearly outlined McCain’s contribution to “writing discrimination into” the Constitution.

"John McCain claims to be a maverick who breaks with his party, but on matters of LGBT equality, he's shown that he's anything but,” Solmonese said.

Responding to the Republican platform, which was officially laid out on Monday at the party’s national convention, Solmonese used marriage, military service, and faith-based organizations as firepower against Log Cabin’s endorsement.

“The Republican Party, McCain and Palin's party, has declared in its platform that they want to pass the Federal Marriage Amendment,” Solmonese said in the statement. “Their party's platform also calls gay and lesbian Americans unfit for military service, supports policies that would allow faith-based organizations to deny us jobs and services using federal dollars, and attacks judges who acknowledge our equality under the law.”

The Republican platform also endorses the renewal of the E-Verify employee verification system, which potentially creates chaos for transgender individuals whose documents may not be consistent, as well as abstinence-only sex education programs, according to PinkNews.UK.

The platform calls for "the continuation of failed abstinence-only-until-marriage sexuality education programs, which exclude and even demonize GLBT people," Solmonese added. (The Advocate)

Keywords:  John McCain 
Related stories from Advocate.com

Reader Comments

These comments are reproduced as written by visitors to this Web site. They have not been edited for content, grammar, or spelling. The viewpoints appearing here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or views of advocate.com, The Advocate, or its affiliates.

  • Name: Bartholemieux Andrews
    Date posted: 2008-09-04 12:37 PM
    Hometown: Salem, MA

    Comment:

    Robert, Neither Clinton nor Obama are "gods" to me. I am still pissed with Clinton for DOMA and Don't Ask/Don't Tell. I want heterosexuals to have to live under that law, too. He ran on the promise of opening the military, and he did more harm than good, though I still give him credit for trying. Again, though, it is the lesser of two evils to vote for a party that will unintentionally do damage (or do nothing) than to vote for a party that has it as part of their express platform (mission) to encode discrimination against you into The Constitution. Hence, that is why I don't understand how someone can be gay and republican. They have ruined the economy and want to take away my rights, too? Yeah, really attractive to me.


  • Name: Bartholemieux Andrews
    Date posted: 2008-09-04 12:31 PM
    Hometown: Salem, MA

    Comment:

    Robert, The Supreme Court is EXACTLY why I wouldn't vote Republican. I don't want John McCain or Sarah Palin appointing the next three or four justices. And Obama saying that he doesn't believe in same-sex marriage, but doesn't want an ammendment against them is a damn sight less damaging than voting for someone whose party has such an ammendment as part of their platform. Nick, you are not only naive, but to ".. accept relative inequality as inevitable." is to dismiss what is supposed to be the promise of this nation. YOU are a tax payer, demand the same rights as other taxpayers, or start demanding a reduction in your taxes. If you don't have the same access to rights, why should you have to pay the same taxes?


  • Name: Robert
    Date posted: 2008-09-04 9:27 AM
    Hometown: Minneapolis, MN

    Comment:

    Have none of you ever heard that your god, that schmuck Obama does not believe in same-sex marriage? You have forgotten about your last god, Clinton--the cigar favor. He gave you the Defense of Marriage Act, the Solomon Amendment and Don't Ask-Don't Tell. You got screwed, to the wall with no lube by your blind support. Plus you get to pay more taxes thanks to the support of the dems in the Congress for the Defense of Marriage Act. MCCAIN DID NOT SUPPORT OR VOTE FOR THE Defense of Marriage Act! It makes you seem like a battered housewife who is upset her husband didn't like dinner (and knowing she is going to get a beating for it). You will eventually realize that it is not the executive or the legislature that will give you rights. Rather, it is a bunch of little old men in black robes who will give us our rights and force our equality upon those who do not agree with it. Notice it was the Supreme Court in Loving v. Virginia that got rid of the ban on opposite-race marriage.


  • Name: Paul
    Date posted: 2008-09-04 8:51 AM
    Hometown: New York

    Comment:

    Nick, you must be 12 years old and unfamiliar with the older generation of gays and lesbians who fought hard (and sometimes died) to get us any rights we have at all. "...relative equality is inevitable." Hardly. Just read the Republican Manifesto as proof positive that we are considered third-class citizens by much of the country. The Log Cabin Republicans place way more value on their selfish economic issues than their core issues of equality, fairness and integrity.


  • Name: Tina
    Date posted: 2008-09-04 4:15 AM
    Hometown: Rhode Island

    Comment:

    Supporters of LGBT equality need to point out more frequently that McSame thinks that it should be legal for people to be fired for being LGBT. His was the swing vote against ENDA in the Senate in 1996, in fact. Most Americans do not agree that employment discrimination against LGBT people should be legal. We need to keep pointing out that McSame is against this fundamental right. We win if people know the facts.


  • Name: Diane
    Date posted: 2008-09-04 12:57 AM
    Hometown: Ellensburg, Washington

    Comment:

    Well, Nick maybe you are young enough to wait for equality but it didn't really come in time for Del Martin and Phyllis Lyons? There are a lot of us who have been waiting a long time. You are part of the problem. While you are content to sit back and wait the rest of us are out there fighting so you will get your equality someday.


  • Name: Stephen
    Date posted: 2008-09-03 7:11 PM
    Hometown: San Diego

    Comment:

    Nick from Oregon's comments are ridiculously naive and illogical. Earning equal rights doesn't happen by sitting idly by and hoping the favored class will eventually bestow those rights upon us. And even if that were true, why would anyone in the GLBT community intentionally support a candidate who is not merely neutral on the matter, but is unabashedly opposed to the granting of those rights and who has pledged to spend effort, money, and political capital denying those rights? The Log Cabin Republicans, wholly defined from other political groups by their constituents' sexual orientation--how utterly absurd it is for them to support the McCain-Palin ticket, and how spineless it is of their leadership not to recognize that voting Republican this year will not only throw away a crucial opportunity to earn equal rights in our lifetime, but would actually set us back years in our fight for equality.


  • Name: Nick
    Date posted: 2008-09-03 4:47 PM
    Hometown: Eugene, Oregon

    Comment:

    Equality for us will come in time. I think it is pointless to for the HRC (and other people/organizations) to politicize gay concerns and turn them into single voting issues. Society's tolerance of sexual minorities (on both the democrat and republican sides) is increasing - a benefit for us all. If we accept that relative equality is inevitable - and I belive it is - then there's very little point in attacking the log cabin republicans for their support of McCain.


Back to top

Submit a comment for this story:

*Type your comment here (Required, 1000 characters max.):

*Name (Required): 

*Hometown (Required): 

*E-mail address: (Required, but will not be displayed)

Is this comment for publication? 
Yes   No

Daytime phone number: (Required for print publication only and will not be displayed)

Please enter the words you see in the box, in order and separated by a space. Doing so helps prevent automated programs from abusing this service.

  

If you would like to submit a comment for posting, please fill out the form above. 

All comments submitted via this form are subject to posting or publication. (To send a private letter to an Advocate editor or writer, please use the e-mail button at the top of the page, or use snail mail.) If you would like your comment considered for publication in The Advocate magazine, please include your full name, your city of residence, and a phone number where you can be reached during business hours so that we can confirm your identity. Your e-mail address and telephone number are strictly confidential and will not be shared or used for any purpose other than to contact you about your comment.

See the Contact page for sending comments for reasons other than responding to Advocate editorial and news stories.

Please note that comments sent by fax or snail mail are unlikely to be posted, although they will be considered for publication along with all letters received via e-mail or via this Web page. Comments that chiefly concern Advocate.com content will be considered for posting only on the Web site. The Advocate reserves the right to edit submitted comments for grammar, spelling, obscenities, or libel; we will, however, do our best to preserve the original comment's style and intent. Comments considered for publication in The Advocate magazine may also be edited for length.

More Exclusives
  • Letter From the Editor
    We’d like to unveil a big change: after nearly four decades as a biweekly magazine, we’re going monthly.
  • Parental Control
    San Francisco State researcher Caitlin Ryan explains the importance behind a study linking suicide and drug use among gay children to parental rejection.
  • Austerity Chic
    How novelist and performance artist Mike Albo gets by in lean times.
  • Hoping to "Wu" Michelle
    Dressing Michelle Obama in November was a game changer for designer Jason Wu. Now he has his sights set on the future first lady’s most high-profile event: Inauguration Day.
  • Boi From Troy Signs Off
    After five years of raising eyebrows on the Web, Boi From Troy blogger -- and gay Republican -- Scott Schmidt is signing off.
  • A Desert Journey
    The Mii Amo spa in Sedona, Ariz., is famous for packages designed to lead people through a spiritual as well as physical transformation. One writer relinquishes herself to the journey and recounts her days in one of the world's most beautiful destination resorts.
  • A List: Chris Evans
    Chris Evans is a serious actor but that doesn’t mean he wants you to stop objectifying him.
  • Great American Couple
    In an exclusive excerpt from his new book, Hollywood Bohemians: Transgressive Sexuality and the Selling of the Movieland Dream, Brett L. Abrams explores the relationship between Cary Grant and Randolph Scott, who led homosexual lives right under everyone's nose.
  • Mormons Gone Wild
    After one man undresses missionaries for his calendar, LDS Church–owned Brigham Young University strips him of his degree.
  • Constructive Impatience
    Stung by the Warren decision, GLAAD's former executive director Joan Garry offers the Obama transition team some sage advice.
  • Boxer Goes Trans for Eli Stone
    Often perceived as male by confused casting agents, boxer-body builder turned actor Dallas Malloy felt a deep connection to the trans minister she plays on Eli Stone.
  • Mamma Mia! Rises Again
    Meryl Streep and company managed to top Harry Potter and Titanic at the U.K. box office, and now Mamma Mia! is poised to break similar records on DVD. Director Phyllida Lloyd talked to Advocate.com about bringing one of the biggest musicals of all time to the big screen.
  • The Other White Meat
    As one of the subjects of the documentary about the drag pageant circuit, Pageant, opening in select theaters, and one of the contestants on RuPaul's Drag Race, premiering next month on Logo, Victoria "Porkchop" Parker may not look or act like your typical female impersonator, but make no mistake, she is one of the best.
  • The Religious Defense
    In an excerpt from her new book, Bulletproof Faith: A Spiritual Survival Guide for Gay and Lesbian Christians, author Candace Chellew-Hodge incorporates the wisdom of Xena: Warrior Princess to illustrate her theories as to how gay and lesbian people of faith can protect themselves from those who attack their views.
  • Photo Finish
    Did Prop. 8 backlash cause art censorship -- or its reversal -- at Brigham Young University? Could be, as BYU photography student J. Michael Wiltbank found when his contribution to a two-week-long art exhibition -- eight pairs of benign portraits, each depicting an LGBT-identified BYU student alongside a supportive friend -- had been removed.
  • The Divine Miss M.
    Since the death of performer Wayland Flowers in 1988, his over-the-top puppet creation Madame has been seen only sporadically. But with the launch of her new casino tour, Madame is back.
  • Whither NLGJA?
    The leading professional organization for LGBT journalists is facing a crisis that threatens its very survival. In a changing media landscape and a tough economy, how does a small nonprofit live up to its mission and retain members?
  • The Road to Equality
    Barbara Boxer, the U.S. senator from California, understands why her gay constituents are furious over Rick Warren's role in the inauguration -- it feels like Proposition 8 redux.