Dean offends gays with marriage statement
Dean offends gays with marriage statement
By Louis Weisberg Staff writer
Copyright by The Chicago Free Press
Democratic GLBT activists lashed out at Democratic National Committee chair Howard Dean last week for misrepresenting the party’s stance on same-sex marriage during a May 10 appearance on Pat Robertson’s “700 Club.” The next day Dean apologized for the remarks.
In an apparent outreach to the program’s right-wing fundamentalist Christian viewers, Dean said the Democratic Party platform defines marriage as between a man and a woman. He went on to say, “Everybody deserves to live with dignity and respect and equal rights under the lawÉ I’m not saying we’ll agree with everything between the more conservative evangelicals and Democrats, but I think there’s more common ground and we’re willing to work with the evangelical community.”
GLBT groups were quick to respond that the party’s platform supports full inclusion of gay and lesbian families and states that Democrats “seek equal responsibilities, benefits and protections for those families.”
Jo Wyrick, interim executive director of the National Stonewall Democrats, fired off a statement saying, “We strongly point out that Gov. Dean incorrectly spoke.”
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force went a step further: The group decided to return a recent $5,000 contribution from the DNC.
“Gov. Dean’s record on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues since becoming DNC chair has been sorely and sadly lacking,” said NGLTF executive director Matt Foreman. “The Democratic Party chair should stand by and fight for the party’s own platform and values.”
Foreman noted that gay-rights advocates had fought hard at the 2004 Democratic National Convention for the platform statement supporting gay and lesbian families.
“This plank was considered a victory for its inclusive references to gay families and activists,” Foreman said. “The platform was approved by the more than 4,000 elected and at-large Democratic delegates who met in Boston in 2004 to pick a presidential candidate.”
One day after the brouhaha, Dean issued a statement acknowledging that he’d misstated the party’s platform.
“The Democratic Party remains committed to equal protection under the law for all Americans,” Dean said. “How we achieve that goal continues to be the subject of a contentious debate, but our party continues to oppose constitutional amendments that seek to short-circuit the debate on how to achieve equality for all Americans.”
By Louis Weisberg Staff writer
Copyright by The Chicago Free Press
Democratic GLBT activists lashed out at Democratic National Committee chair Howard Dean last week for misrepresenting the party’s stance on same-sex marriage during a May 10 appearance on Pat Robertson’s “700 Club.” The next day Dean apologized for the remarks.
In an apparent outreach to the program’s right-wing fundamentalist Christian viewers, Dean said the Democratic Party platform defines marriage as between a man and a woman. He went on to say, “Everybody deserves to live with dignity and respect and equal rights under the lawÉ I’m not saying we’ll agree with everything between the more conservative evangelicals and Democrats, but I think there’s more common ground and we’re willing to work with the evangelical community.”
GLBT groups were quick to respond that the party’s platform supports full inclusion of gay and lesbian families and states that Democrats “seek equal responsibilities, benefits and protections for those families.”
Jo Wyrick, interim executive director of the National Stonewall Democrats, fired off a statement saying, “We strongly point out that Gov. Dean incorrectly spoke.”
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force went a step further: The group decided to return a recent $5,000 contribution from the DNC.
“Gov. Dean’s record on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues since becoming DNC chair has been sorely and sadly lacking,” said NGLTF executive director Matt Foreman. “The Democratic Party chair should stand by and fight for the party’s own platform and values.”
Foreman noted that gay-rights advocates had fought hard at the 2004 Democratic National Convention for the platform statement supporting gay and lesbian families.
“This plank was considered a victory for its inclusive references to gay families and activists,” Foreman said. “The platform was approved by the more than 4,000 elected and at-large Democratic delegates who met in Boston in 2004 to pick a presidential candidate.”
One day after the brouhaha, Dean issued a statement acknowledging that he’d misstated the party’s platform.
“The Democratic Party remains committed to equal protection under the law for all Americans,” Dean said. “How we achieve that goal continues to be the subject of a contentious debate, but our party continues to oppose constitutional amendments that seek to short-circuit the debate on how to achieve equality for all Americans.”
posted by Carlos T Mock at 3:59 PM
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