In the ongoing debate on gay marriage, most people’s opinions seem to be polarized. Some people may also feel impartial on the subject, but there is one group of people with much to be torn about when it comes to gay rights and our president. Gay Republicans somewhat of a political minority are torn between feelings of outrage at the suggested amendment to ban gay marriage and their support of the Republican incumbent president.An article in The New York Times earlier this month featured this issue. There are many gay Republicans who still choose to support the re-election of President Bush despite his clearly anti-gay stance on this important issue.
The Pink Pistols, a group of lesbians supporting citizen’s rights to own and use guns, is still backing the president. The backing of the Pink Pistols and such other groups may not be as stringent because of the president’s position, but the groups are still offering their support. Margaret Leber, a member of the Pink Pistols, expressed concern with Democrats’ attempts to pass gun control bills in Congress. She explained to The New York Times that people such as herself can’t afford to be single-issue voters.
The Pro-Life Alliance of Gays and Lesbians is also backing the president, despite his support of the proposed ban of same-sex marriages amendment. Jim McFarland, one of this group’s members, said issues of abortion rights, foreign policy and fiscal policy, such as tax cuts, are what keep his support of Bush strong.
One of the more prominent groups of gay Republicans has decided to express a stronger sense of outrage regarding its party’s recent anti-gay sentiments. The Log Cabin Republicans have launched a $1 million campaign to “prevent discrimination from becoming a part of our nation’s Constitution,” according to www.logcabin.org. Patrick Guerriero, executive director of the group, has expressed concern over the effects of the president’s recent decisions. He stands firmly behind the group’s decision to fight the constitutional amendment. The Log Cabin Republicans are still an intensely conservative group, though, and have not yet made a decision regarding its official backing of the president’s re-election.
After his 2000 election victory, Bush tried to convey mutual support with the gay Republican community which, according to The New York Times, garnered him approximately 1 million votes in the past election. Bush met with 12 prominent gay Republicans following the election in Austin, Texas, to convey this support.
One of the few openly gay presidential appointees, Donald Cappocia, has resigned from his position with the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts in order to show disgust with Bush’s recent decisions. Why aren’t more people following Cappocia’s example and with-drawing their support for Bush after his recent anti-gay statements and actions? It comes down to loyalty with political parties no matter what. Brett Robben, a gay friend of Dick Cheney, told The New York Times he’s learned to ignore anti-gay statements made to win certain conservative votes because “it’s just politics.”
Dick Cheney’s own daughter, who is openly homosexual, is part of the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign. A recent letter-writing campaign by opponents of the proposed amendment was directed toward her. She refused to comment to reporters about it.
Another Web site for gay Republicans and Bush-Cheney also chose to ignore the anti-gay climate being produced by this administration. Its slogan reads: “Working together for an inclusive party and a bright future for all Americans.”
The idea of this “bright future for all Americans” sounds nice, but I don’t see how it can be possible while constitutional amendments clearly discriminating against an important segment of the population are supported. It is clear from the range of opinions in the gay Republican population our president’s actions are tearing communities apart and causing an unnecessary climate of hate.
A strict adherence to party lines is causing many to follow the president in spite of his hateful stance on issues that should outrage those affected. I tried to compare how I would feel if a Democratic president aimed to pass detrimental legislation concerning a cause I deeply support. I decided after some consideration, if a leader in my party was so completely wrong in my eyes concerning one of these issues, I would not necessarily follow party lines to support a particular politician. Some issues are just more important than party loyalty, and preserving our Constitution should be one of them.
Gaia Veenis is a student at San Diego State University.