Ready for a Full Year of Gay Baiting?

By Joshua Boschee
Staff Writer

I am sure most of you can agree that lately, a day doesn’t go by that national media do not have a story that highlights gay Americans. Whether it’s the ongoing repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the movement of same-sex marriage and civil union efforts in various states or special interest stories that give inside looks into the lives of gay people, it is apparent that few can ignore the fact that progress is occurring. Unbiased, national polls are consistently showing that over 50% of survey respondents either support or have a favorable view of same-sex marriage and even more recognize that homosexuality is natural, not a choice.

With that in mind, the next year will be especially interesting for gay Americans, as the Republican Party is about to have a lengthy discussion on where its Presidential candidates stand on issues that are important to the LGBT community. With a full roster of candidates having already announced their intentions to be the Republican nominee, I am hopeful that we will see some positive change as we get closer to the Republican National Convention next summer. While the economy, the federal budget and job creation are on the forefront of most Americans’ minds and will be the focus of the 2012 primary and general election, we know that social issues are often used as wedge issues in campaigns. Here is a glimpse of the more prominent announced candidates and their background related to LGBT equality.

::Michele Bachmann – Minnesota Congresswoman and Tea Party sweetheart. Bachmann has campaigned on her “family values” of not supporting the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and same-sex marriage. She strongly supports a federal marriage amendment to the United State Constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman. Recently, her husband’s counseling practice in the Twin Cities was exposed for practicing reparative therapy, the harmful practice of attempting to help gay people become non-gay.

::Herman Cain – successful businessman and former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza. Cain is an ardent opponent to same sex marriage and civic unions. Cain has stated that although he does not support the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” as President, he wouldn’t try to overturn the repeal.

::Newt Gingrich – former Speaker of the House and lifelong politico. Gingrich has stated that he believes homosexuality is a sin and opposes domestic partnerships for same-sex couples. He does believe that same sex couples should have some legal rights for estates and visiting partners in the hospital.

::Jon Huntsman – former Utah Governor and Ambassador to China. Huntsman has stated that he respects the recent passage of same-sex marriage in New York and supports civil unions. He has garnered a great deal of support from the LGBT community, relative to his peers, and is actively campaigning to the LGBT community.

::Gary Johnson – former New Mexico Governor and Libertarian politician. Johnson does not support government intervention or obstruction within the private lives of citizens. Recently, he strongly came out against The Family Leader’s anti-gay marriage pledge, which has been signed by some of his peers, as an “offensive and unrepublican” document. Johnson is considered to be friendly to the LGBT community and has state that he supports “gay unions.”

::Fred Karger – gay rights activist and first openly gay candidate for the presidency. Karger fully supports employment protections for LGBT Americans, same-sex marriage and repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” As an openly gay candidate he will be integral in advancing the conversation about the Republican Party’s stance on LGBT equality.

::Tim Pawlenty – former Minnesota governor. Pawlenty supports a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. He recently misrepresented all the major scientific and medical associations when he answered “There’s no scientific conclusion that it’s genetic. We don’t know that,” to the question about if he believes being gay was a choice. As governor, he vetoed a bipartisan and largely supported safe schools bill that specifically provided protection to LGBT students.

::Mitt Romney – former Massachusetts governor. Romney firmly opposes same-sex marriage, although Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same-sex marriage under his tenure. He has flip-flopped on his support of the gay community. When running for Senate in the early 90’s, he supported federal nondiscrimination laws for gays and lesbians as well as promised the Log Cabin Republicans that he would be a stronger advocate for gay rights than Ted Kennedy. However, he now does not support federal protections for LGBT Americans in employment and bias motivated crimes. Romney also recently stated that he does not support the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

::Ron Paul – Texas congressman and former Libertarian Presidential candidate. Paul states that DOMA is the law and that states should decide for themselves about same-sex marriage. His strong Libertarian ideology allows for him to use the “government should not interfere with citizen’s individual liberty” as a basis to not come out one way or the other on LGBT equality issues.

::Rick Santorum – former Pennsylvania Senator. Santorum is explicitly anti-gay. He has made comments comparing government regulation and policies with those for child molestation, bestiality and incest.  He has signed a number of pledges in support of the goals and viewpoint of organizations that actively oppose LGBT equality, most notably The Family Leader, an Iowa-based conservative group.

The next year will definitely be interesting as we observe how LGBT equality plays out in the Republican primary. After all, the Republican nominee will be challenging President Obama, who has accomplished the most out of any other President in regards to LGBT equality.

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