With all the talk of possible Democratic candidates for the 2008 Presidential race, there's certainly a lot of confusion about who all these prople are and how they are different from each other. This diary series is meant to look at the stances of declared and considering Democratic Candidates on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues. These diaries are NOT AN ENDORSEMENT OF ANY PARTICULAR CANDIDATE Certain topics and issues may be left out of my diary, so feel free to add additional information in the comments section...
Tom Vilsack
In 1999, Tom Vilsack was the cause of a big firestorm over LGBT rights in Iowa:
Vilsack himself spawned a political storm in 1999 when he signed an executive order declaring that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender state workers were not to be discriminated against because of their sexuality. A group of republican legislators sued, and hired a lawyer named Mark McCormick to press the case. McCormick is the democrat Vilsack beat in a primary in 1998 on his way to winning the governor's race.
That non-discrimination law has since been repealed because of pressure from anti-gay forces.
Tom Vilsack seems to be warming more to gay rights now since he won't be running for governor of Iowa again. From Iowa's local ABC 5:
Iowa Governor Vilsack says Iowa's next governor needs to continue the push for gay rights.
Vilsack, who has sought to expand protections for gays and lesbians, says the conversations must continue and must extend past one administration.
The governor spoke today at a conference aimed at raising awareness about the bullying and harassment of gay and lesbian youth.
Vilsack has pushed the Legislature to approve an anti-bullying measure.
His move in support of queer students earned him a ringing endorsement from Kevin Jennigs of the Gay/Lesbian/Straight Education Network (GLSEN):
Earlier this year I shared a stage with Iowa Governor
Tom Vilsack who publicly called on his state’s policymakers to adopt comprehensive and effective legislation to address the problems of bullying and harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
The capacity crowd of more than 500 Iowa high school students and
their teachers roared approval as television cameras from across the
state captured the moment.
I wish more states were like Iowa, and more elected leaders were like Tom Vilsack.
Vilsack is on the record as being against same-sex marriage, but for civil unions:
"My view is the state ought to pretty much stay out of the church's business... I think there is a religious connotation to marriage that needs to be respected and understood... 'I don't think you necessarily have to redefine marriage to do it. A civil union set of rights would honor that... Marriage is already defined, and we don't need to change it."
Gov. Vilsack defended Domestic Partnerships for state employees when they were implemented in 2003:
Gov. Tom Vilsack, a Democrat, and the Republican-controlled Legislature have clashed in the past over gay rights. A spokeswoman for Vilsack, Amanda Crumley, on Wednesday defended the extension of health care benefits to domestic partners of state workers.
"This involves a relationship between an employer and an employee," Crumley said. "We are competing for talent with many companies that do provide this benefit to their employees. This helps us to attract and retain quality people, just like major corporations."