"There has been no directive or request from either Chairman Dean or the DNC to the state parties asking them to get off their asses and oppose these anti-gay marriage referenda in the states. When I met with Dean and senior staff last year and told them the party needed a strategy on this issue to defeat the Republicans, they all agreed--but up until now they've done nothing except talk."
Yandura [again]:
"Look, this isn't really about gay marriage--it's about the Republican-Karl Rove strategy to win elections, and I'm trying to help the party win, not hurt it," he said. "But I won't allow gays or immigrants to be used as human shields to blame defeat at the polls on.
[Yandaras]
"If the party won't take very concrete steps and actions to fight these anti-gay marriage referendums on the ground--referenda designed to help Republicans win--then we may have to start withholding our financial contributions to the Democratic Party... I hope it doesn't get to that point." .
Gay City News Reports:
Some gay Democrats are already saying that, with just six months to go until November and still no Democratic strategy to fight the gay marriage-ban referendums coupled with the punitive firing of Hitchcock, that point has already been reached.
Firstly, Yandura's suggestion of "opposing anti-gay marriage referenda in the states" seems to be in direct conflict with the national strategy of advocationg for the freedom of individual states to develop their own policies concerning "the family" (see statement below by Gay Democrats).
Gay Democrats issued this statement recently:
"Our founders created a federal system that allows individual states the freedom to develop policy for their own families as they see fit," said Jo Wyrick, Interim Executive Director, National Stonewall Democrats. "Democrats do not believe that the federal government should forcefully dictate family policy for individual states, as championed by congressional Republicans and the Bush Administration.
But secondly, is Yandura and Gay community representatives forcing the Democratic party to make an issue of "anti-gay marriage referendums" for November, at all costs?
Yandura is also suggesting that the gay community should pull it support for the democratic party. Isn't the first logical move for protecting the Civil Rights of individual homosexuals to neutralize the threat of a constitutional ban on gay marriage?
And isn't the best and most direct route to ensure the protection of the individual Rights for homosexuals an overwhelmingly Democratic victory in November?
The truth is that Liberal Democrats would protect the Civil Rights of homosexuals with or without the contributions of the homosexual community.
Of course amending the Constitution requires a two-thirds majority each in the House and Senate and ratification by three-fourths, or 38, of the 50 states. That seems highly unlikely even now. However, if the right hot buttons are pushed anything can happen in the next few months. With a very large lead for Democrats the right strategy is to stay away from divisive issues and appeal to a common ground.
Democratic Party Chair Howard Dean in an appearance on TV evangelist Pat Robertson's 700 Club this week wiped out what is widely considered the greatest achievement of gays Democrats - a recognition of same-sex relationships in the party platform.
"The Democratic Party platform from 2004 says that marriage is between a man and a woman," Dean told Robertson."That's what it says. I think where we may take exception with some religious leaders is we believe in inclusion. That everybody deserves to live with dignity and respect and equal rights under the law are important. 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."
"one of the misconceptions about the Democratic Party is that we're godless and that we don't have any values."
"The truth is, we have an enormous amount in common with the Christian community, and particularly with the evangelical Christian community. And one of the biggest things that Democrats worry about is the materialism of our country, what's on television that our kids are seeing, and the lack of spirituality.
Fox News:
Dean sought to establish common ground with religious conservatives in the interview on Pat Robertson's network, a tall order considering their opposition to the Democratic Party's positions on abortion rights, gay rights and some other social issues.With Republicans embracing the traditional definition of marriage in 2004, Democrats sought to appeal to such traditionalists without giving up their support for gay rights.
This is what the document says:
"We support full inclusion of gay and lesbian families in the life of our nation and seek equal responsibilities, benefits, and protections for these families. In our country, marriage has been defined at the state level for 200 years, and we believe it should continue to be defined there. We repudiate President Bush's divisive effort to politicize the Constitution by pursuing a 'Federal Marriage Amendment.' Our goal is to bring Americans together, not drive them apart."
So it is again confirmed that the Democratic platform was to advocate for the independence of the states on the issue of family policy making, but remember Yandura wants democrats to fight anti-gay marriage referendas in the states!
365 Gay news reported on July 30, 2004:
While many of the 255 GLBT delegates to the Democratic National Convention held here July 26-29 expressed disappointment over presidential candidate John Kerry's opposition to same-sex marriage and his support for amending Massachusetts' constitution to ban it, they were nonetheless united in their conviction that four more years of George W. Bush will be a disaster for GLBT people.And they said that Kerry has taken the right position on nearly every other issue of concern to the GLBT community. He supports enactment of same-sex civil-union laws that grant the rights of marriage, and opposes amending the U.S. Constitution to ban same-sex marriage
So according to 365 Gay News, the winner of the Democratic National Convention, John Kerry did in fact oppose same sex marriages.
Here is The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force:
"Disturbingly, this is not the first time he [i.e. DEAN] has misrepresented this important and affirming plank, and he has been asked before to correct the record and to cease making these misleading statements," said NGLTF Executive Director Matt Foreman."Governor Dean's record on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues since becoming DNC chair has been sorely and sadly lacking. The Democratic Party chair should stand by and fight for the party's own platform and values. In light of Governor Dean's pandering and insulting interview today with the Christian Broadcasting Network, we have decided to return the DNC's recent $5,000 contribution to us. We do so with great sadness, knowing that the Democratic Party has long been a champion of our rights."
Yet Dean is still [by far] the champ when it comes to protecting the Civil Rights of homosexuals.
The issue of Gay Marriage is indeed an issue of Rights, not Morals (or values). To suggest that same sex marriages are illegal, is to suggest that the law precludes individuals from willfuly entering into a social contract with one another [exclusively] on the basis of a Natural Right (i.e. gender, race, etc..).
At the state level marriage is ultimately a contract. Excluding an individual from entering into a contract because of a Naturally defined category (i.e. gender, race) is clearly an infringement of Civil Rights.
The problem for the homosexual community seems to be that protecting Civil Rights isn't good enough.
Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese added:
"Gov. Dean's comments weren't a mere slip of the tongue but a glaring reminder of the governor's lack of leadership on this issue.""As we face a Senate vote in June that threatens to put discrimination in our Constitution," Solmonese said, referring the a new proposed amendment to prevent same-sex marriage, "Gov. Dean should not only have known better but he should have used the opportunity to speak out about the lack of values involved in the current constitutional debate."
What? What does "values" have to do with the U.S. constitution which is based on Law (i.e. the sphere of Right)? It seems that Joe Solmonese would like Democrats to get into a moral debate about the "goodness" of homosexuality. Further, he thinks that Democratic Party Chair Howard Dean should advocate the "values" of Homosexuality.
Amid criticism from a gay rights group, Democratic chairman Howard Dean now says he misstated his party's platform in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network."I misstated the Democratic Party's platform, which does not say marriage should be limited to a man and a woman," and reasserted the party's commitment to equal protection for all.
"We need for Governor Dean to demonstrate real leadership on our issues," executive director Matt Foreman said in an interview, "not to equivocate depending on the audience."
It is not the job of the Democratic party to advocate homosexuality, but to protect Civil Rights. And Howard Dean has provided consistant leadership in his efforts to protect the Civil Rights of Homosexuals.