Which Candidate Is Better For LGBT Issues? Hillary, IMO.

Danzo

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Sat Mar-15-08 03:28 PM
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Which Candidate Is Better For LGBT Issues? Hillary, IMO.

To be fair, Obama's rating from Human Rights Campaign, a group that "provides a national voice on gay and lesbian issues", is just as high as Hillary Clinton's ( both got an 89% rating for the 2005-2006 period: http://votesmart.org/issue_rating_detail.php?r_id=3520 ).

So in fairness, it looks like Obama's voting record as a Senator is just as good as Hillary's. Still, what I've read in GLBT publications leads me to believe that Hillary is the candidate who is friendlier to the LGBT community.

According a March 5th piece in the Windy City Times, Obama "has not yet given a general interview to a gay publication during the presidential campaign; and his campaign turned down requests from the papers in Texas and Ohio."

The Windy Times also points out that even when Obama DOES answer questions about gay and lesbian topics, his answers are sometimes ambiguous, at best:

"Obama fielded a couple of questions during a town-hall meeting in Nelsonville, Ohio, repeating his support for LGBT people and urging greater respect for gay people in general as the Christian thing to do.

'Sometimes, particularly in the African-American community�and the church sometimes,' said Obama Sunday in a speech to a small college audience, 'I hear people saying things that I don't think are very Christian with respect to people who are gay and lesbian. I think everybody has the right to their own values, their own religion and their own practices, but I also know the �Sermon on the Mount' says treat people as you want to be treated.'

The �Sermon on the Mount,� as described in the Bible, was reportedly given by Jesus and is seen by many Christians as a guide for how to live in order to please god. The �sermon� includes many passages familiar to Christians, such as �Judge not that ye be not judged,� although Obama did not explain what part of the sermon he was referring to. Obama referred to the sermon again when explaining why he believes gay civil unions should be recognized by the state, again in response to a question from the audience."

The Windy Times also points out that "the LGBT community expressed concern that his campaign's gospel tour of South Carolina included, on the bill, a performer well known for making hostile remarks about gays. The campaign did not pull the performer, Donnie McClurkin, from the program but Obama promised to work hard to build better relations between the African-American and LGBT communities."

Hillary on the other hand, seems to have a very POSITIVE record with the LGBT community. According to the Washington Blade: "It is Hillary who had a lesbian friend babysit for her daughter; the person holding her father�s hand when he died was a gay man. The relationships are long and deep. It is in Hillary�s office that the fight against the Federal Marriage Amendment was coordinated." ( http://www.washblade.com/2008/3-14/view/columns/12198.cfm )

In short, I recognize and commend Barack for putting together LGBT issues voting record that appears to be just as good as Hillary Clinton's, BUT I believe that Hillary is the better candidate on LGBT issues because of her more consistent and positive track record with the LGBT community.