Subject: Largest National Gay/Lesbian Political Group Endorses Clinton
From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 5 Mar 1996 17:33:16 -0500

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NEWS from the
Human Rights Campaign

1101 14th Street NW
Washington, DC 20005
email:  [email-masked]
WWW:    http://www.hrcusa.org
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, March 4, 1996

            LARGEST NATIONAL GAY/LESBIAN POLITICAL GROUP
                                      ENDORSES CLINTON

                              The Choice Is Clear, Birch Says
                                
                             SEE FRONT PAGE STORY ON
                       HRC's WEBSITE http://www.hrcusa.org

Washington -- The Human Rights Campaign, the largest national lesbian and gay
political organization, endorsed President Clinton for re-election Monday,
calling him the best president gay America has ever known.
     "This is a critical hour for gay, lesbian and bisexual Americans,"
Elizabeth Birch, HRC's executive director, said in making the announcement.
"As we move into this election year, the political climate is marked by
increasing demagoguery, hatred, ignorance and upheaval.  On every front, the
stakes for gay Americans are high."
     Birch praised Clinton for taking many bold actions in his first term on
behalf of lesbian and gay citizens, including:  endorsing the Employment
Non-Discrimination Act, a bill to outlaw discrimination in the hiring, firing
and promotion of people based on their sexual orientation. This act made
Clinton the first U.S. president ever to back a gay civil rights bill;
convening the first White House summit on AIDS and HIV;  appointing more than
100 openly gay people to administration jobs, including former Assistant
Housing Secretary Roberta Achtenberg and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Director Bruce Lehman, the first open lesbian and gay man to be confirmed by
the Senate; helping to defeat anti-gay ballot initiatives in Oregon, Idaho
and Maine; ordering all federal agencies to implement non-discrimination
policies that include gay people; issuing an executive order mandating that
security clearances no longer be denied based on sexual orientation; changing
U.S. policy to grant political asylum to people who fear persecution in their
home countries because of sexual orientation; and  increasing public health
spending for HIV/AIDS programs by 40 percent since taking office, including a
108 percent increase for Ryan White CARE programs and a 26 percent rise for
AIDS-related research.
     Recently, Clinton was put in an untenable position by the Republican
majority in Congress and specifically the virulently anti-gay Republican Rep.
Bob Dornan of California. Clinton faced a veto-proof Department of Defense
spending bill, which contained a discriminatory provision to discharge all
HIV-positive service members.
     "The Clinton Justice Department determined that the HIV provision is
unconstitutional and the president ordered the department not to defend the
provision in court," Birch said. "Clinton also threw his support behind
 legislation to undo this hateful, unnecessary measure."
            Birch acknowledged that Clinton's record on gay and lesbian
issues was clouded somewhat by his inability to lift the ban on gays in the
military and his administration's decision not to file an amicus brief in the
Supreme Court case involving an anti-gay initiative in Colorado. 
     "But compared to any of his Republican opponents, Clinton has stacked up
an impressive pile of accomplishments for our community," Birch said.
"President Clinton has done more for lesbian and gay Americans than any
leader in the history of this nation."
     Birch issued sharp warnings about the leading Republican presidential
hopefuls, particularly former TV commentator Pat Buchanan.
     "Pat Buchanan has made no secret of his virulent homophobia," Birch
said. Before the Iowa GOP caucuses, Buchanan spoke Feb. 10 at the anti-gay
rally sponsored by religious political extremists. Referring to the 1992 GOP
Convention in Houston, he said, "I talked about the cultural war going on for
the soul of America. And that war is still going on. We cannot worship the
false god of gay rights. To put that kind of relationship on the same level
as marriage is a moral lie."
     On Feb. 11, Buchanan told NBC that, if elected, he would not appoint
openly gay people in his administration. On Feb. 19, he told CNN: "I've
worked with people in the Nixon White House who were gay, not openly gay.
They're good people in a lot of ways. I would have no hesitation of having
folks like that. But I don't think their lifestyle should ... discredit the
administration."
     "These extremist views must not go unchallenged," Birch said. She also
singled out California Rep. Bob Dornan, another GOP hopeful, as the author of
the discriminatory HIV provision tacked onto the 1996 defense authorization.
     Other members of the Republican field have not shown themselves to be
leaders on issues of concern to lesbian and gay voters, Birch said. Senate
Majority Leader Bob Dole of Kansas has stated that he believes homosexuality
is "wrong," and that he opposes what he called "the special-interest gay
agenda." Not only did he sign an anti-gay "Marriage Protection Resolution"
issued by religious political extremists, he told them it did not go far
enough.
     And Dole's Senate voting record ranks him consistently below 25 percent
on HRC's 100-point scale, which is based on the eight to 12 most crucial
votes on gay-related issues each term in Congress. The anti-gay Christian
Coalition ranks Dole at 100 percent on its own congressional scorecard, Birch
said.
     Other GOP hopefuls, including  former Education Secretary Lamar
Alexander, millionaire publisher Malcolm "Steve" Forbes and Indiana Sen.
Richard Lugar, have hidden behind the stock Republican rhetoric on the issue
of gay rights, saying they believe "in equal rights for all and special
privileges for none"-- language designed to satisfy everyone because it says
nothing. Both Alexander and Forbes have signed the anti-gay Marriage
Protection Resolution.
     But Forbes has gone even further, saying that he supports the "don't
ask, don't tell" military ban. As for his view of same-sex marriage, Forbes
has repeatedly asserted: "Compassion is not approval." 
     "This is why it's essential that we return Bill Clinton to the White
House and return the core of Republican moderates and a majority of Democrats
who support gay equal rights to Congress," Birch said. 
     The Human Rights Campaign, the largest national lesbian and gay
political organization, with members throughout the country, effectively
lobbies Congress, provides campaign support, and educates the public to
ensure that lesbian and gay Americans can be open, honest, and safe at home,
at work, and in the community.

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