Human Rights Campaign: Kerry Has "Stellar Record On Gay Civil Rights"

[DrFunkenstein]

Born in a military hospital in 1943 to a World War II serviceman and his wife, John Kerry has had a lifelong affiliation with the U.S. military. As a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, Kerry made
a distinctive stand in support of gays in the military during early '90s hearings before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

"I think that any American ought to be able to serve their country if they are physically qualified and able," said the Massachusetts senator in a recent interview with HRC Quarterly. "There were gay people who served in Vietnam. There were gay people who served in World War II, Korea and World War I — and great acts of heroism have been per-formed by people who are gay."

Kerry...was elected to the Senate in 1984, and has consistently supported, sometimes at great political peril, civil rights for the gay community.

In addition to his support for gays in the military, he was one of only 14 senators to vote in 1996 against the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA. "I thought it was rank gay bashing; it was pure political exploitation," said Kerry.

Today, Kerry supports the idea that gay and lesbian relationships should enjoy rights and privileges equivalent to those of marriage. "I'm for civil union and partnership — and I would make sure that every federal entity works to make those provisions available," he said.

Kerry says his record over the years on a range of issues sets him apart from other candidates. In 1985, he authored the Senate version of the gay civil rights bill — a measure that, if passed, would have covered discrimination in employment, housing and credit. His average score on the Human Rights Campaign's congressional scorecard, begun in the 101st Congress, is 96 percent — with a perfect score for the last four congresses.

But Kerry has opposed HRC on three measures — an amendment that sought to restrict schools from using materials that "promote homosexuality;" an amendment that sought to levy a $10,000 fine and lengthy prison term on health care providers who know they have HIV and perform medical procedures without telling patients; and an amendment barring the permanent immigration of people who test positive for HIV/AIDS.

Meanwhile, Kerry has strong words about the current administration's policies on HIV/AIDS, which favor abstinence-only programs over scientifically based prevention programs. "It's embarrassing for the United States to have this kind of zealotry getting in the way of common sense. ...As president, I'm going to reverse as many of those particular directives as possible, and I'm going to set us on a path of common sense and decency."

"I think that tolerance is what this country is built on," said Kerry. "That's what America is about. That's our journey."

<>

Workplace Discrimination
Co-sponsor of the Employ-ment Non-Discrimination Act, a bill that would ban workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Hate Crimes
Co-sponsor of a strong hate crimes prevention measure, the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act.

HIV/AIDS
Co-sponsor of the Early Treatment for HIV Act, which would expand Medicaid to people living with HIV, and supports science-based prevention programs.

Gay Civil Rights Bill
Authored the Senate version of the Civil Rights Amendments Act of 1985, a comprehensive gay civil rights bill that would have covered discrimination in employment, housing and credit.

http://www.hrc.org/publications/hrcq/hrcq03sp/kerry.asp

[JohnKleeb]

1. One of the best on this I agree

Dean, DK, and Kerry and Sharpton and Braun I think are the best when it comes to this issue. Might I add that he was one of the first politicans to stand up for gay rights.

[JI7]

2. yes he does, and women's rights too

he has a great record on this. his record on women's rights is just as good also.

[dsc]

3. His record is great

but what is up on the HIV stuff. I maybe can see the provider thing (though I disagree) but he supports the ban on immigration which is nothing short of appalling. I also am appalled at his wanting to ban schools from using literature which promotes homosexuality. None of those sound good.

[blm]

6. Didn't that legislation occur

during the time that several people contracted HIV through contact with their doctors or dentists?

[dsc]

7. many people alledgedly had

Most of those turned out to have been inaccurate. To my knowledge only two dentists ever gave HIV to anyone (and one of those was intentional), I honestly don't know the stats on doctors. But, as I said in my post I can understand that vote. I can't understand either of the other two.

[Malikshah]

4. Advocate Interview

I just got the Advocate yesterday (one w/ Hugh Jackman on the cover) and it had an interview with Kerry. Not terribly impresses with the way that he answered questions--but he answered them along the same lines as many of the others.

Just a niggling detail that didn't sit well with me. His Vietnam references were too vague.

[DrFunkenstein]

5. The Interviewer Is Fantastic!

Why can't all interviews be this hard-nosed? This is a fascinating piece, and I encourage everybody to check it out.

http://www.advocate.com/html/stories/898/898_kerry.asp

[Octafish]

8. Great article evinces Kerry's LIBERAL political philosophy.

The question is a real stumper, though. For lesser minds, that is. Kerry figures it out. — Octafish

From the article:

EXCERPT...

Immediately following his Advocate interview, Kerry was whisked across town to the Ronald Reagan Federal Center, where he participated with six other Democratic presidential aspirants in a forum sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign, a gay advocacy group. There Sam Donaldson of ABC News grilled the candidates about same-sex marriage. At one point, Howard Dean, who as governor of Vermont signed the state’s historic civil unions legislation, became so frustrated by the difficulty of defending his opposition to same-sex marriage in front of a gay audience that he simply changed the subject. Kerry seemed equally flummoxed by the topic, eventually conceding that he was open to evolving on the issue with the times.

CONTINUED...

http://www.advocate.com/html/stories/898/898_kerry.asp

[DrFunkenstein]

9. A Desegregated Military? Never!

How would you avoid the opposition in Congress and the Pentagon that President Clinton encountered? Would your military background bolster your argument?

My strategy would be to talk, to bring people to the table. We need to work through the modalities about how we could achieve the America that we want to achieve.

Harry Truman helped to desegregate the military. Nobody believed you could fight alongside a black man. We have learned that not only can you serve alongside them, but also many white men had their lives saved and love black men to this day who exhibited heroism and compassion.

President Clinton did a lot of good things but clearly had difficulties with the military that were exacerbated by his lack of service. I think I can get over that.

[Malikshah]

10. Selective?

What about his comments on Vietnam and gays?

[jbw121]

11. Kerry rally in Boston

I read on the Dean boards that the Kerry rally in Boston yesterday had 12,000 people!