The Ten Worst LGBT Moments of George W. Bush's Presidency

[Ian David]

The Ten Worst LGBT Moments of George W. Bush's Presidency
by Michael Jones · January 17, 2009

Well, this is it, the last weekend of President George W. Bush. As the “End of the Omnipotence” draws nigh, we’re taking a look back at the past eight years, and covering some of the worst moments in LGBT rights that happened under the watchful cowboy hat of #43. Was this President the most anti-gay leader we’ve had? I'd love your thoughts.

10. La la la la, I can’t hear you, Matthew Shepard Act. Fact: Under the Bush administration, hate crimes committed against LGBT citizens have risen dramatically throughout the U.S. Fact: With bipartisan support, the 110th Congress passed the Matthew Shepard Act, which would add sexual orientation to the list of protected classes under federal hate crimes laws. Fact: President Bush threatened to veto the legislation, to the point where the Act languished in the gallows of the Beltway. Bush’s promised veto of this bill is a shameful legacy, especially given the FBI’s October 2008 report that said hate crimes against LGBT citizens had increased six percent nationwide over the previous year. More frightening? That number is a lowball figure. Not all police precincts report hate crimes to the FBI, so we’re only seeing number reflected from a very small percentage of police jurisdictions across the U.S. Shameful. Bush had a chance to send a message about anti-violence. Instead he sat on his hands.

9. Legitimizing anti-gay talk radio. This week alone we’ve heard Michael Savage say that workplace diversity training would force straight people to engage in sodomy, and radio host Gunny Bob Newman say that allowing openly gay men to serve in the military would spread HIV like hotcakes. During the past eight years, talk radio has become a bastion of anti-gay rhetoric and homophobia, all legitimized by the Bush administration. When Rush Limbaugh says that the Democratic party “bends over” for gays and blacks, he gets rewarded by having Vice President Dick Cheney on his show. Sean Hannity gives airspace to radical activists who threaten violence toward LGBT leaders, and he’s rewarded with sit-downs with White House staff. Sure, radical right-wing radio will continue even after Bush heads to Dallas. But it’s legitimization by the White House should end.

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2. What do 6,000 discharged servicemembers look like? Not only did the Bush administration take our country into two wars (Iraq and Afghanistan), they also stood and watched as more than 6,000 U.S. servicemembers were discharged under the archaic “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy over the past eight years. To add insult to, well, insult, several of the individuals discharged were highly qualified Arabic translators, one of the most valuable positions currently within the U.S. military. To put it bluntly, this policy hurt our national security. Thankfully, the days of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” seem to be nearing an end. But it won’t be because of contributions made by the Bush administration.

1. Marriage amendments galore. Karl Rove’s playbook may be the most damning legacy from the Bush administration when it comes to LGBT rights. The White House’s tacit (or not so tacit) support of gay marriage amendments throughout the country helped solidify Bush’s re-election in 2004, bringing social conservatives out of the woodwork. Nearly a dozen states passed marriage amendments in 2004, including Ohio, the state that tipped the Electoral College to Bush. More states followed suit in 2006 and 2008, with Florida’s Amendment 2, Arizona’s Proposition 102, and California’s Proposition 8 leading the way. Ballot initiatives are nothing new when it comes to limiting or repealing LGBT rights, dating back to at least Anita Bryant. But to have a White House actively working to support them is something new, and the Bush administration took full advantage of its bully pulpit.

More:
http://news.change.org/stories/the-ten-worst-lgbt-moments-of-george-w-bushs-presidency

[CBGLuthier]

1. DADT and DOMA were Clinton not Bush

Fucking Clinton did more damage than asswipe Bush in this area.