GOP weighs anti-gay plank for '04 platform

GOP weighs anti-gay plank for '04 platform
by Christopher Curtis
Gay.com / PlanetOut.com Network
Posted September 23, 2003

Ed Gillespie, chairman of the Republican National Committee, said in an interview published Tuesday that gay activists are guilty of bigotry, and he suggested the GOP will promote the traditional notion of marriage as a part of its 2004 platform.

Gillespie said this "bigotry" comes in the form of gay activists using the government to protect their lifestyle.

"I accept people for who they are -- and love them," Gillespie told the Washington Times newspaper. "That doesn't mean I have to agree or turn my back on the tenets of my faith when it comes to homosexuality. I think when people say, 'Well, no. That's not enough that you accept me for who I am, you have to agree with -- and condone -- my choice,' that, to me, is religious bigotry, and I believe that's intolerant. I think they are the ones that are crossing the line here."

Gillespie added that the Republican Party is considering a constitutional marriage amendment -- which has already been introduced in the House -- as a key part of the Republican platform for the upcoming election. The GOP leadership hopes that by forbidding states from recognizing gay marriages they can energize conservative voters.

Across the country Republicans are rallying against same-sex marriage. On Monday, California state Sen. Pete Knight sued to stop a wide-ranging domestic partner bill from becoming law. Knight claims the bill violates Proposition 22, the law he authored to define marriage as strictly between a man and a woman. A hearing on the injunction is scheduled for October.

But Gillespie said the deciding factor for the GOP plank may be a ruling from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, to determine whether the state's refusal to recognize same-sex marriages violates the 14th Amendment rights to equal protection.

In his Washington Times interview, Gillespie said a win for gay couples in Massachusetts could force other states to recognize gay marriage. "Does the 'full faith and credit' clause of the Constitution mean that if Massachusetts ordains gay marriages, then someone can go there (to marry), then move back to Virginia or some other state that does not recognize homosexual marriages and that state would be compelled to recognize such marriages?"

Gay political groups quickly responded to Gillespie's remarks on Tuesday.

"The last thing the GOP needs to do is to pattern the 2004 Republican Convention after the 1992 Houston Convention which started a culture war in America," said Patrick Guerriero, executive director of the Log Cabin Republicans. "Log Cabin exists today because of that debacle in Texas, led by Patrick J. Buchanan, which led to the defeat of President George H.W. Bush."

David Noble, the executive director of the National Stonewall Democrats, also criticized Gillespie: "Suggesting that someone is a bigot because they want the legal right to visit a dying partner in the hospital is wrong, and frankly, disgusting."

In order to add an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, a resolution must first be passed by two-thirds of each chamber of Congress. It must then be ratified by three-fourths of state legislatures, who have up to seven years to approve any such amendment.