|
||||
|
||||
|
Sunday, Nov 22, 2009
|
||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
![[Valid RSS]](images/valid-rss.png "Validate my RSS feed"){kind=small}
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
VP contender Ridge's anti-Gay stance |
|
 |
|
| VP contender Ridge's anti-Gay stance | |
|
by Mark Segal -
Courtesy of the Philadelphia Gay News
Former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, who is on presumptive Republican Presidential candidate Sen. John McCain's short list for vice president, has a long record on Gay issues, dating back to 1993 when he was representing Northwestern Pennsylvania in Congress, and then as governor of Pennsylvania before he was tapped by President Bush. Ridge's record on Gay issues is by far the worst of any of the vice presidential possibilities. Ridge on Gays in the military: His first public stand came when he cast his vote in Congress on September 28, 1993, when he voted on President Bill Clinton's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. It was Amendment 316 of House Resolution 2401, the Defense Appropriations bill; he voted against the amendment, which would have struck language from the bill that would have barred Gays, Lesbians and Bisexuals from serving in the military. He also voted against H.R. 2401 itself, voting against the appropriations bill and by default, President Clinton's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." In 1994, this columnist requested a meeting with then-Congressman Ridge while he was running for governor of Pennsylvania. He had already declined a meeting with the state's Log Cabin club, the Gay Republican group. I was surprised when the Congressman agreed to a meeting in his Washington, D.C., office. The meeting turned out to be a short one. I started out with an easy question. "Congressman, if elected governor, would you issue a Gay Pride resolution like the previous three governors?" His answer: "No." Would you keep the historic Governor's Commission on Sexual Minorities that has been in place since 1975, the first of its kind in the nation? He replied: "No." Would you support legislation that would make it illegal to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation? There he replied, "I'm not sure." At this point, I was sure that he was not enjoying the theme of our conversation. Not wanting to waste anyone's time, I asked, "Are your positions on Gay rights political or personal?" He thought about it for a couple of seconds and said, "A little of both." He is and was the only politician who I believe was ineducable on the subject, so I thanked him and left his office. Ridge was sworn in as governor of Pennsylvania in January 1995. And the nation's first statewide commission on LGBT issues was itself history. He is the only governor of Pennsylvania of either party since 1975 - three Democrats and three Republicans - who never issued a Gay Pride resolution. But his battle against the LGBT community had just begun. Ridge on Gay marriage: In 1996, Gov. Ridge signed into law a bill defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Ridge on domestic-partner benefits: In 1999, Gov. Ridge signed House Bill 115 into law, which prevents local municipalities from enforcing ordinances requiring employers to provide domestic-partnership benefits to same-sex couples. The legislation would deny domestic-partner benefits to Gay and Lesbian faculty of state-funded universities. Ridge on hate crimes: In 1997, the state was debating legislation that would look into hate crimes against minorities. The LGBT community was lobbying to be included in that legislation and Ridge refused to intervene. On January 2, 1998, he gave a statewide radio address regarding the legislation and did not refer to the LGBT community. Sexual minorities were only included in the legislation after Ridge's resignation and at the prompting of his Republican successor, Gov. Mark Schweiker. Ridge on nondiscrimination and Gay marriage: When running for reelection as governor, he replied to a survey by Vote-Smart on key issues of the day. Q: Do you believe that the Pennsylvania government should include sexual orientation in Pennsylvania's antidiscrimination laws? A: No. Q: Do you believe that the Pennsylvania government should recognize same-sex marriages? A: No. In 2005, he joined the board of directors of Home Depot, a company that had previously given benefits to dogs and cats, but not the partners of Lesbians and Gays: While the company's health plan covered pets, the board refused to include domestic partners of LGBT employees until 2004. With Ridge in consideration for the No. 2 job, I thought it was time to discover if his positions had changed. Ridge's communications director, Michele Nix, explained that Ridge was with McCain on his "Straight Talk" bus, touring Western Pennsylvania Monday and Tuesday and might be able to find time in his hectic schedule to call back. As we went to press, Ridge had not taken that opportunity. There is no other candidate with a more anti-Gay record than Ridge. His opposition to nondiscrimination laws, the reporting of hate crimes against Gay people and Gays in the military and signing legislation assuring that partners of LGBT people could not get health benefits makes you think that you're not in the United States of 2008, but in the Land of Oz, and he's the Tin Man - a man with no heart. Mark Segal is publisher of the Philadelphia Gay News. He can be reached at mark@epgn.com. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 post your own information onthe Seattle Gay Blog |
 |
 |
 |
 |
USA Gay News American News American Gay News USA American Gay News United States American Lesbian News USA American Lesbian News United States USA News