Nat
Aug 31 2004, 06:24 PM
From Advocate.com
Dear Mr. President,
As advocates for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) Americans, we are writing to you on a matter of grave concern. We are deeply disturbed to learn that Donnie McClurkin, Sheri Dew, and Bishop Keith Butler, who have made deeply offensive comments about GLBT Americans, will be featured at the Republican Convention, and we urge you to repudiate their divisive and appalling comments. Mr. McClurkin, who will be entertaining from the convention stage on Thursday, has accused gay Americans of "trying to kill our children" (The 700 Club, September 23, 2003) and has called homosexuality a "curse" (Charisma Magazine, June 2002). In an article about same-sex marriage, Ms. Dew, who [spoke] before the convention on Monday, called for "a comparison between the atrocities of Hitler and what is happening in terms of contemporary threats against the family" (Meridian Magazine). In talking about the "gay lifestyle," the Bishop Keith Butler, who is appearing on the convention stage on Thursday, has claimed that it "endangers family, children, and the core of society" (October 2003 press conference).
Mr. President, featuring individuals on the stage of your convention who compare a group of Americans to Hitler and accuse them of killing children is divisive and irresponsible. The American people abhor discriminatory, false, and inflammatory language against any group of Americans. Uniting America comes with helping families, not by promoting those who want to divide us. We urge you to immediately repudiate these comments.
Sincerely,
Cheryl A. Jacques, President of the Human Rights Campaign
H. Alexander Robinson, Strategic Director of the National Black Justice Coalition
fantomas
Sep 1 2004, 08:32 AM
And here's another anti-gay speaker, former HUD secretary under W and Florida Senate Candidate Mel Martinez, who trashed his GOP opponent Bill McCollum as supporting the "radical homosexual lobby" because he supported bipartisan hate-crime legislation! It was so outrageous that Martinez lost endorsements from local newspapers AND even got a dressing down from Jebbie. But hey--he's speaking at the Faux Convention
on Thursday night, so don't miss him!
From Salon.com:
QUOTE
But Martinez' former career isn't the only problem for Republicans. While the GOP leaders in New York struggle to repress their inner Gary Bauers, Martinez dove into the anti-gay gutter in the final days of his campaign. According to the Miami Herald, the Martinez campaign ran TV ads and sent out mailers attacking one of his Republican opponents, Rep. Bill McCollum, as \"'anti-family' and a darling of the 'radical homosexual lobby'\" because he supported bi-partisan legislation against hate crimes and is in favor of embryonic stem-cell research.
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush called on Martinez to pull the commercial, which he did, although he didn't disavow the attacks: In a move right out of the Bush-Rove playbook, Martinez said he wouldn't approve of the kind of language used in the attacks, even though the attacks were made by his own campaign. The St. Petersburg Times withdrew its endorsement of Martinez, saying that the candidate had launched \"hateful and dishonest attacks\" and that the paper did not want to be associated with his \"bigotry.\"
George W. Bush apparently shares no such hesitation. Martinez is scheduled to speak at the Republican National Convention Thursday night, shortly before the president himself takes the stage.
CPT_Doom
Sep 1 2004, 10:36 AM
QUOTE
And here's another anti-gay speaker, former HUD secretary under W and Florida Senate Candidate Mel Martinez, who trashed his GOP opponent Bill McCollum as supporting the \"radical homosexual lobby\" because he supported bipartisan hate-crime legislation!
Even better, BOTH Martinez and McCollum have important staffers who are gay, and Martinez had the gall to point that out about McCollum!