an anti gay rights ticket

i got this from an email from the progress report today!

An Anti-Gay Rights Ticket

During an interview with the Weekly Standard last month, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) was asked if he would rule out choosing a running mate simply because he or she is "pro-choice." "I think it's a fundamental tenet of our party to be pro-life but that does not mean we exclude people from our party that are pro-choice," McCain said. However, McCain would not extend that line of thinking to his treatment of gays, having previously stated that he would not consider New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg for vice president because he is "pro-gay rights." Indeed, ultimately McCain bowed to the hard right of his party, choosing Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) as his running mate, solidifying the Republican Party's presidential ticket as one that has no interest in and little history of promoting gay rights. But that hasn't stopped the campaign from trying to offer symbolic olive branches. Last month, top McCain aide Steve Schmidt told the Log Cabin Republicans that they are "an important part" of the GOP and that "over time" more equality for gays "will be reached." Yet the record belies the rhetoric. While McCain opposes gay marriage and civil unions, supports "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) and is against gay men and lesbians adopting children. Palin's positions are even more radical, having said this week she believes that homosexuality is a "choice."

MARRIAGE, UNIONS AND ADOPTION: In an attempt to pay lip service to the LGBT community, McCain has said that he opposes a U.S. constitutional amendment banning gay marriage (despite having once said he supports on) in favor of pushing the issue to the states. But at the same time, he also has offered support for constitutional amendments in Arizona and California banning gay marriage (55 percent of Californians oppose the measure. In fact, in 2006, McCain said that if state courts find bans on gay-marriage unconstitutional, then he would support a federal consitutional ammendment. McCain has also consistently said he is not in favor of civil unions for same-sex couples but during the general election campaign season, he has tried to soften his position. In an interview with Ellen DeGeneres last May, McCain reiterated his stance against gay marriage but pandered and said, "[P]eople should be able to enter into legal agreements." Moreover, last July, during an interview with The New York Times, McCain declared that he opposes gay adoption even if it means that children are left in orphanages. McCain's campaign, proclaiming to speak for the candidate, backtracked and said McCain would support gay adoption if there were no alternative. But one week later, McCain reiterated his original position.

AGAINST BROADER RIGHTS: After turning down an interview with the Gay History Project earlier this month, McCain recently provided written answers to the Washington Blade, a gay publication based in Washington, D.C. Referring to the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), McCain said he supports only the "concept" of non-discrimination in the hiring of gay and lesbian people, but not actual legislation because, he said, "[W]e need to make sure legislation doesn't lead to a flood of frivilous lawsuits or infringe on religious institutions." In fact, in 1996, McCain was among those voting against the EDNA which failed to pass the Senate by a single vote and in November 2007, McCain reiterated his opposition. McCain also opposes expanding rights to gays in the military. Citing the opinion of "military leaders", last year he said the policy of DADT is "working" and that "it would be a terrific mistake to even reopen the issue." Yet Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said recently that the military is ready to repeal the policy. Seventy-five percent of the public supports gay serving openly in the military. The Pentagon has dismissed thousands service members under DADT, including many with key specialty skills such as training in Arabic.

PALIN'S 'CHOICE': In an interview with CBS News's Katie Couric this week, Palin revealed that she believes that being gay is a choice. "One of my absolute best friends for the last 30 years who happens to be gay," she said, adding, "She is one of my best friends who happens to have made a choice that isn't a choice that I have made." Yet all major mainstream medical and mental health professional organizations have concluded that homosexuality is not a chosen lifestyle. The American Psychological Association states that "most people experience little or no sense of choice about their sexual orientation." But Palin's poor record on gay rights issues doesn't end there. In 2006, Palin reportedly said she "can't defy" the state court's ruling that Alaska "couldn't deny spousal benefits to the same-sex partners of public employees" but also said that she would support a ballot initiative that seeks to deny those benefits, and she supported her state's constitutional amendment to ban gay-marriage. Palin's church, the Wasilla Bible Church, also takes the position that homosexuality is a choice. In fact, it has sponsored a conference by James Dobson's Focus on the Family to help gays "overcome" their homosexuality through prayer and covert them into heterosexuality. These programs are opposed by every major medical association.