GOP presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani may support a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage if multiple states enact such rights. (Photo by AP)
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JOSHUA LYNSEN
Friday, November 09, 2007
Two leading Republican presidential candidates recently revealed a nuanced approach on the question of marriage rights for gay couples.
Former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee, during a weekend appearance on “Meet the Press,” said he personally opposes gay marriage and wants to amend the U.S. Constitution so judges cannot independently enact it.
“But at the end of the day, if a state legislature and a governor decide that that’s what they want to do, yes, they should have, they, they should have the freedom to do what Fred Thompson thinks is a very bad idea,” he said.
Patrick Sammon, president of the gay partisan group Log Cabin Republicans, called Thompson’s approach encouraging.
“In the next few years, I think some states will democratically, through their legislatures, approve marriage equality, and their governor will sign it into law,” he said. “So Sen. Thompson would not have a problem with that. That’s certainly, ‘The glass is half full.’”
Thompson’s comments came two weeks after former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani indicated he might support a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.
Giuliani, who also opposes gay marriage, reportedly told a conservative activist during a private meeting, “if the Defense of Marriage Act appeared to be failing or if multiple states began to legalize same-sex marriages, then he would support the constitutional amendment.”
Sammon said the pledge, reported by the Hill newspaper, underscores Giuliani’s unclear stance on the issue.
“The mayor hasn’t been very clear under what circumstances he would support an amendment,” Sammon said. “We’ll have to wait and see.”
Giuliani has long been vague on questions regarding such amendments, saying that he believes marriage is the union of one man and one woman, but that all Americans should have equal rights under the law.
When asked by Larry King on CNN in February whether he favored “a constitutional amendment saying marriage is a man and a woman,” Giuliani said he did not.
“Not if it remains the way it is now,” he said. “Unless all of a sudden lots of states do what Massachusetts does. … If it stays the way it is, you don’t need it.”
Sammon said Log Cabin — which recently debuted an ad campaign targeting former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney over his shifting stances on certain issues — has no plans at this time to launch any campaign calling on Giuliani to clarify his position.
“We will continue to follow the race,” he said. “We’re certainly keeping different options on the table.”
Meanwhile, former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina has won support from more than 20 newly named gay activists and professionals.
In a letter released last week, the supporters noted Edwards is the best candidate “not only on the critical issues facing the LGBT community,” but on other issues, such as global warming and poverty.
The letter, which was signed by 36 supporters and included 21 new names, also says “Edwards is the strongest individual” candidate to pit against the GOP nominee.
Ian Palmquist, a newly identified Edwards supporter who serves as executive director of Equality North Carolina, said all these factors helped win his endorsement.
“I personally believe that he is the strongest of the major candidates on LGBT issues,” Palmquist said. “But he also is talking about a lot of other issues that I think are important, such as poverty and health care.”
Edwards scored well on gay issues earlier this year in a scorecard released by Human Rights Campaign. He backs many new rights and protections, but like other leading Democrats, Edwards does not support marriage rights for gay couples.
Gregory Simoncini, a newly identified Edwards supporter who sits on the Illinois Human Rights Commission, said the candidate nonetheless is “touching on the right issues in the right way.”
“For me, it’s not about backing the person I think is going to win,” Simoncini said. “It’s about backing the person I think has the most important message.”
Joshua Lynsen can be reached at jlynsen@washblade.com.
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