Paul Ryan on Civil Rights : Aug 11, 2012
Keep DADT; no gay adoption; no need for gay hate crime laws

Ryan lined up with Romney on repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" when it came before Congress in 2011. Ryan voted against repealing DADT, and Romney was outspoken in his opposition to repeal. Since then, though, Romney has said reinstating DADT would be unnecessary.

Romney's record on the need for hate crimes laws is unclear. But when the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act passed through the House in 2009, Ryan voted against it.

One area where the two differ is on the Employment Non- Discrimination Act. Ryan voted in 2007 in favor of the law, which would have prohibited workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation but did not yet include gender identity. Romney was once also in favor of ENDA but changed his mind.

Barack Obama on Homeland Security : Apr 13, 2010
OpEd: Promised to close Guantanamo but it's still open

The litany of broken Obama promises is amazing:
• He promised to get us out of Iraq. But we're still there.
• He promised cap and trade. But he hasn't produced.
• He said he'd end Don't Ask, Don't Tell and allow gays in the military. But he hasn't.
• He promised not to raise taxes on the middle class. But he has.
• He said he'd bring down the deficit. But he's tripled it.
• He promised to close Guantanamo. But it's still open for business.
• He said he'd fix Social Security. But he hasn't touched it.
• He promised to preserve Medicare. But he cut it by $500 billion.
• He said he'd reform immigration law. But it's the same as when he took office.
• He told Big Labor he'd make it possible to organize new unions without a secret ballot. But that bill died.

Marco Rubio on Homeland Security : Feb 4, 2010
No evidence to change policy of don't ask, don't tell

"We are a nation at war. The governor believes the current policy has worked, and there is no need to make changes," a Crist campaign spokeswoman said.

"Marco Rubio supports the current policy and doesn't see any evidence it needs to be changed," a campaign spokesman said.

Mitt Romney on Civil Rights : Feb 5, 2008
GovWatch: 1994: Favored gays serving openly in military

In a 1994 letter to the Log Cabin Republicans, who advocate gay rights, Romney said he was in favor of “gays and lesbians being able to serve openly and honestly” in the military. He now says it would be a mistake to interfere with the “don’t ask, don’t tell policy.”

Barack Obama on Homeland Security : Aug 26, 2007
Repeal Don’t-Ask-Don’t-Tell

Joe Biden on Homeland Security : Aug 9, 2007
Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is antiquated & unworkable

A: Sen. Biden supports ending the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. It is antiquated and unworkable. According to recent polls, 3/4 of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan said that they had no problem serving with openly gay people. 24 of the nations serving alongside US forces in Iraq permit open service which has had no negative impact on these forces or the morale of our brave soldiers. Finally, the US does not have enough troops to fulfill our current missions--it is ridiculous to turn away brave and patriotic Americans who volunteer to serve solely because of their sexual orientation--especially in light of the Defense Department’s recent decision to extend tours of duty in Iraq. Sen. Biden believes that we should treat everyone serving in the military by the same standards regardless of orientation.

Hillary Clinton on Homeland Security : Aug 9, 2007
Wants to repeal don’t-ask-don’t-tell, but not until 2009

A: The very simple answer is we didn’t have a chance with the Republican Congress and George Bush as president. And I want to get it done when I’m president. I want to do it and have it be successful. I don’t want to try, in a Republican Congress, with a very negative president, and have it defeated. We’re talking, now that we have a Democratic Congress, about what steps we can take to sort of lay the groundwork so that when we do have a change in the White House, we will be able to move on that. But I just want to sort of put it into a broader context, because it’s one of my highest priorities. I came out against don’t-ask-don’t-tell in 1999. It was a transitional action that was taken back at the beginning of my husband’s administration.

Hillary Clinton on Homeland Security : Aug 9, 2007
Should have criticized JCC for calling homosexuality immoral

A: Well, it was a mistake. Because what I went on to say after what you quoted was to launch an attack on “don’t ask, don’t tell.” You know, because my view was that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs had absolutely no right to say what he said. I disagreed with him profoundly. But what was really offensive is that he was in a position of responsibility that had a direct impact on the lives of hundreds of thousands of these young people in the military. So I went right at him on “don’t ask, don’t tell.” And you say these things when somebody sticks a microphone in front of you; I thought that was pretty good. It wasn’t. So I immediately got the first opportunity I could to say the whole thing.

Ron Paul on Civil Rights : Jun 3, 2007
Don’t ask, don’t tell is a decent policy for gays in army

A: I think the current policy is a decent policy. And the problem that we have with dealing with this subject is we see people as groups, as they belong to certain groups and that they derive their rights as belonging to groups. We don’t get our rights because we’re gays or women or minorities. We get our rights from our creator as individuals. So every individual should be treated the same way. So if there is homosexual behavior in the military that is disruptive, it should be dealt with. But if there’s heterosexual sexual behavior that is disruptive, it should be dealt with. So it isn’t the issue of homosexuality, it’s the concept and the understanding of individual rights. If we understood that, we would not be dealing with this very important problem

Mitt Romney on Civil Rights : Jun 3, 2007
Don’t ask, don’t tell sounds silly, but it’s effective

ROMNEY: No, actually, when I first heard of the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, I thought it sounded awfully silly. I didn’t think that would be very effective. And I turned out to be wrong. It’s been the policy now in the military for what, 10, 15 years, and it seems to be working. This is not the time to put in place a major change, a social experiment, in the middle of a war going on. I wouldn’t change it at this point. We can look at down the road. But it does seem to me that we have much bigger issues as a nation we ought to be talking about than that policy right now.

McCAIN: I think it would be a terrific mistake to even reopen the issue. The policy is working. And I am convinced that that’s the way we can maintain this greatest military. Let’s not tamper with them.

Hillary Clinton on Civil Rights : Jun 3, 2007
Don’t ask don’t tell was an important transition step

Barack Obama on Civil Rights : Mar 27, 2007
Pass ENDA and expand hate crime legislation

Sarah Palin on Immigration : Sep 5, 2006
Took no action on Alaska’s “sanctuary cities”

Apparently, this is by design from the highest levels. In fact, a resolution to that effect was passed in the Alaska state legislature in 2003 (before Palin’s election): “[Alaska] House Joint Resolution 22--May 2003: Establishes that state agencies and instrumentalities may not use state resources or institutions for the enforcement of federal immigration laws, which are the responsibility of the federal government.”

It’s not clear whether Gov. Palin has ever weighed in, pro or con, on Alaska’s sanctuary policies.

Hillary Clinton on Civil Rights : Nov 1, 2003
Gay soldiers need to shoot straight, not be straight

Bill knew the issue was a political loser, but it galled him that he couldn’t persuade the Joint Chiefs of Staff to align the reality-that gays and lesbians have served, are serving, and will always serve-with an appropriate change in policy that enforced common behavior standards for all. Bill agreed to a compromise: the “Don’t Ask, Don’t’ Tell” policy. It has not worked well.

I just wish the opposition would listen to Barry Goldwater, an icon of the American Right, who said, “You don’t need to be straight to fight and die for your country. You just need to shoot straight.”