Xi Jinping on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Oct 30, 2021)
Shut down LGBT social media accounts; boycott "sissy idols"

Joe Biden on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Apr 28, 2021)
To all transgender Americans: your president has your back

Joe Biden on Gay Rights: (Homeland Security Mar 31, 2021)
Kept promise to allow transgendered to serve in military

PROMISE KEPT: (Military Times, 3/31/21): The Pentagon swept away Trump-era policies that largely banned transgender people from serving in the military, issuing new rules that offer them wider access to medical care and assistance with gender transition. The new department regulations allow transgender people who meet military standards to enlist and serve openly in their self-identified gender, and they will be able to get medically necessary transition-related care authorized by law.

Antony Blinken on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Mar 30, 2021)
Human rights are co-equal; there is no hierarchy

"One of the core principles of human rights is that they are universal. All people are entitled to these rights, no matter where they're born, what they believe, whom they love, or any other characteristic," Blinken said. "Human rights are also co-equal; there is no hierarchy that makes some rights more important than others."

The Biden administration has already repealed several Trump-era human rights decisions. Those have included reengaging with the U.N. Human Rights Council, abandoning the so-called Geneva Consensus and Mexico City rule that oppose abortion rights and restoring LGBTQ protections as a matter of administration policy.

Antony Blinken on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Mar 30, 2021)
Women's rights--including sexual rights--are human rights

Blinken also reversed a Trump administration decision to remove sections on reproductive rights from the State Department's annual human rights reports on foreign countries. "Women's rights--including sexual and reproductive rights--are human rights," he said.

In presenting the annual human rights reports, Blinken said he had instructed the State Department to restore sections on reproductive rights to future editions [to replace sections prepared in the Trump administration]. He ordered the department to prepare addendums to the 2020 reports that include information about maternal mortality, discrimination against women in accessing sexual and reproductive health care and government policies about access to contraception and skilled health care during pregnancy and childbirth.

Pope Francis on Gay Rights: (Families & Children Mar 26, 2021)
Gay marriage is not ordered to the Creator's plan

Deb Haaland on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Mar 16, 2021)
Everyone deserves to love without discrimination

Deb Haaland on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Mar 16, 2021)
I have this wonderful lesbian daughter who I adore

Haaland: "That would be my daughter, who is a lesbian. Sometimes I think about how I have this beautiful, wonderful lesbian daughter who I adore, and who I want to have every opportunity for success. I just feel that every single American, regardless of where they are, what community they belong to, deserves to have opportunities to succeed."

Deb Haaland on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Mar 16, 2021)
Was Vice Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus

Antony Blinken on Gay Rights: (Principles & Values Mar 3, 2021)
At our best US is a country with integrity and a heart

Antony Blinken on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Feb 4, 2021)
End violence & discrimination against LGBTQI+ persons

Joe Biden on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Feb 4, 2021)
Reverse ban on transgender individuals serving in military

And finally, to successfully reassert our diplomacy and keep Americans safe, prosperous, and free, we must restore the health and morale of our foreign policy institutions.

The United States will again lead not just by the example of our power but the power of our example. Within hours of taking office, I signed an executive order overturning the hateful, discriminatory Muslim ban; reversed the ban on transgender individuals serving in our military.

Joe Biden on Gay Rights: (Foreign Policy Feb 4, 2021)
Promote LGBTQI+ rights worldwide via State Department

PROMISE KEPT: (Executive Memo on LGBTQI, 2.4/21): I am directing all agencies engaged abroad to ensure that U.S. diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and protect the human rights of LGBTQI+ persons. The Department of State shall lead a standing group, with appropriate interagency representation, to help ensure the Federal Government's swift and meaningful response to serious incidents that threaten the human rights of LGBTQI+ persons abroad.

OnTheIssues ANALYSIS: Biden has fulfilled this promise in general, but not for the specific promise of establishing a special office. We consider this a general fulfillment because Biden expanded on his promise from "LGBTQ" to "LGBTQI+"--adding "intersex persons"--Biden has consistently used the longer list in his public pronouncements.

Xavier Becerra on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Dec 16, 2020)
Protect transgender students and adults

Pete Buttigieg on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Dec 16, 2020)
OpEd: Appointed to Cabinet solely because he's gay

Xavier Becerra on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Dec 8, 2020)
For marriage equality; against Defense of Marriage Act

During Becerra's first term in the U.S. House he backed marriage equality, something few other members of Congress did. Among 435 senators and representatives, Becerra was among just 67 who voted against the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, according to Equality California. In 2005, he co-sponsored the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, federal legislation that added sexual orientation, gender identity and disability to hate crime law.

Joe Biden on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Oct 15, 2020)
LGBT rights are in jeopardy from Supreme Court

BIDEN: I think there's great reason to be concerned for the LGBT community, something I fought very hard for, for a long time to make sure there's equality across the board.

Amy Coney Barrett on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Sep 22, 2020)
Indissoluble Christian commitment of a man and a woman

Mike Pence on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Sep 22, 2020)
Changing definition of marriage is abolishing marriage

[States News Service, 3/31/08]: "If we change the definition of marriage you're really abolishing marriage. I don't think we really want to see a society without that strong centerpiece of a heterosexual marriage," Pence said.

Donald Trump on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Jun 15, 2020)
Job discrimination rules don't apply to transgender status

By a vote of 6-3, the court said Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which makes it illegal for employers to discriminate because of a person's sex, among other factors, also covers sexual orientation and transgender status.

The Trump administration had urged the court to rule that Title VII does not cover cases like these, in a reversal from the position the government took during the Obama administration. "The ordinary meaning of 'sex' is biologically male or female; it does not include sexual orientation," the Justice Department said. "An employer who discriminates against employees in same-sex relationships thus does not violate Title VII as long as it treats men in same-sex relationships the same as women in same-sex relationships."

Joe Biden on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Jun 15, 2020)
No job discrimination for transgender status

By a vote of 6-3, the court said Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which makes it illegal for employers to discriminate because of a person's sex, among other factors, also covers sexual orientation and transgender status.

Joe Biden called the ruling "a momentous step forward for our country" in a statement, adding that the court had "confirmed the simple but profoundly American idea that every human being should be treated with respect and dignity, that everyone should be able to live openly, proudly, as their true selves without fear."

The Trump administration had urged the court to rule that Title VII does not cover cases like these, in a reversal from the position the government took during the Obama administration.

Stacey Abrams on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Jun 9, 2020)
LGBTQ+ played identity politics for 150 years

Mike Bloomberg on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Feb 26, 2020)
I convinced NY Republicans to vote for gay marriage

I wanted to get the ability to permit gay marriages in New York City. I'm a believer that it's none of the business who you love, who you want to marry or whatever. You should be free to do that. So I went up to Albany and I convinced the Republicans, even though I was very liberal NYC mayor. I convinced them to vote for gay marriage.

And the way I did it was talking to each one of them and explaining, "Look, if it was somebody in your family that came to your kid, and said, 'Daddy, I want to marry somebody and you're not going to like who it is but this who I'm in love with.' "

What would you say? You wouldn't want to say no, it's your child. I mean you might not be thrilled about it, but in the end you want to give your child what that child wants. And so I convinced them on that basis to actually go and pass a gay marriage bill.

Mike Bloomberg on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Jan 20, 2020)
Guarantee equal treatment and equal rights for LGBTQ+ people

Mike will launch a federal "Respect for All" initiative to combat bullying, harassment and discrimination. He will promote school-based mental health programs, including suicide prevention efforts, and protect LGBTQ+ youth from the harmful practice of conversion therapy. Mike will expand support for shelters and services for homeless youth, and ensure equal treatment of child and families in the child welfare system, as well as LGBTQ+ seniors in federally funded long-term care facilities.

Elizabeth Warren on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Dec 19, 2019)
Trans-gender community has been marginalized

Warren: The transgender community has been marginalized in every way possible. And one thing that the president of the United States can do is lift up attention, lift up their voices, lift up their lives. Here's a promise I made: I will go to the Rose Garden once every year to read the names of transgender women of people of color who have been killed in the past year. I will make sure that we read their names so that as a nation we are forced to address the particular vulnerability. I will change the rules now that put people in prison based on their birth sex identification rather than their current identification. I will do everything I can to make sure that we are in America that leaves no one behind.

Amy Klobuchar on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Oct 10, 2019)
Collect data on GLBT issues so we can persuade Congress

You can, of course, stop this highly discriminatory and anti-patriotic policy of the Trump administration which bans trans people from serving in the military. You can do that yourself. You can do so many other things when it comes to changing the Department of Education policies and other discrimination policies.

And then I would pass the Equality Act in the first year. Those are high priorities for me. And you've got to do some by changing the dialogue in those first 100 days and some are the long term to get them done through Congress.

Amy Klobuchar on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Oct 10, 2019)
Throughout career, fighting hate crimes a priority

KLOBUCHAR: In my first job as the DA in Minnesota's biggest county, I made hate crimes a major priority. I was invited to the White House because of that, to introduce President Clinton when he unveiled the Matthew Shepherd bill. When I got to the Senate, we actually passed that bill and got all of those other things passed that I mentioned and introduced. So for me, it's a major priority.

Kamala Harris on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Oct 10, 2019)
I performed same-sex marriages in 2004, AND later ones

HARRIS: It was my joy.

A: How will you leverage your liberal Californian perspective when reaching out to voters in small conservative areas?

HARRIS: I'll tell them the story of Valentine's weekend in 2004. Back when a lot of Democrats were talking about civil unions, in February of 2004, I was performing marriages. I arrived at San Francisco City Hall that day, it was a Saturday, Valentine's weekend, and wrapped around the entire city block were families of every race, of every size, of every age, balloons and teddy bears and gifts, and there was something about arriving there that day that, when you have a group of people that is so large who are so full of pure joy in one place, you can feel it. Because it was a day where people who love each other had the ability for their love to be recognized by law. We must respect and always encourage these kinds of loving relationships.

Pete Buttigieg on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Oct 10, 2019)
An Equality Act will fight discrimination on many fronts

BUTTIGIEG: Even if the Supreme Court upholds the idea that the Civil Rights Act applies to discrimination against, for example, same-sex couples in the workplace, we've still got a long way to go when it comes to other forms of discrimination, for housing, public accommodation. That is why we urgently need an Equality Act. I will fight for that, and I will sign it the moment that it hits my desk.

Cory Booker on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Oct 10, 2019)
Blacks were fractions of human, in original Constitution

Kamala Harris on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Oct 10, 2019)
End unequal treatment under law by sexual orientation

HARRIS: How can we defend that our LGBTQ brothers and sisters are treated differently under the law when they walk into their place of work? I will fight for equality. We saw great success in terms of marriage. But there is still not full equality for members of the LGBTQ community, and that relates to housing, it relates to employment, it relates to education, and many other issues.

Cory Booker on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Oct 10, 2019)
Always fights for LGBTQ and will pass Equality Act

BOOKER: I have spent my life working on LGBTQ issues. I am one of the lead original sponsors of the Equality Act. All of us swear an oath that we'll be a nation of liberty and justice for all. Those are aspirational words until every LGBTQ American has equal rights and I will get the Equality Act passed in our country.

Joe Biden on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Oct 10, 2019)
Pass Equality Act, enforce Civil Rights Act to protect LGBTQ

BIDEN: We have to pass the Equality Act. That's important because it would change a whole range of things. This is a civil rights issue, protected by the Civil Rights Act, and we should focus on how to enforce that. My Justice Department will do that. Lastly, I think that it's important we start early and educate the population.

Cory Booker on Gay Rights: (Crime Oct 10, 2019)
Presidential office on hate crimes and white supremacy

BOOKER: So first of all, very clearly, it is a national emergency, the majority of the terrorist attacks in this country since 9/11 had been right-wing extremist groups and the majority of them had been white supremacist and hate groups. And I will elevate, as president, an office on hate crimes and white supremacy to make sure it is a presidential level effort to protect our country as a whole, but I'm not stopping there. We need a Department of Justice that recognizes this is a problem and investigates hate crimes. 30% of LGBTQ youth have reported missing school in the last month because of fears for their physical safety. We live in a country where we still see regular, everyday violence and intimidation and bullying against Americans because of who they are.

Beto O`Rourke on Gay Rights: (Crime Oct 10, 2019)
More resources to fight hate crime against black trans women

O'ROURKE: I'm going to listen to trans women of color. They will be the guide on this issue. They will direct our policy. What that means is that we will no longer allow trans women of color to be killed at this alarming rate and to be killed with what is functionally impunity. If local law enforcement won't make it a priority, the local DA will not prosecute, we are going to involve our Department of Justice to look at these as civil rights violations and a matter of restoring the very fabric of America, equal treatment under the law. I think it's really important, from the highest office in the land, to set the standard, to speak in the most positive terms, to overturn that transgender troop ban on day one, and to make stopping this epidemic of violence against trans women a top priority for the United States of America.

Amy Klobuchar on Gay Rights: (Families & Children Oct 10, 2019)
Make it easier for LGBTQ couples to adopt

Tom Steyer on Gay Rights: (Foreign Policy Oct 10, 2019)
Represent LGBT rights in human rights action abroad

STEYER: I know that there are 71 countries in the world that openly discriminate against members of the LGBTQ community. And I know that the US, as a value-driven country, where we're projecting to the world what we care about, what we're willing to do about it, and the kind of world that we're trying to create with our democracy- and freedom- loving partners, should definitely include a specific attempt to represent the rights of LGBTQ people who live outside the US. So I think it's entirely appropriate as part of our foreign policy to have a person specified for that role, but also to make it clear that part of human rights, part of civil rights, that we expect in our own country, without equivocation, and that we expect people around the world to observe, is the rights of the people in this community. So I would support that.

Joe Biden on Gay Rights: (Foreign Policy Oct 10, 2019)
US should promote LGBTQ rights worldwide; stop aid if needed

BIDEN: In my State Department, we will have a special office that's devoted directly to promoting LGBTQ rights around the world. I would curtail aid to countries that engage in that kind of behavior.

Q: Saudi Arabia?

BIDEN: Saudi Arabia, same thing.

Amy Klobuchar on Gay Rights: (Government Reform Oct 10, 2019)
Pass Equality Act by marshalling public support

KLOBUCHAR: It is time to pass the Equality Act. Our problem is you can get married in one state and then you can get fired from your job for being gay. That's why the Equality Act is so important. It's passed the House. It is sitting in the graveyard of legislation that is Mitch McConnell's desk. What I would do to get it passed is to bring people together to make the case for it.

Amy Klobuchar on Gay Rights: (Health Care Oct 10, 2019)
More mental health resources for LGBTQ

KLOBUCHAR: Second cause of death of teenagers right now is suicide, with the numbers for LGBTQ being higher. Get rid of the stigma by treating mental illness like any other disease. Making sure insurance companies are offering the insurance and coverage. More beds. And prevention lines, hot lines, all of those kinds of things. More counselors in the schools to work with LGBTQ youth.

Tom Steyer on Gay Rights: (Immigration Oct 10, 2019)
Trump's border policy is a crime against humanity

STEYER: What we've seen from ICE in terms of inhumanity, this is a perfect example, but it's not the only example. I think it's absolutely critical for the USA to treat people in a humane and decent fashion. It's very obvious that this president and this administration has chosen to not only break the international laws in their treatment of asylum-seekers, but to break the basic laws of humanity. When I think about why I started the "Need to Impeach campaign" two years ago--yeah, he's a criminal; he more than has earned impeachment; but it goes much beyond this, and it goes to exactly this kind of issue. The president of the United States committing crimes against humanity like this, in our name, is something that we should end right now, certainly the first day of my presidency.

Kamala Harris on Gay Rights: (Principles & Values Oct 10, 2019)
The power of a president's support will help LGBTQ youth

HARRIS: One of the most powerful tools in the hands of the president is that microphone she holds. The real strength of a leader is based not on who you beat down, it's based on who you lift up. We have to create a safe place for those youth to go, where they can be in a peer- based place, where they can talk about how they are experiencing the world in a way that nurtures and strengthens them.

Cory Booker on Gay Rights: (Principles & Values Oct 10, 2019)
His faith taught love, so he fought his own homophobia

Booker: I wanted to push people to understand the absurdities of homophobia, and became a campus activist on those issues, and so I wrote this article to challenge people about their homophobia. It started as a teenager that saw growing up, an environment that was hostile to my peers who my faith taught me to love no matter what.

Tom Steyer on Gay Rights: (Technology Oct 10, 2019)
Collect census data on LGBTQ status

STEYER: What do you mean by they won't be counted on the census? They will not be identified on the census?

Q: Correct; LGBTQ identities will be removed from being asked the question on the census in 2020.

STEYER: I think it's clear that this administration is scared of data that contradicts their underlying beliefs. Look, it is absolutely critical to get the data on subjects like this, because I think that kind of information gives a power to this community politically that is really important. And when I said, how do you make change here? My answer is "grassroots." This kind of data is the proof that at the grassroots the LGBTQ community has real power. So it's absolutely critical that we, in fact, get this information. This is going to be the data that empowers this community to make the changes and to scare the politicians into doing what's right.

Elizabeth Warren on Gay Rights: (Welfare & Poverty Oct 10, 2019)
Need funding to help LGBTQ homeless youth

I propose to expand our funding that is specifically targeted to LGBTQ youth who are homeless.

Julian Castro on Gay Rights: (Welfare & Poverty Oct 10, 2019)
Bring back LGBT non-discrimination policies for HUD housing

CASTRO: I'm very proud that during the two-and-a-half years that I was housing secretary that me and the people that worked at HUD, we had a role in expanding those protections. It is a shame what this administration has done to roll them back. And the comments that Secretary Carson, my successor, made a couple of weeks ago are shameful. As president, I would make sure not only that we appoint people, including members of the LGBTQ community, to the cabinet, to the White House staff, and other positions in the administration who are going to ensure that we expand equal opportunity, but we absolutely will strengthen protections in housing and employment and health care, in every other context for members of the LGBTQ community.

Bill Weld on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Sep 24, 2019)
Created Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth

On LGBTQ rights:
• Weld supported an amicus brief that petitioned to overturn California's law that outlawed same-sex marriage.
• Weld created the Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth.
• He was supportive of allowing transgender individuals access to bathrooms of their choice.
• GLAAD's CEO said: "Gov. Weld represents what is needed & has been missing within the Republican Party: a campaign message about acceptance for all marginalized communities, including LGBTQ people."

Joe Walsh on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Sep 24, 2019)
LGBTQ activists are "constitutional terrorists"

On LGBTQ rights:
• Walsh said he is a strong supporter of " traditional marriage" and believes "a marriage can only exist between one man & one woman."
• While in Congress, Walsh voted to prevent federal funds from being used in ways that would counteract the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
• Walsh has called LGBTQ activists "constitutional terrorists" and once said that a "transgender 'man' is a woman."
• He also said Christian vendors should be allowed to turn away LGBTQ customers.

Joe Walsh on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Sep 24, 2019)
Same-sex marriage is law of the land, but give it time

Walsh: Look, same sex marriage is the law of the land. And how are we going to get Republican voters to eventually embrace it? It's going to take time. And we have to let time play itself out. I think the answer for most Republican voters eventually is the family--over the next number of years, seeing same sex couples parent their kids. Republican voters & conservatives that I've spoken to for years on the radio value the family more than anything. I think as the years go by and they see that loving children can be raised by same sex parents--this is one of those issues that will eventually move Republican opinion.

Q: What about GLAAD's report?

Walsh: I disagree with that vehemently. I use the power of my public profile to go at the issue and talk about the issue and try to find common ground on the issue.

Joe Walsh on Gay Rights: (Homeland Security Sep 24, 2019)
Supports military service for gays and transgendered

Jay Inslee on Gay Rights: (Crime Jul 31, 2019)
Mass incarceration comes from school-to-prison pipeline

I believe you can draw a straight line from slavery through Jim Crow through the banking and the redlining to mass incarceration. But you know what other line I can draw? 88% of the people in our prisons dropped out of high school. Let's fix our school system and maybe we can fix the prison pipeline that we have.

Joe Sestak on Gay Rights: (Foreign Policy Jul 9, 2019)
Rejoin Iran deal; strengthen trade with allies

Joe Sestak on Gay Rights: (Foreign Policy Jul 9, 2019)
Rejoin Iran nuclear deal; "reestablish" ties with allies

Tulsi Gabbard on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Jun 26, 2019)
No one in government should tell anyone who they can love

Cory Booker on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Jun 26, 2019)
Threats to LGBTQ people can no longer be ignored

Beto O`Rourke on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Jun 24, 2019)
Upgrade records of LGBTQ vets who were discharged

Joe Sestak on Gay Rights: (Homeland Security Jun 23, 2019)
More funding for veterans and for cyberspace

Priorities:
• Re-join the Iranian nuclear deal to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
• Modernize our military by focusing on the capability of cyberspace and no longer measuring our prowess by force structure numbers alone.
• Emphasize the importance of dominating cyberspace, in the realms of both cyber-security & cyber-warfare.
• Support all of our military servicemembers, including LGBT heroes.
• Provide better services and opportunities for our returning veterans..

Gina Raimondo on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Jun 3, 2019)
Signed Pride Month proclamation, defying local bishop

"I think his tweet was unfortunate and made people here feel sad," Raimondo told reporters after signing a "Pride Month" proclamation at the State House. "They feel it was offensive and sad and they were made to feel like second-class citizens and no one should be made to feel that way."

Howie Hawkins on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights May 28, 2019)
Amend Civil Rights Act to include LGBTQIA+

Cedric Richmond on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights May 17, 2019)
Co-sponsor of Equality Act: end LGBTQ discrimination

Steve Bullock on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights May 15, 2019)
Prohibit discrimination based on gender identity

Steve Bullock on Gay Rights: (Families & Children May 11, 2019)
Supports same-sex marriage in Montana

Amy Klobuchar on Gay Rights: (Drugs May 5, 2019)
Fund treatment & mental health with opioid tax

Bill de Blasio on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights May 2, 2019)
NYC Unity Project: invest in LGBTQ youth

Pete Buttigieg on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Apr 22, 2019)
If U.S. to address human rights, we need to be credible

A: I think it's wrong to harm or punish people because they're part of the LGBTQ community. I get that not every country is there. In some dramatically milder respects, but still very bothersome ones, our own country is not there. I believe that this is an example of why the world needs an America that is strong, that's credible, and that people believe keeps its word. Does anybody think right now that the U.S. has an awful lot of moral authority in the world? And whether it's LGBTQ rights or, frankly, any kind of human rights, it's really important for the U.S. to be a credible messenger. I still believe that America can spread values related to freedom and democracy that'll benefit various minorities living in their home countries, but not if we're not credible.

Kamala Harris on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Apr 22, 2019)
Ally of LGBTQ community; must end discrimination

Bill Weld on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Apr 15, 2019)
Supported domestic partners; amicus for same sex marriage

Marianne Williamson on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Apr 14, 2019)
Attacks on gay rights is attack on us all

Pete Buttigieg on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Apr 9, 2019)
Problem about me being gay means problem with my creator

Pete Buttigieg was campaigning to be re-elected mayor, when he came out as gay in 2015--a first for his state, which was then governed by Mike Pence, a self-described religious conservative. At the time, Pence, who has a history of anti-LGBTQ positions, spoke warmly of Buttigieg after his announcement about his sexuality. This was despite the fact that Buttigieg had criticized Pence's support of a controversial religious liberty law that some groups said would give legal cover to discrimination.

"If me being gay was a choice, it was a choice that was made far, far above my pay grade," Buttigieg said while speaking at an LGBTQ event this week, making a direct appeal to the same religious beliefs that Pence has said support his social conservative.

Mike Gravel on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Apr 9, 2019)
Include sexual orientation & gender identity as civil rights

The United States should amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit discrimination due to sexual orientation and/or gender identity in employment, housing, public accommodations, public education, federal funding, and credit.

Pete Buttigieg on Gay Rights: (Principles & Values Apr 9, 2019)
If I had been given a choice, I would have not been gay

Buttigieg spoke emotionally of his journey toward accepting his sexuality. "If you had offered me a pill to me straight, I would have swallowed it before you could had time to get me a sip of water. It's a hard thing to think about now. It's hard to face the truth that there were times in my life when if you had shown me exactly what it was inside me that made me gay, I would have cut it out with a knife."

What a loss that would have been for him, he said. "If I had had the chance to do that, I would never have found my way to Chasten," he said referring to husband Chasten Buttigieg, whom he married in June. "Thank god there was no pill," he said. "Thank god there was no knife."

Mike Pence on Gay Rights: (Principles & Values Apr 9, 2019)
No problem with gays; they just say so for publicity

"I hold Mayor Buttigieg in the highest personal regard," Pence told local station WSBT in June 2015. "We have a great working relationship," he said of Buttigieg. "I see him as a dedicated public servant and a patriot."

Pence's team is pointing back to those compliments this week in the wake of new comments from Buttigieg--now an openly gay candidate for president.

Pence's wife, Second Lady Karen Pence, addressed Buttigieg's remarks during a radio interview: "They've always had a great relationship," she said. "I don't think the vice president does have a problem with him, but I think it's helping Pete to get some notoriety by saying that about the vice president."

Marianne Williamson on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Apr 8, 2019)
Expand LGBTQ rights to end discrimination

This is not only unacceptable; this is in direct violation of our founding principles.

Generation after generation, people have fought to rid our country of the "except for's." "Except for blacks," "except for women," and so forth. Today, we are challenged by the ongoing prejudice that seeks to repudiate the fundamental American dedication to freedom and equality for all. "Except for them" is a stain on our national character.

Bill Weld on Gay Rights: (Families & Children Apr 2, 2019)
2000: Supported Family Leave Act, except paid leave

Andrew Yang on Gay Rights: (Families & Children Mar 29, 2019)
Who you love and how you love are up to you

Problems to be solved:
• Too many Americans who identify as LGBTQ are discriminated against based on who they are.

As President, I will...
• Promote any legislation extending protected status to individuals based on sexual orientation and gender identity
• Increase funding for programs directed at educating the public on LGBT+ issues
• Increase funding for programs meant to help LGBTQ individuals who are facing discrimination because of their identity
• Appoint LGBT individuals to senior posts in my administration

Cory Booker on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Mar 27, 2019)
Will fight for LGBTQ rights; everyone should feel safe

Julian Castro on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Mar 26, 2019)
As mayor, banned discrimination against sexual orientation

In 2013, when the Supreme Court struck down an anti-same-sex marriage law, he prompted his state to follow suit.

"Ending the official bigotry that Texas sanctions is both the right thing to do, and it is also good for business," he said at the time.

As HUD secretary, Castro prioritized helping homeless LGBTQ youth and attempted to dismantle LGBTQ housing discrimination.

"Every American should have access to decent, affordable housing," Castro said. "It's a tragedy that so many LGBTQ youth are being mistreated simply because of who they are, making them particularly vulnerable to homelessness."

Wayne Messam on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Mar 26, 2019)
Silent about his stance on LGBTQ rights

Additionally, The Daily Beast reached out to the 2020 candidates to ask them about their views on the Supreme Court taking up cases around LGBTQ discrimination. Messam could not be reached for comment.

His biography also does not mention LGBTQ rights anywhere.

Bill De Blasio on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Mar 26, 2019)
Added third gender to NYC birth certificates

In 2017, he issued the first LGBTQ Health Care Bill of Rights, which ensured accessible health care for all LGBTQ people in New York. In 2016, the mayor issued an executive order that allowed transgender people to use the bathrooms and locker rooms that they best identify with.

Mayor De Blasio has also boycotted the St. Patrick's Day parade in New York for years since it always excluded LGBTQ groups. Instead, he marched in the St. Pat's for All parade. He even boycotted Chick-Fil-A because of the company's homophobic philosophies.

John Hickenlooper on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Mar 26, 2019)
Called special legislative session to pass same-sex marriage

At the bill signing, the governor recalled a time when he promoted a gay employee to a manager position at his brewing company in the early '90s, despite complaints from customers. "They said they weren't going to come to our business anymore," the governor said. "One of our waitresses was standing beside me, and she said, 'You know, that's not going to bother any of us at all.'"

After signing the bill, Hickenlooper said, "It is a moment that the whole community has waited for, for so long." [Senate Bill 2, passed Senate 23-12 April 26, 2012; bill died in Committee on May 15, 2012; then passed in 2013].

Andrew Yang on Gay Rights: (Families & Children Mar 26, 2019)
Increase funding for LGBTQ issues and education

"Who you love and how you love are up to you," his websites reads. "The law should recognize and protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans individuals. I've always been pro-gay marriage; why should straight people have all of the fun? People are people and all love is beautiful."

Andrew Yang on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Mar 19, 2019)
Supports LGBTQ rights

• Social issues: Pro-choice and supports LGBTQ rights.
• Yang says he supports a woman's right to choose, and would nominate judges who share the same opinion.
• Yang would support legislation protecting people from discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.
• He also would nominate LGBTQ individuals to serve in high-level jobs in his administration.

Beto O`Rourke on Gay Rights: (Homeland Security Mar 14, 2019)
Military should welcome transgender recruits

• Discrimination based on sexual preference should be illegal. The military should welcome transgender recruits.
• O'Rourke would make it illegal to discriminate based on sexual preference, and give same-sex married couples access to all the benefits of heterosexual couples.
• He opposes banning transgender people from the military.

Tulsi Gabbard on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Mar 11, 2019)
My time in the military changed my anti-gay views

"I was raised in a very socially conservative home. My father is Catholic, he was a leading voice against gay marriage in Hawaii at that time. Again, I was very young, but these are the values and beliefs that I grew up around," she said.

Gabbard said her views shifted when she deployed to the Middle East, "where I saw firsthand the negative impact of a government attempting to act as a moral arbiter for their people, dictating in the most personal ways how they must live their lives."

"Race or religion or orientation, these were things that didn't matter, because we were focused on our mission of serving," she said.

John Hickenlooper on Gay Rights: (Abortion Mar 4, 2019)
Supports access to abortion

John Hickenlooper on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Mar 4, 2019)
Supports gay marriage and LGBTQ rights

Jay Inslee on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Mar 1, 2019)
Backed legalizing same-sex marriage in his state

Bernie Sanders on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Feb 19, 2019)
1983: Approved "Gay Rights Day" in Burlington Vermont

Donald Trump on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Feb 19, 2019)
Global campaign to end the criminalization of homosexuality

U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, the highest-profile openly gay person in the Trump administration, is leading the effort. The U.S. embassy is flying in LGBT activists from across Europe for a strategy dinner to plan to push for decriminalization in places that still outlaw homosexuality--mostly concentrated in the Middle East, Africa and the Caribbean. "It is concerning that, in the 21st century, some 70 countries continue to have laws that criminalize LGBTI status or conduct," said a U.S. official involved in organizing the event.

Although the decriminalization strategy is still being hashed out, officials say it's likely to include working with global organizations like the United Nations and the European Union, as well as other countries whose laws already allow for gay rights.

Donald Trump on Gay Rights: (Homeland Security Feb 19, 2019)
Ban on transgender people serving openly in the US military

Bill Weld on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Feb 15, 2019)
Supports gay marriage

• Weld signed the amicus brief to overturn California's Prop 8, which outlawed gay marriage, but LGBT rights advocates say he's shifted his stance on gay marriage in the past.
• Weld's liberal stance on social issues often earned him the ire of the GOP, and helped block his nomination to be ambassador of Mexico under President Bill Clinton.
• The late North Carolina Republican senator and vocal segregationist Jesse Helms once accused Weld of perpetuating a "militant homosexual agenda."

Julian Castro on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Feb 15, 2019)
Protections for GLBTQ; benefits to same-sex partners

Pete Buttigieg on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Feb 12, 2019)
Someday, politicians won't have to come out as gay

If any disappointment surfaced at the table that night, it came after my mom looked at me, with a little light in her eyes, and asked, "Is there someone?" Only after answering no, and seeing the light fade a little, did I realize that the tone of her question had been one of hope. No, there wasn't someone at the moment. But I wished there were.

Someday politicians won't have to come out as gay any more than one "comes out" as straight. Someone like me would just show up at a social function with a date who was of the same sex, and everyone would figure it out and shrug. Maybe it's already getting to be like that, in some coastal cities. But not in Indiana.

Pete Buttigieg on Gay Rights: (Corporations Feb 12, 2019)
Companies are not persons; should not have religious rights

Effectively this meant that any place of business, from a restaurant to an auto shop, could refuse an LGBT individual or couple, provided its owner cited religion as the motivation for discriminating. It could even be interpreted to protect a physician denying care to a gay patient. And it would wipe out South Bend's own local ordinance, passed in 2012, which prohibited workplace discrimination against LGBT residents. Despite the name, its purpose was not to "restore" religious freedom--after all, religious freedom is already guaranteed in the Constitution. The bill's actual purpose, its sponsors would later reveal, was to legalize discrimination.

Amy Klobuchar on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Feb 10, 2019)
Anti-gay discrimination is bad for business

Stacey Abrams on Gay Rights: (Abortion Feb 5, 2019)
Roe v. Wade achieved a measure of reproductive justice

Our progress has always found refuge in the basic instinct of the American experiment--to do right by our people.

Pete Buttigieg on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Feb 5, 2019)
Trans members of the military deserve presidential support

Cory Booker on Gay Rights: (Homeland Security Feb 1, 2019)
Transgender troops should be allowed to serve

• In the Senate, Booker pushed for marriage equality and cheered the 2015 Supreme Court decision making same-sex marriage legal nationwide.
• As mayor of Newark, he refused to officiate any weddings until same-sex marriage was legal; in his final weeks as mayor, he married seven LGBT couples once the state legalized it.
• One of the first bills Booker co-sponsored in the Senate was the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which prohibited workplace discrimination because of sexual orientation or gender identity.
• Booker has said his support for the LGBT community has evolved over time.
• In a column he wrote for Stanford University's newspaper in 1992, Booker said that he once "hated gays."
• Booker has also said the president's plan to ban transgender people from serving in the military "undermines our national security."

Kamala Harris on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Jan 21, 2019)
Let transgender people access the bathroom of their choice

• Same-sex marriage should be legal. Transgender people should use the bathroom of their choice. States need not necessarily pay for sexual reassignment surgery.
• On gay rights, Harris refused to defend California's law banning same-sex marriage while she was attorney general.
• She believes same-sex marriage should be legal and filed a court brief supporting transgender people's position that they should have access to the bathroom of their choice.
• She does not support states necessarily paying for gender reassignment surgery of transgender inmates, and once filed a court motion seeking to block the procedure in California.

Tulsi Gabbard on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Jan 20, 2019)
Views on LGBT rights evolved; 100% rating from HRC

A: I was raised in a socially conservative household with views and beliefs and things that I no longer hold today. My views have evolved, to the point where now you can look to my record over the last six years in Congress that reflect what's in my heart and my commitment to fighting for equality, my commitment to fighting for LGBT rights. I have a 100 percent legislative voting record with the Human Rights Campaign. I'm a member of the Equality Caucus, and, again, look forward to continuing to recognize the work that still must be done towards equality and working to make that change happen.

Tulsi Gabbard on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Jan 17, 2019)
Early 2000s: supported father's antigay rights group

Tulsi Gabbard on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Jan 17, 2019)
Actively supports equal rights on LGBTQ+ issues

Kirsten Gillibrand on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Jan 16, 2019)
End the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy

• Gay, lesbian and transgender Americans should be allowed to serve in the military and marry whomever they chose.
• Gillibrand pushed to end the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy that required members of the military who identified as gay or lesbian to keep their sexual preferences secret.
• She supported same-sex marriage before it was legalized.
• More recently, she opposed the Trump administration's attempt to ban transgender Americans from serving in the military.

Tulsi Gabbard on Gay Rights: (Homeland Security Jan 14, 2019)
Allow transgender Americans in the military

• Gabbard supports the legal status of same-sex marriage, opposes attempts to bar transgender Americans from the military and supports laws to ban discrimination based on sexual preference.
• Gabbard has changed her position. In 2004, she opposed a bill allowing civil unions for same-sex couples in Hawaii.
• Hawaii's LGBT caucus withheld their endorsement from her in 2016. She has said that her time in Iraq sparked soul-searching and led to changes in her beliefs.

Tulsi Gabbard on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Jan 13, 2019)
Regrets past anti-gay statements; now pro-LGBTQ+ rights

Although Gabbard's positions on LGBT rights have shifted dramatically in more recent years (she signed a 2013 amicus brief supporting a challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act), the extent of Gabbard's past anti-gay activism has already drawn criticism from prominent Democrats and will likely be a major issue for her as she seeks the party's nomination.

In a statement to CNN provided after the initial publication of this story, Gabbard said, "First, let me say I regret the positions I took in the past, and the things I said. I'm grateful for those in the LGBTQ+ community who have shared their aloha with me throughout my personal journey."

Tulsi Gabbard on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Jan 13, 2019)
2004: We shouldn't represent views of homosexual extremists

"To try to act as if there is a difference between 'civil unions' and same-sex marriage is dishonest, cowardly and extremely disrespectful to the people of Hawaii," Gabbard said at the time. "As Democrats we should be representing the views of the people, not a small number of homosexual extremists."

The resurfaced comments drew condemnation from former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, the first governor in America to support civil unions and who sought the Democratic nomination in 2004. "I was on the other side of this argument wearing a bulletproof vest while she was saying this," Dean tweeted.

Tulsi Gabbard on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Jan 13, 2019)
2012: Apologized for anti-LGBT past; pro-LGBT bills now

Since joining Congress in 2013, Gabbard has supported efforts to promote LGBT equality, including co-sponsoring pro-LGBT legislation like The Equality Act, a bill to amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to protect LGBT individuals.

"I grew up in a very kind of conservative household. A multi-ethnic, multi-racial, multi-faith home," Gabbard said in New Hampshire in December 2018, speaking to her shift. "Diverse in our makeup and diverse in our views. And I held views growing up that I no longer hold."

Julian Castro on Gay Rights: (Abortion Jan 12, 2019)
Allow abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy

Gavin Newsom on Gay Rights: (Families & Children Jan 8, 2019)
2004: Performed same-sex marriage despite state ban

During Valentine's Day week in 2004, then-San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom decided to allow marriages for same-sex couples to proceed anyway.

around the block, waiting to get in. They were counting down the minutes before a government would finally recognize their right to marry whomever they loved. The joy and anticipation were palpable. Some of them had been waiting decades.

I got out of my car and walked up the steps of City Hall, where I bumped into a city official. "Kamala, come and help us," she said, a glowing smile on her face. "We need more people to perform the marriages." I was delighted to be a part of it.

Kamala Harris on Gay Rights: (Families & Children Jan 8, 2019)
2004: Performed same-sex marriage despite state ban

During Valentine's Day week in 2004, then-San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom decided to allow marriages for same-sex couples to proceed anyway.

around the block, waiting to get in. They were counting down the minutes before a government would finally recognize their right to marry whomever they loved. The joy and anticipation were palpable. Some of them had been waiting decades.

I got out of my car and walked up the steps of City Hall, where I bumped into a city official. "Kamala, come and help us," she said, a glowing smile on her face. "We need more people to perform the marriages." I was delighted to be a part of it.

Vladimir Putin on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Dec 11, 2018)
Signed "gay propaganda" law denying minors information

Bernie Sanders on Gay Rights: (Principles & Values Nov 27, 2018)
All real change comes from grassroots activism

That's what I said when I ran for president. That's what I believe now. That's what I've been working to accomplish over the last several years. At a time of massive and growing income and wealth inequality, as our nation moves closer and closer to an oligarchic form of society, we need an unprecedented grassroots political movement to stand up to the greed of the billionaire class and the politicians they own. And the good news is, we're making progress.

Deb Haaland on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Oct 9, 2018)
Justice, dignity and safety for all the marginalized

Ron DeSantis on Gay Rights: (Families & Children Oct 9, 2018)
Protect faith-based noncooperation with gay marriage

Ron DeSantis (R): No. Cosponsored bill to protect individuals for faith-based noncooperation with gay marriage.

Andrew Gillum (D): Yes. While Tallahassee mayor invited same-sex couples to get married there when refused in other FL counties.

Ted Cruz on Gay Rights: (Families & Children Oct 9, 2018)
Amendment to define marriage as between man & a woman

Ted Cruz (R): No. Sponsored amendment to define marriage as between man & a woman.

Beto O'Rourke (D): Yes.

Mike Pence on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Aug 28, 2018)
OpEd: supports conversion therapy & anti-LGBTQ extremism

Arvin Vohra on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Mar 30, 2018)
Same-sex marriage ok; or any number of consenting adults

A: Strongly support. I support any number of any gender of consenting adults committing themselves to each other in any way. If 8 men and 5 women want to get married, that's their business and their right. Government should have no involvement at all. If elected, I will sponsor legislation to repeal any government involvement in marriage, including any law that interferes with gay marriage, polygamy, or any other form of commitment.

Joe Biden on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Oct 24, 2017)
Marriage is all about "who do you love", of whatever gender

The interviewer wanted to clarify. "And you're comfortable with same-sex marriage now?"

"I am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women, and heterosexual men and women marrying one another, are entitled to the same exact rights," Biden said. "All the civil rights, all the civil liberties. And quite frankly, I don't see much of a distinction beyond that."

Whether he had intended to or not, Joe Biden had just made history, and we all know what happened next.

Stacey Abrams on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Sep 1, 2017)
No discrimination, including against LGBTQ

Gina Raimondo on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Aug 29, 2017)
Ban conversion therapy for minors

"LGBTQ youth should know that there is a place for them in Rhode Island," Governor Raimondo said. "Conversion therapy is archaic, harmful, and should never be inflicted upon children. Countless studies have demonstrated that the psychological effects of conversion therapy are lasting and often devastating."

Conversion therapy encompasses a range of practices, many of which have been proven to be psychologically harmful, that aim to change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identification. It is rooted in pseudo-science and has been linked to higher rates of depression, alcohol and drug abuse, and even suicide. The ceremony at the State Room followed the passage of 5277 SUB A.

Stacey Abrams on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Aug 17, 2017)
No discrimination, including against LGBTQ

Nikki Haley on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Aug 3, 2017)
No need for any new transgender bathroom law

Setting aside for the moment that North Carolina's HB2 compromise, HB142, is just more of the same anti-LGBTQ hatred with a slightly different name, it is important to note that South Carolina has so far killed any effort to see a similar bill come to pass in South Carolina.

Both former Governor Nikki Haley and current Governor Henry McMaster have said there is no need for such a law. Templeton said she thinks transgender people should use the bathrooms matching their birth gender, not their identity. She stopped short of calling for a law to be passed.

Gavin Newsom on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Jul 31, 2017)
Early supporter for gay marriage

Tulsi Gabbard on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights May 27, 2017)
Against gay marriage but no government morality

John Kasich on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Apr 25, 2017)
Court has ruled on same-sex marriage & we have to accept it

Mike Pence on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Jan 15, 2017)
No place in our administration for LGBTQ discrimination

PENCE: Throughout the campaign, President Trump made it clear that discrimination would have no place in our administration. He was the very first Republican nominee to mention the LGBTQ community at our Republican National Convention and was applauded for it. And I was there applauding with him.

Mike Pence on Gay Rights: (Principles & Values Jan 15, 2017)
Repeal the Johnson Amendment: free speech from the pulpit

PENCE: This week [Trump] reiterated his commitment to repeal the Johnson Amendment, that's put a chilling effect on free speech in religious institutions around the country.

Q: Do think a new executive order is necessary on religious liberty?

PENCE: The Johnson amendment essentially threatens the tax-exempt status of churches and synagogues and religious institutions if they were seen to be involved in political expression. I don't think we'd have ever made it to these hallowed halls back in 1790 if the pulpits of this country had been silenced from speaking about what they thought was right and wrong. The president identified the Johnson amendment and he told people of faith of every background across this country that he would work to repeal it. And he's directed the administration to begin to look at ways, both legislatively and through executive action to do that.

Bernie Sanders on Gay Rights: (Families & Children Nov 15, 2016)
Real family values: time with newborn and sick relatives

When a mother cannot spend time with her newborn child during the first weeks and months of that baby's life, and is forced back to work because her employer doesn't offer paid family leave and she can't afford not to work, that is not a family value. That is an attack on everything that a family is supposed to stand for.

When a husband cannot get time off from work to care for his cancer stricken wife or gravely ill child, that is not a family value. That is an attack on everything that a family is supposed to stand for. And it should be an embarrassment to anyone who claims to speak for family values in this country.

Susan Rice on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Oct 27, 2016)
Under Obama LGBT employees treated same as co-workers

Hillary Clinton on Gay Rights: (Government Reform Oct 19, 2016)
We need Supreme Court to stand up to the powerful

Donald Trump on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Aug 23, 2016)
1980s: personal lawyer gay & closeted & Trump kept secret

As Cohn's health deteriorated, his unethical behavior as a lawyer caught up to him. A host of luminaries rose to defend Cohn's good character, including Trump, returning to his friend's side and inviting him to visit Mar-a-Lago.

In 1986, Cohn was disbarred. He was fifty-nine. His friends held a memorial service for him. Trump attended, standing silently in the back.

Tom Steyer on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Jul 15, 2016)
Mike Pence alienates LGBT Americans

Though he's raised money for Clinton in the past, Steyer only endorsed the presumptive Democratic nominee last month after the primary process had wrapped up.

Steyer noted that Pence was the first governor to sign a bill specifically discriminating against homosexuals. "Indiana was the first state," he said. "I think that's unconscionabl

Hillary Clinton on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Jun 17, 2016)
Include gender identity in anti-discrimination laws

Should "gender identity" be added to anti-discrimination laws?
• Donald Trump's answer: Yes. Asked whether private companies should be able to fire employees simply because they're gay, Trump said on "Meet The Press" that he didn't think sexual orientation "should be a reason" for letting workers go.
• Hillary Clinton's answer: Yes. "We should ban discrimination against LGBT Americans and their families so they can live, learn, marry, and work," she says on her campaign website.
• Gary Johnson's answer: Yes. Johnson says that he doesn't believe there should be workplace discrimination against gays, referencing racial segregation and civil rights laws from the 1960s: "There has to be an awareness, and there has to be consequences to discrimination. And there should not be discrimination."
• Bernie Sanders' answer: Yes, and the government should do more to protect minorities from discrimination.
• Jill Stein's answer: Yes.

Donald Trump on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Jun 17, 2016)
Sexual orientation is invalid reason for firing workers

Should "gender identity" be added to anti-discrimination laws?
• Donald Trump's answer: Yes. Asked whether private companies should be able to fire employees simply because they're gay, Trump said on "Meet The Press" that he didn't think sexual orientation "should be a reason" for letting workers go.
• Hillary Clinton's answer: Yes. "We should ban discrimination against LGBT Americans and their families so they can live, learn, marry, and work," she says on her campaign website.
• Gary Johnson's answer: Yes. Johnson says that he doesn't believe there should be workplace discrimination against gays, referencing racial segregation and civil rights laws from the 1960s: "There has to be an awareness, and there has to be consequences to discrimination. And there should not be discrimination."
• Bernie Sanders' answer: Yes, and the government should do more to protect minorities from discrimination.
• Jill Stein's answer: Yes.

Rand Paul on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Apr 16, 2016)
Disagrees with Libertarians & Hillary Clinton on gay rights

Hillary is a liberal and not a progressive (Barack Obama and Senator Elizabeth Warren are progressives). If Hillary were progressive, she would be more anti-corporate (more like Elizabeth Warren); and if Hillary were progressive, she would be more opposed to military intervention overseas (more like Rand Paul!).

Stacey Abrams on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Apr 9, 2016)
Welcome everyone, instead of "religious liberty"

The governor's veto infuriated religious conservatives who considered the measure, House Bill 757, their top priority. Last year's Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex weddings galvanized their efforts. In stark terms, the governor said earlier this year that he would reject any measure that "allows discrimination in our state in order to protect people of faith." Rooting his critique in biblical language, he urged fellow Republicans to "recognize that the world is changing."

Rep. Abrams voted NO; passed Senate 37-18-1 Mar.16; passed House 104-65-11 Mar.16

Merrick Garland on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Mar 16, 2016)
Spotty record on supporting LGBT protests and free speech

Last June, the Supreme Court ruled that marriage equality is legal in all 50 states under the Fourteenth Amendment. The 5-4 ruling just before many Pride Parade weekends were about to kick off, most notably in New York City. The ruling overrode bans in 13 states against gay marriage, enforcing the law of equal rights all across the United States. The Supreme Court justices found that under the 14th Amendment, all states must recognize same-sex couples and allow same-sex unions.

Hillary Clinton on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Feb 11, 2016)
LGBT people now married on Saturday & fired on Monday

Bernie Sanders on Gay Rights: (Principles & Values Jan 30, 2016)
Agrees with Hillary, but more fervently, on many issues

• Abortion: Both would promote reproductive rights, although Hillary would consider opposing viewpoints.
• Gay Rights: Both would promote same-sex marriage; although Hillary was slower to evolve on this issue than many progressives.
• Healthcare: Both would maintain ObamaCare, but Bernie would move towards a single-payer system.
• Gun Control: Hillary is the progressive on this issue (hard-core consistently in favor of gun control, while rural-state Bernie has the more moderate stance and mixed historical voting record.
• Stimulus: both agree on federal spending to end the Great Recession, although Bernie would devote substantially more resources to infrastructure and an increased minimum wage.
• Alternative energy: both would move away from fossil fuels, although Hillary was slow to oppose the Keystone pipeline.

Joe Sestak on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Nov 30, 2015)
Anti-discrimination laws toward LGBT are long overdue

Steve Bullock on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Oct 23, 2015)
First MT governor to officiate same-sex wedding

Hillary Clinton on Gay Rights: (Principles & Values Oct 13, 2015)
I'm a progressive who likes to get things done

CLINTON: I have been very consistent. But I do absorb new information. I do look at what's happening in the world.

COOPER: Just for the record, are you a progressive, or are you a moderate?

CLINTON: I'm a progressive. But I'm a progressive who likes to get things done. And I know how to find common ground, and I know how to stand my ground, and I have proved that in every position that I've had, even dealing with Republicans who never had a good word to say about me, honestly. But we found ways to work together on everything from reforming foster care and adoption to the Children's Health Insurance Program. So I have a long history of getting things done, rooted in the same values I've always had.

Pope Francis on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Oct 2, 2015)
Doesn't support breaking law to stop gay marriage

The video shows Grassi embracing the pope and introducing him to the other guests. "We've taken up too much of your time," Grassi says in Spanish. "No, by God, thanks for coming by," the pope replies.

A Vatican spokesperson confirmed that the meeting took place: "The Pope, as pastor, has maintained many personal relationships [including] Mr. Yayo Grassi, a former Argentine student of Pope Francis."

The Vatican also put out a statement that appeared to downgrade the significance of the visit with Davis, saying it should "not be considered a form of support" of the Kentucky clerk's "position in all of its particular and complex aspects."

Bernie Sanders on Gay Rights: (Principles & Values Sep 27, 2015)
Abortion & gay marriage secondary to addressing inequality

SANDERS: Well, look, I am pro-choice. I am strongly in favor of gay marriage. And I know that, at Liberty University, people there have honest disagreements with me on that issue. But what I said, look, at a time when we have a grotesque level of income and wealth inequality, when almost all of the new income and wealth in this country is going to the top 1 percent, when we have the highest rate of childhood poverty of any major country on Earth, can we not get together and talk about creating an economy that works for all of us, and not just millionaires and billionaires?

Mike Pence on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Sep 24, 2015)
Religious Freedom Act is not about LGBT discrimination

"This bill is not about discrimination, and if I thought it legalized discrimination in any way in Indiana, I would have vetoed it," Pence said at the time. "In fact, it does not even apply to disputes between private parties unless government action is involved. For more than 20 years, the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act has never undermined our nation's anti-discrimination laws, and it will not in Indiana."

Donald Trump on Gay Rights: (Homeland Security Sep 22, 2015)
Opposed gay marriage but supported gays serving in military

Over the years Trump has been opposed to gay marriage and in favor of gays serving in the military. He has supported abortion rights and then opposed them.

John Kasich on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Sep 6, 2015)
Government employees should comply with gay marriage ruling

KASICH: No, I don't agree with him. I think, you know, the court has spoken. I believe in traditional marriage, but the court has ruled. Now, I respect the fact that this lady doesn't agree, but she's also a government employee. She's not running a church. I wouldn't force this on a church, but in terms of her responsibility I think she has to comply. I don't like the fact that she's sitting in a jail, that's just absurd as well. But I think she should follow the law.

Bernie Sanders on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Sep 5, 2015)
Vermont implemented ENDA 22 years ago; so should feds

A: Unfortunately many LGBTQ people still feel uncomfortable or even unsafe coming out in their workplaces. And they can't be blamed--they're paid less and have fewer employment opportunities than non-LGBTQ Americans. Bernie voted in favor of the Employment Discrimination Act in 2009 to prohibit workplace discrimination as a result of sexual orientation. He commended Pres. Obama last year after he prohibited discrimination against gay and transgender federal employees saying:

"We've got to end LGBT discrimination in the workplace. Vermont did this 22 years ago when it passed one of the first state laws in the country protecting lesbian and gay workers. Congress should have acted long ago, House Republicans won't even allow a vote on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act [ENDA] that the Senate passed last year. That's why Pres. Obama's executive order is an important step in the right direction."

Bernie Sanders on Gay Rights: (Families & Children Sep 5, 2015)
LGBTQ values are family values

In 1972 and 1976, when Bernie first ran for office in Vermont, he was an outspoken ally of the LGBTQ community; as a plank of his platform, he proposed the abolishment of all discriminatory laws pertaining to sexuality. In 1983, after he was elected to be mayor of Burlington, Vt., Bernie backed the city's first-ever pride march.

Throughout his decades of public service, Bernie has voted against measures that impede the LGBTQ community's rights and has supported those that protect them from discrimination.

LGBTQ Values Are Family Values: Bernie was an early supporter and continue to be a committed advocate for LGBTQ families. He has regularly fought for them to have the same rights as families formed by heterosexual couples, publicly equating family values with LGBTQ values.

Bernie Sanders on Gay Rights: (Families & Children Sep 5, 2015)
Violence Against Women Act applies to men and gays, too

In 2012, Bernie co-sponsored the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, a bill that included additional provisions to protect LGBT victims, expand access to justice for victims on Native American reservations, and extend protection for immigrants.

After the renewal of the VAWA, Bernie said: "While we are reducing the incidence of domestic violence, much more has to be done. Too many girls and women are still suffering from domestic violence and sexual abuse and that must end."

Men are victims of domestic violence, and Bernie supports all victims of domestic violence. Although the title of this Act states that it is for women, the operative text is gender-neutral and applies to men and women, including transgender people.

Donald Trump on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Aug 19, 2015)
After Supreme Court vote, gay marriage is a reality

A: Some people have hopes of passing [Constitutional] amendments, but it's not going to happen. Congress can't pass simple things, let alone that. So anybody that's making that an issue is doing it for political reasons. The Supreme Court ruled on it [and hence only a Constitutional amendment can overrule that].

Rand Paul on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Aug 6, 2015)
Resist government imposing religious views of marriage

PAUL: Look, I don't want my marriage or my guns registered in Washington. And if people have an opinion, it's a religious opinion that is heartly felt, obviously they should be allowed to practice that and no government should interfere with them. One of the things that really got to me was the thing in Houston where you had the government, the mayor actually, trying to get the sermons of ministers. When the government tries to invade the church to enforce its own opinion on marriage, that's when it's time to resist.

John Kasich on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Aug 6, 2015)
I attended a gay wedding; accept the Supreme Court ruling

KASICH: I'm an old-fashioned person here, and I happen to believe in traditional marriage.

Q: How would you explain it to a child?

KASICH: The court has ruled, and I said we'll accept it. And guess what, I just went to a wedding of a friend of mine who happens to be gay. Because somebody doesn't think the way I do, doesn't mean that I can't care about them or can't love them. So if one of my daughters happened to be that, of course I would love them and I would accept them. Because that's what we're taught when we have strong faith.We need to give everybody a chance, treat everybody with respect, and let them share in this great American dream. So, look, I'm going to love my daughters, I'm going to love them no matter what they do. Because, you know what, God gives me unconditional love. I'm going to give it to my family and my friends and the people around me.

Bernie Sanders on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Jul 5, 2015)
Right to love each other, regardless of sexual orientation

SANDERS: I don't know that I would go there. Now, you know, we have religious freedom. And I respect people who have different points of view. But my view is that people have a right to love each other, regardless of one's sexual orientation. I voted against the DOMA act, the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, way back in 1996 that was signed by President Clinton, because I think, if people are in love, they should be able to get married in this country in 50 states in America. And I strongly support what the Supreme Court recently said.

John Kasich on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Jun 29, 2015)
I support traditional marriage, but it's time to move on

"I do believe in traditional marriage, but the court has ruled and it's time to move on," the Ohio governor said. Kasich was one of the original defendants in Obergefell v. Hodges, the case that began in Ohio in July 2013 when James Obergefell and his partner, John Arthur James, filed a lawsuit against the state because of its refusal to recognize same-sex marriage on death certificates. But he's taking a much more cautious approach than many of his GOP presidential rivals in the wake of the court's ruling. "I think everybody needs to take a deep breath to see how this evolves," Kasich said. "But I know this. Religious institutions, religious entities--you know, like the Catholic church--they need to be honored as well. I think there's an ability to strike a balance."

Ted Cruz on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Apr 26, 2015)
Pray against a court decision legalizing same-sex marriage

The more conservative members of this Republican field--among them Sen. Cruz; Sen. Santorum; Gov. Bobby Jindal; and Gov. Mike Huckabee--have aggressively emphasized their opposition to same-sex marriage. For them, the issue can be used to differentiate themselves not just from Democrats but from mainstream Republicans, like Jeb Bush, who is trying to appeal to a broader audience with an eye to the general election.

Cruz said advocates of traditional marriage should "fall to our knees and pray" against a court decision legalizing same-sex marriage.

Ted Cruz on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Apr 25, 2015)
Zealotry on same-sex marriage leaves out religious liberty

The Texas lawmaker said this stance was against America's traditional values. Religious liberty, Cruz claimed, was one of the nation's founding principles. "We were founded by men and women fleeing religious persecution," Cruz declared.

Cruz, a long-time opponent of same-sex marriage, seemingly softened his tone on gay rights earlier this week. The White House hopeful reportedly said Monday evening he would still accept one of his daughters if they became a lesbian.

Hillary Clinton on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Apr 15, 2015)
Pledged to sign Employment Non-Discrimination Act

Pushing her along in making commitments to advance LGBT rights was her bruising primary with then-Sen. Barack Obama, who ultimately bested her to win the Democratic nomination.

Both were largely on the same page with major requests from the LGBT community, pledging to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and sign the Employment Non-Discrimination Act into law.

But as she begins her second attempt to win the White House, most of those requests have been accomplished after more than six years of the Obama administration, which gives her less to talk about in terms of LGBT issues.

Rand Paul on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Mar 31, 2015)
I don't believe in rights based on your behavior

But it's unclear how far--and to whom--Paul extends the argument that rights cannot be defined by behavior. Practicing religion, for example, is a behavior enshrined in the Bill of Rights, , as is the behavior of free speech. Does Paul believe those behaviors are protected rights?

A Paul spokesperson said the rights that count are those in the country's founding charter. "He does not classify rights based on behavior, but rather recognizes rights for all, as our Constitution defines it. Sen. Paul is the biggest proponent for protecting the Bill of Rights, which, as you know, protects the rights of all Americans as stated in our Constitution."

Ted Cruz on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Mar 23, 2015)
Most states can ignore Supreme Court legalizing gay marriage

Ted Cruz on Gay Rights: (Families & Children Mar 9, 2015)
Opposes the unrelenting assault on traditional marriage

The issue is one that Cruz said distinguishes him from other potential candidates in what looks to be a crowded 2016 presidential field. While others have de-emphasized or dropped altogether their opposition to same-sex marriage, he said, he would continue to make it a priority.

Cruz delivered his speech to a crowd of about 200 Iowa religious leaders and their spouses behind closed doors in a hotel ballroom in Des Moines.

Rand Paul on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Mar 7, 2015)
Gay contracts ok, but gay marriage is offensive

Paul continued, "I think having competing contracts that would give them equivalency before the law would have solved a lot of these problems, and it may be where we're still headed."

For Paul's vision of equal rights for same-sex couples through contracts to become a reality, the first step would be have to be a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court in June upholding state prohibitions on gay nuptials.

Pope Francis on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Jan 16, 2015)
Same-sex unions threaten the family

"As you know, these realities are increasingly under attack from powerful forces which threaten to disfigure God's plan for creation and betray the very values which have inspired and shaped all that is best in your culture," he said.

The pope called on his listeners to resist "ideological colonization that threatens the family." The Vatican spokesman said later that the pope was referring to same-sex marriage, among other practices.

Deb Haaland on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Dec 31, 2014)
Parent of lesbian daughter: LGBTQIA rights are human rights

Rand Paul on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Dec 25, 2014)
Don't register guns federally, nor marriages

What about rapidly-changing opinions on the matter? He took a soft tone. "Society's changing," he said. "People change their minds all the time on this issue, and even within the Republican Party, there are people whose child turns out to be gay and they're like, 'maybe I want to rethink this issue.' So it's been rethought. The President's rethought the issue. A lot of people have rethought the issue."

Was Paul hinting that he, too, could change his thinking? He said, "I believe in old-fashioned traditional marriage. But, I don't really think the government needs to be too involved with this, and I think that the Republican Party can have people on both sides of the issue."

"You could rethink it at some point, too?" I asked. He shrugged. It wasn't a yes or a no.

Hillary Clinton on Gay Rights: (Abortion Dec 10, 2014)
Issues where Jeb Bush disagrees with Hillary

Hillary Clinton on Gay Rights: (Principles & Values Dec 10, 2014)
OpEd: Sincerely religious, unlike Bill Clinton

But Hillary's sincere religion does not apply to her stances on social issues: Hillary is fully pro-gay marriage; and fully pro-choice. Those stances are against those of the religious right, and exclude Hillary from consideration as a candidate for support. The religious left in the 1960s focused on economic issues such as welfare, and on war issues (Hillary credits 1960s Vietnam activism with converting her from Republican to Democrat).

If you are a religious conservative or a progressive and want a firebrand on social issues, that firebrand is neither Jeb nor Hillary. But both are sincere in their personal religious beliefs, and apply them to some (only some!) of their public policies.

Ted Cruz on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Oct 9, 2014)
Overturn Supreme Court with anti-gay marriage Amendment

Many conservative GOP candidates slammed the Supreme Court's rulings--Cruz vowed to introduce a constitutional amendment that would prevent federal courts or government from voiding state laws on marriage--but others considered the more strategic implications.

Mike Huckabee charged that the GOP "establishment" has waved the "white flag of surrender" on gay marriage.

Seth Moulton on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Sep 1, 2014)
Marriage equality is civil rights fight of our generation

The 2013 repeal of DOMA was a good first step at the federal level towards ending marriage discrimination, but there is much more work to be done. LGBTQ citizens are still denied the right to marry in 31 states; I will fight to bring marriage equality to every citizen in America. I will also fight for the passage of ENDA to end discrimination in the workplace

Kamala Harris on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Aug 27, 2014)
Eliminate "gay panic" tactic for criminal defendants

Legislative Outcome: Co-sponsored by Attorney General Kamala D. Harris; 8/26/14: Passed Senate, 25-9-6; 8/27/14: Passed Assembly, 58-15-6; signed by Governor Brown

Hillary Clinton on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Jun 12, 2014)
I re-evaluated & changed my mind on gay marriage

Clinton now supports the right of same-sex couples to wed, but that was not the case during her time as first lady, senator, and secretary of state. When NPR's Terry Gross chalked up her changing positions to political expediency, though, Clinton pushed back.

"I think you're reading it very wrong," she said. "Just because you're a politician doesn't mean you're not a thinking human being. You gather information, you think through positions, you're not 100% set, thank goodness, you're constantly re-evaluating where you stand. That is true for me. One of my big problems right now is that too many people believe they have a direct line to the divine and they never want to change their mind about anything," she added.

Hillary Clinton on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Jun 12, 2014)
We have all evolved on gay marriage since 1990s

"We are living at a time when this extraordinary change is occurring and I'm proud of our country," Clinton replied, but "that was not the case" during her president's stint in the White House. "I think that we have all evolved, and it's been one of the fastest, most sweeping transformations that I'm aware of," she said.

But after Gross pointed out that many people did support gay marriage during the 1990s, Clinton grew irritated.

"To be fair, Terry, not that many," she said. "Somebody is always out front and thank goodness they are. But that doesn't mean that those who join later--in being publically supportive or even privately accepting that there needs to be change--are any less committed."

Pope Francis on Gay Rights: (Principles & Values Apr 26, 2014)
Religious role in societal shifts, not just culture wars

[A newly-released] report opens with the observation that, dating to the role of faith-inspired activists in opposing slavery and opening Settlement Houses in poor slums, religious social activists have shaped what has come to be known as the progressive movement. For example, the civil rights movement of the 1950s and '60s. But since the 1970s, the role of religious motivations in public policy has come to be defined more by the Moral Majority, focused on traditional definitions of family, pushing back against societal shifts. As the report observes: "Popular narratives about religion's role in public life continue to focus on the influence of religious conservatives in campaign and policy debates."

Joe Biden on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Mar 1, 2014)
Obama disbelieved 2012 gay-marriage support was "accidental"

Biden had no idea at the time that Obama's polling operation had begun inserting questions into focus groups about Clinton's viability as a vice presidential replacement, a revelation that surfaced only late last year in "Double Down." [An Obama aide] told me the dump-Joe polling never even led to a discussion among Obama's senior advisers (in part because Clinton seemed to offer no significant re-election benefit).

Justin Amash on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Nov 30, 2013)
Government shouldn't be defining marriage

Marty Walsh on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Nov 7, 2013)
Care for our LGBTQ elders and support our LGBTQ youth

Bill de Blasio on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Oct 22, 2013)
Co-sponsored the Gender Based Discrimination Protection law

He also co-sponsored the Domestic Partnership Recognition law, an important precursor to full marriage equality that required New York City to recognize same-sex marriages from other states

Cory Booker on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Oct 21, 2013)
Officiated same-sex marriage at first moment legally allowed

When Booker reached the line to "speak now or forever hold your peace"--a man broke the silence. "It is unlawful in the eyes of God," he yelled, carrying a sign with bible script written on it. After the heckler had been removed from the room, Booker said, "Not hearing any substantive and worthy objections, I now will proceed with the vows."

For seven years as mayor of Newark, Booker has turned down requests to officiate weddings as a way of "protesting the painful reality that I could not marry all citizens equally. So I made a decision that I wasn't going to marry anybody until I could marry everybody."

Cory Booker on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Oct 9, 2013)
Supports gay marriage: We are all equal under the law

Lonegan said "marriage is the greatest institution made by man" because "it's about the children." Asked whether he believes gay couples should have children, he quipped: "That would be a biological phenomenon." He then added: "I have mixed feelings about that."

Cory Booker on Gay Rights: (Abortion Oct 5, 2013)
OpEd: In mainstream of NJ, supporting abortion rights

Lonegan was asked about his affiliation with the tea party, his support for the government shutdown and his opposition to abortion and gay marriage.

Booker's campaign is banking on the fact that Lonegan's views are far to the right of those of a majority of New Jersey residents, who support abortion and gay marriage and voted to return Pres. Obama to office.

Cory Booker on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Oct 5, 2013)
African-Americans & gays should both be equal under the law

Booker disagreed and said that as an African-American, he would "not be standing here right now if judges didn't say everyone in America is equal under the law."

"The ability to marry the person you love is one of the most fundamental liberties in America," he added.

Rand Paul on Gay Rights: (Abortion May 10, 2013)
Thousands of exceptions follow from maternal health

In Paul's view, human life begins at conception and should be granted legal protection from that moment on, although he muddied his message with a March 19 CNN interview where he said that as a physician he could see where there could be "thousands of exceptions" that could make abortion legal. An aide later clarified that Paul meant that a singular exception to save the life of the mother would likely cover thousands of medically different individual cases.

Rand Paul on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights May 10, 2013)
No national law on same-sex marriage; leave it to states

Joe Biden on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights May 9, 2013)
I supported gay marriage and got criticized for saying so

A: Remember, I got criticized for saying I support gay marriage. I just decided I couldn't be quiet about it anymore, and everybody was stunned that that's where the public is. And I'm not stunned; it's where the public's been for a while. Talk to any of your kids, for God's sake.

Q: Did you get blowback from the president or people in general?

A: I got blowback from everybody but the president. I walked in that Monday, he had a big grin on his face, he put his arms around me and said, "Well, Joe, God love you, you say what you think." I knew he agreed with me. It wasn't like he was in a different place.

Rand Paul on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Mar 26, 2013)
Make federal benefits equal for gay couples

At the same time, Paul suggests that the tax code and health insurance should be made neutral so that gay couples benefit from the same breaks as married ones. Like Rubio, he has said that gay marriage should be left to the states to decide. He said Sunday that he is okay with the government being "neutral" on gay marriage; in February he said he was "not sure" how he felt about DOMA.

But he's already willing to let other states legalize gay marriage and to let gay couples have some federal benefits; he could expand that to mean marriage in all but name.

Hillary Clinton on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Mar 18, 2013)
I support gay marriage personally and as law

Said Clinton: "I support it personally and as a matter of policy and law. Marriage is a fundamental building block of our society--a great joy and, yes, a great responsibility. To deny the opportunity to any of our daughters and sons solely on the basis of who they are and who they love is to deny them the chance to live up to their own God-given abilities."

Eric Swalwell on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Nov 6, 2012)
Full LGBT equality, including freedom to marry

Kirsten Gillibrand on Gay Rights: (Abortion Oct 17, 2012)
Let women make life-and-death decision about own body

Gillibrand countered that there is a movement to undermine women's basic rights. "To say that's evil shows disregard for the ability of a woman to make that personal life-and-death decision about her own body," Gillibrand said.

Barack Obama on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights May 9, 2012)
Same-sex couples should be allowed to marry

I've always believed that gay and lesbian Americans should be treated fairly and equally. I was reluctant to use the term marriage because of the very powerful traditions it evokes. And I thought civil union laws that conferred legal rights upon gay and lesbian couples were a solution.

But over the course of several years I've talked to friends and family about this. I've thought about members of my staff in long-term, committed, same-sex relationships who are raising kids together. Through our efforts to end the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, I've gotten to know some of the gay and lesbian troops who are serving our country with honor and distinction.

What I've come to realize is that for loving, same-sex couples, the denial of marriage equality means that, in their eyes and the eyes of their children, they are still considered less than full citizens.

Barack Obama on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights May 9, 2012)
No federal laws should hinder state-based same-sex marriage

Joe Biden on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights May 7, 2012)
I'm "absolutely comfortable" with same-sex marriage

The comments by Biden, and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's support of same-sex marriage, opened up speculation that the White House is moving towards a new position of support for gay marriage, beyond its already stated backing for civil unions. But Obama's main political strategist played down the prospect of an imminent shift. In a conference call with reporters on Monday, he insisted that Biden's comments are "entirely consistent with the president's position, which is that couples who are married, whether they are gay or heterosexual couples are entitled to the very same liberties. When people are married, we ought to recognize those marriages and afford them the rights to which they are entitled."

Elizabeth Warren on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Dec 10, 2011)
Repeal DOMA; repeal DADT; support ENDA

John Hickenlooper on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Nov 9, 2011)
Against amending Constitution to ban gay marriage

Elizabeth Warren on Gay Rights: (Gun Control Aug 31, 2011)
Supports gun control

Donald Trump on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Mar 7, 2011)
No gay marriage; no same-sex partner benefits

Trump said "no," but didn't stop there. When asked whether gay couples should have access to "the same benefits as married couples," the mogul initially replied that his attitude on the issue was not yet "fully formed."

After thinking about it for a moment, however, Trump said: "As of this moment, I would say no and no" to gay marriage and civil benefits.

That answer may have resonated with Iowa conservatives who overwhelmingly opposed the Iowa Supreme Court's 2009 decision to overturn the state's gay marriage ban. But not in New York, home to one of the largest gay and lesbian communities in the US.

Trump was traveling Sunday and could not be reached for comment. Through a spokesman, he said only: "I'm opposed to gay marriage."

Nikki Haley on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Jun 1, 2010)
Marriage is between one man and one woman

Joe Sestak on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Dec 25, 2009)
Equal LGBT rights

Highlights of Joe Sestak's legislative efforts to support the LGBT community: Co-sponsor of the Domestic Partnership Benefits Obligations Act. Click for Joe Sestak on other issues.   Source: 2010 Senate campaign website, www.joesestak.com, "Issues"

Rand Paul on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Nov 26, 2009)
Opposes same-sex marriage

Like Dr. Paul, Mr. Grayson, 37, said he opposed the federal bailout, abortion rights and same-sex marriage. Mr. Grayson has the support of the state's most powerful politician, the Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, who hosted a fund-raiser in Washington for him in September, helping him amass the $1.2 million he raised from May to October. Click for Rand Paul on other issues.   Source: New York Times politics report: Kentucky

Kirsten Gillibrand on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Jan 23, 2009)
Supports gay marriage

The executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda, a gay rights group, said that he spoke with Rep. Gillibrand and that she spoke in favor of same-sex marriage. "She spoke eloquently about the 1,324 rights that are denied to same-sex couples in New York," he said. This would make her the first US senator from New York to endorse gay marriage; Charles Schumer, the state's senior senator, opposes it.

An aide to Ms. Gillibrand confirmed that she supports gay marriage.

Click for Kirsten Gillibrand on other issues.   Source: Michael Powell and Raymond Hernandez, New York Times

Joe Biden on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Oct 2, 2008)
No on gay marriage; yes on equal treatment

Q: Do you support, as they do in Alaska, granting same-sex benefits to couples?

BIDEN: Absolutely positively. Absolutely no distinction from a legal standpoint between a same-sex and a heterosexual couple. Same-sex couples should be able to have visitation rights in the hospitals, joint ownership of property, life insurance policies, etc. That’s only fair.

Q: Governor, would you support expanding that beyond Alaska to the rest of the nation?

PALIN: Well, not if it goes closer and closer towards redefining the traditional definition of marriage between one man and one woman.

Q: Let’s try to avoid nuance. Do you support gay marriage?

BIDEN: No. Barack Obama nor I support redefining from a civil side what constitutes marriage. We do not support that. That is basically the decision to be left to faiths and people who practice their faiths the determination what you call it.

PALIN: My answer is the same as his and it is that I do not.

Click for Joe Biden on other issues.   Source: 2008 Vice Presidential debate against Gov. Sarah Palin

Barack Obama on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Jul 2, 2008)
Opposes CA Prop. 8, one-man-one-woman marriage

Presidential candidates can command instant national attention when they want it. But John McCain and Barack Obama each took a hushed approach to letting the world know where they stand on the California ballot measure to ban same-sex marriage.

The muted announcements--McCain supports the proposed ban, Obama opposes it--will have little if any bearing on the presidential contest in California, but the ramifications are serious elsewhere.

Obama first announced his opposition to the measure only in response to media inquiries. He said the nation should recognize lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans “with full equality under the law.”

Obama called the ballot measure “divisive and discriminatory” and concluded by congratulating “all of you who have shown your love for each other by getting married these last few weeks.” Left unstated was that Obama has declined to endorse gay marriage, saying that civil unions would suffice to protect partners’ rights.

Click for Barack Obama on other issues.   Source: By Michael Finnegan and Cathleen Decker, Los Angeles Times

Jesse Ventura on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Apr 1, 2008)
Equal state benefits for gay employees and partners

The Christian right wing in America is a polarizing force when it comes to gay rights, abortion, and patriotism. To me, these aren't "issues," they are matters of individual freedom of choice. But the militant Christians especially don't like anything beyond their idea of the "normal"--like the percentage of our population who happen to be gay.

To me, gay rights is simple: it's about equality. We're all supposed to be equal under the Constitution, which doesn't say anything about the "Hetero States of America."

I fought hard as governor to get equal rights for state employees who happened to be gay. We were losing some of the best and the brightest to the private sector, simply because they were gay and not receiving the benefits that should be provided. In 2001, I finally achieved this for gay people. The benefits didn't last long beyond my time in office, though. When the contract came up for renegotiation, the new governor proposed a pay freeze--and a cut in benefits for gays.

Click for Jesse Ventura on other issues.   Source: Don`t Start the Revolution, by Jesse Ventura, p.180-182

Jesse Ventura on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Apr 1, 2008)
Civil unions for gays AND hetero couples

As for gay marriage, a woman I met at Harvard said, "Governor, solving the gay marriage question is simple. Government should not acknowledge marriage at all. Government should only acknowledge civil unions." That way, when you fill out the consent form, your sex doesn't even have to be asked. From that point on, you allow the church--a private institution--to choose whether or not to recognize gay marriage. But when two people are forming a civil union, whether you are heterosexual or homosexual doesn't matter. The government is off the hook. With all the bickering and fighting over gay marriage, that's as simple as it needs to be.

I'm proud of the fact that in 2006, "Lavender"--the top gay magazine in MN--put me on the cover and said I was the best governor for gay rights in the state's history. I find it interesting that distinction would come to a heterosexual Navy frogman. Even though I'm sure that the Christian right's opinion would be that I'm completely out of line.

Click for Jesse Ventura on other issues.   Source: Don`t Start the Revolution, by Jesse Ventura, p.182

Barack Obama on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Oct 30, 2007)
Decisions about marriage should be left to the states

One of Obama’s pragmatic stands troubling to progressives is on gay marriage. In the Senate debate, Obama opposed the right-wing Federal Marriage Amendment to ban gay marriage nationally and said: “I agree with most Americans, with Democrats and Republicans, with Vice President Cheney, with over 2,000 religious leaders of all different beliefs, that decisions about marriage, as they always have, should be left to the states.” However, Obama also declared, “Personally, I do believe that marriage is between a man and a woman.” At the same time, Obama has strongly supported civil unions, arguing that it is a way to protect equal rights without taking the politically risky approach of gay marriage. Click for Barack Obama on other issues.   Source: The Improbable Quest, by John K. Wilson, p.114-115

Barack Obama on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Sep 6, 2007)
Ok to expose 6-year-olds to gay couples; they know already

Q: Last year some parents of second graders in Lexington, Massachusetts, were outraged to learn their children’s teacher had read a story about same-sex marriage, about a prince who marries another prince. Would you be comfortable having this story read to your children as part of their school curriculum?

A: My 9-year-old and my 6-year-old are already aware that there are same-sex couples. And my wife and I have talked about it. And one of the things I want to communicate to my children is not to be afraid of people who are different, and because there have been times in our history where I was considered different. And one of the things I think the next president has to do is to stop fanning people’s fears.

Q: Have you sat down with your daughters to talk about same-sex marriage?

A: My wife has.

Click for Barack Obama on other issues.   Source: 2007 Democratic primary debate at Dartmouth College

Hillary Clinton on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Sep 6, 2007)
Telling kids about gay couples is parental discretion

Q: Last year some parents of second graders in Lexington, Massachusetts, were outraged to learn their children’s teacher had read a story about same-sex marriage, about a prince who marries another prince. Would you be comfortable having this story read to your children as part of their school curriculum?

A: With respect to your individual children, that is such a matter of parental discretion. I think that obviously it is better to try to work with your children, to help your children the many differences that are in the world and to really respect other people and the choices that other people make, and that goes far beyond sexual orientation. So I think that this issue of gays and lesbians and their rights will remain an important one in our country. Tomorrow we’re going to vote on the hate crimes bill. We haven’t been able to get it passed, and it is an important measure to send a message that we stand against hatred and divisiveness.

Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.   Source: 2007 Democratic primary debate at Dartmouth College

Mike Gravel on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Aug 9, 2007)
Mainstream politicians play it safe on gay marriage

Q: Why do you think Obama and Edwards and Clinton do not support full same-sex marriage rights?

A: Well, it’s because they’re playing it safe. They’re not going to lose any votes over not being for marriage, whatever their excuses are. They’re going to win. This is costing votes for us. I don’t care. I don’t want those votes. So you want to know the difference? A good politician can tell you to go to hell and make you look forward to the trip. We see a lot of that.

Click for Mike Gravel on other issues.   Source: 2007 HRC/LOGO debate on gay issues

Mike Gravel on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Aug 9, 2007)
First accomplishment: creating AK Human Rights Commission

Q: Prior to this campaign, what is the thing that you have done to advance GLBT rights that you are most proud of?

A: My first piece of legislation in the State Legislature was the creation of the Human Rights Commission of Alaska. I fought hard, I used political capital. And what I learned is that when you use political capital, more capital comes to you. The Human Rights Commission dealt with gays and dealt with the black community. That was my first accomplishment, and I felt it deeply.

Click for Mike Gravel on other issues.   Source: 2007 HRC/LOGO debate on gay issues

Mike Gravel on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Aug 9, 2007)
Straight older men are dead wrong to oppose gay marriage

Q: You are unusual for your generation of straight white men, because you actually support same-sex marriage. How do you speak to men of your generation? And how do you speak just to men of your generation?

A: About my generation, most of them are wrong. They’re dead wrong. They’re dead wrong. You know, when I was a kid there was a lot of homophobia around. I can recall when the gay issue was, what, 55% opposed, 40% for. And lo and behold, now if you’re talking about the gay issue in general, it’s probably 59% for, and the rest are in the dustbin of history. The same thing’s going to happen with the marriage issue. I’ll make you a promise. Five years from now the marriage issue will be a non-issue in the next presidential campaign. Just that simple.

Q: If you think it’s changing so much, you could put gay marriage up to a popular vote and it would win?

A: I think so. I think that the American people are basically got really an underlying sense of values of fairness.

Click for Mike Gravel on other issues.   Source: 2007 HRC/LOGO debate on gay issues

Mike Gravel on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Aug 9, 2007)
By next election, gay marriage could win a popular vote

Q: What about gay marriage?

A: The marriage issue will be a non-issue in the next presidential campaign.

Q: If you think attitudes are changing so much, you could put gay marriage up to a popular vote and it would win?

A: I think so. I think that the American people are basically got really an underlying sense of values of fairness.

Q: Things have changed that much?

A: What happens is we had the leadership that demagogues the issue to a fare-thee-well, whether it’s presidential candidates who can’t quite get their arms around the marriage issue and, of course, will give you an argument. And it could be a real argument that it’s their morality that doesn’t permit it or it’s a political argument. When people like myself or Dennis Kucinich move the ball down the court a little bit, that benefits the gay community. And it’s sort of ironic that we see the gay community supporting people like Hillary, Obama, Edwards, who, for some reason, can’t get their arms around marriage.

Click for Mike Gravel on other issues.   Source: 2007 HRC/LOGO debate on gay issues

Mike Gravel on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Aug 9, 2007)
Civil union establish second-class citizenship for gays

Q: Did we go for marriage too soon? Should the GLBT community have stuck with civil unions?

A: I know that Rep. Barney Frank initially said that they should have not gone for it. I disagree. But now he’s changed his position. He feels that you draw a line in the sand by telling people that you can’t use the word marriage, which, of course, has been misappropriated by religion. Go to the City Hall next time and look for where you go get your license. Does it say Gay Same Sex Union or does it say Marriage License Bureau? It says Marriage License. What you have to recognize is that when people are telling you that you can’t be married, what they’re telling you is there’s something wrong with you, you’re second-class citizens, and that’s not so. You’re not second-class citizens, and the sooner our nation matures to that level [the better]. Leadership is the task of bringing us forward to civic maturity, and we don’t have enough of that leadership at the presidential level.

Click for Mike Gravel on other issues.   Source: 2007 HRC/LOGO debate on gay issues

Mike Gravel on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Aug 9, 2007)
We must assert our rights; nobody will give them to you

For me, [GLBT issues are about] justice; it’s human rights. It’s not whether you’re gay. I’ve advocated many times for gays -- come out of the closet, please. Some people can’t pay the price at a given point in time. But there’s one thing that counts: You’ve got to assert your rights. Nobody is going to give you anything from on high. It just does not happen that way in a system of representative government. And so you have to step forward, and I’ll be happy to step forward with you, as I have all of my life. And I can promise you one thing, you stand up for me -- and I need your support; I need your support and want it and beg it because I’ll do more for your cause than any other human being that walks the Earth as your president. Click for Mike Gravel on other issues.   Source: 2007 HRC/LOGO debate on gay issues

Barack Obama on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Aug 9, 2007)
Has any marriage broken up because two gays hold hands?

The notion of gay marriage has been used to divide people in black churches. I pointed out that if there’s any pastor here who can point out a marriage that has been broken up as a consequence of seeing two men or two women holding hands, then you should tell me, because I haven’t seen any evidence of it. And if you think that issue is more important to the black family than the fact that black men don’t have any jobs and are struggling in the inner cities, then I profoundly disagree with you. Click for Barack Obama on other issues.   Source: 2007 HRC/LOGO debate on gay issues

Barack Obama on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Aug 9, 2007)
Legal rights for gays are conferred by state, not by church

Q: You have said in previous debates that it is up to individual religious denominations to decide whether or not to recognize same-sex marriage. What place does the church have in government-sanctioned civil marriages?

A: It is my strong belief that the government has to treat all citizens equally. I don’t think that the church should be making these determinations when it comes to legal rights conferred by the state. I do think that individual denominations have the right to make their own decisions as to whether they recognize same sex couples. My denomination, United Church of Christ, does. Other denominations may make a decision, and obviously, part of keeping a separation of churches and state is also to make sure that churches have the right to exercise their freedom of religion.

Click for Barack Obama on other issues.   Source: 2007 HRC/LOGO debate on gay issues

Barack Obama on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Aug 9, 2007)
Gay marriage is less important that equal gay rights

Q: On the grounds of civil marriage, can you see to our community where [your stance of separating gay rights from the word “marriage”] comes across as sounding like “separate but equal”?

A: Look, when my parents got married in 1961, it would have been illegal for them to be married in a number of states in the South. So obviously, this is something that I understand intimately, it’s something that I care about. But if I were advising the civil rights movement back in 1961 about its approach to civil rights, I would have probably said it’s less important that we focus on an anti-miscegenation law than we focus on a voting rights law and a non-discrimination and employment law and all the legal rights that are conferred by the state. Now, it’s not for me to suggest that you shouldn’t be troubled by these issues. But my job as president is going to be to make sure that the legal rights that have consequences on a day to day basis for loving same sex couples all across the country.

Click for Barack Obama on other issues.   Source: 2007 HRC/LOGO debate on gay issues

Hillary Clinton on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Aug 9, 2007)
Positive about civil unions, with full equality of benefits

Q: What is at the heart of your opposition to same-sex marriage?

A: Well, I prefer to think of it as being very positive about civil unions. You know, it’s a personal position. How we get to full equality is the debate we’re having, & I am absolutely in favor of civil unions with full equality of benefits, rights, and privileges. I want to proceed with equalizing federal benefits.

And I’ve also been a very strong supporter of letting the states maintain their jurisdiction over marriage. I want to repeal Section 3 of DOMA, which stands in the way of the extension of benefits to people in committed, same-sex relationships. I will be very strongly in favor of doing that as president.

I don’t know that we could have defeated the Federal Marriage Amendment if we had not had DOMA. I mean, that is something that, you know, has provided a great protection against what was clearly the Republican strategy, to just cynically use marriage as a political tool.

Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.   Source: 2007 HRC/LOGO debate on gay issues

Hillary Clinton on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Aug 9, 2007)
Let states decide gay marriage; they’re ahead of feds

Q: Why let the states maintain their jurisdiction to ban gay marriage?

A: It’s easy to forget that just 2 years ago we were facing all of these referenda that were enshrining discrimination in state constitutions. Unfortunately, they passed. Now, we’re beginning to see other states take different approaches, because stopping the Federal Marriage Amendment gave the states the breathing room to make different decisions.

Q: In the civil rights struggle, the same argument of states’ rights issue was used as a red herring. Doesn’t marriage as a states’ rights issue resonate the same way?

A: Absolutely. But this has not been a long-term struggle yet, and I think the states are moving much more rapidly to deal with the inequalities than you would find at the federal level. The reason we were plotting strategy to beat the Federal Marriage Amendment is that we were worried it was going to pass. But I don’t know that we could have defeated the Federal Marriage Amendment if we had not had DOMA.

Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.   Source: 2007 HRC/LOGO debate on gay issues

Mike Gravel on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Aug 9, 2007)
Alaskan gay supporters in Harvey Milk Club

Q: You are from Alaska.

A: I live in Virginia now, but my heart is still in Alaska.

Q: Are there many gay people up in Alaska ?

A: My coterie of support within the Harvey Milk Club [a San Francisco-based GLBT support group] is the Alaskans that are in that club. They’re in the audience right today.

Click for Mike Gravel on other issues.   Source: 2007 HRC/LOGO debate on gay issues

Barack Obama on Gay Rights: (Jobs Aug 9, 2007)
Chief co-sponsor of IL ENDA, against gay job discrimination

Q: A recent poll of young Americans show that 44% favor same-sex marriage compared to 28% of the older public. Now, you’re running as a candidate of change. But how can you run as a candidate of change when your stance on same-sex marriage is decidedly old school?

A: Oh, come on, now. There’s a reason why I was here first. It’s because I’ve got a track record of working on these issues. If people are interested at the federal level, they can look at who was the chief co-sponsor of Illinois’ version of ENDA [the Employment Non-Discrimination Acts, focusing on discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation], which we passed. If people are interested in my stance on these issues, I’ve got a track record of working with the LGBT community. What I have focused on and what I will continue to focus on is making sure that the rights that are provided by the federal government and the state governments and local governments are ones that are provided to everybody.

Click for Barack Obama on other issues.   Source: 2007 HRC/LOGO debate on gay issues

Barack Obama on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Jul 23, 2007)
Let each denominations decide on recognizing gay marriage

Q: The laws banning interracial marriage were ruled unconstitutional in 1967. What is the difference between a ban on interracial marriage and a ban on gay marriage?

A: We’ve got to make sure that everybody is equal under the law. And the civil unions that I proposed would be equivalent in terms of making sure that all the rights that are conferred by the state are equal for same-sex couples as well as for heterosexual couples. Now, with respect to marriage, it’s my belief that it’s up to the individual denominations to make a decision as to whether they want to recognize marriage or not. But in terms of, you know, the rights of people to transfer property, to have hospital visitation, all those critical civil rights that are conferred by our government, those should be equal.

Click for Barack Obama on other issues.   Source: 2007 YouTube Democratic Primary debate, Charleston SC

Hillary Clinton on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Jul 18, 2007)
Supports DOMA, which Bill Clinton signed

Hillary stated categorically that she opposed legalizing same-sex marriage. She provided a clear explanation that to this day is the most quoted statement enunciating her position. “Marriage has historic, religious, and moral content that goes back to the beginning of time, and I think a marriage is as a marriage has always been, between a man and a woman. But I also believe that people in committed gay marriages, as they believe them to be, should be given rights under the law that recognize and respect their relationship.“

Hillary said she backed her husband’s signing of the Defense of Marriage Act. She said what everyone wanted to know: Yes, if she had been in the Senate in 1996, she would have supported the law.

Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.   Source: God and Hillary Clinton, by Paul Kengor, p.189-190

Joe Biden on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Apr 29, 2007)
Civil unions ok; gay marriage is probably inevitable

Q: In November 2003, you were asked, “Do you believe gay marriage is inevitable?” And you responded, “I’m not sure. I think probably it is.”

A: Well, I think it probably is because social mores change. But I don’t think the government can dictate the definition of marriage to religious institutions. But government does have an obligation to guarantee that every individual is free of discrimination. And there’s a distinction. I think government should not be able to dictate to religions the definition of marriage, but on a civil side, government has the obligation to strip away every vestige of discrimination as to what individuals are able to do in terms of their personal conduct.

So New Hampshire coming out in favor of civil unions is OK by you?

A: Yes. Yes, it is.

Click for Joe Biden on other issues.   Source: Meet the Press: 2007 “Meet the Candidates” series

Barack Obama on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Mar 27, 2007)
Opposed 1996 Illinois DOMA bill

I opposed the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. It should be repealed and I will vote for its repeal on the Senate floor. I will appeal any proposal to amend the U.S. constitution to ban gays and lesbians from marrying. I know how important the issue of equal rights is to the LGBT community. I share your sense of urgency. Click for Barack Obama on other issues.   Source: In His Own Words, edited by Lisa Rogak, p. 52

Mike Bloomberg on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Mar 25, 2007)
Backs same-sex marriage

Bloomberg supports gun control, has raised taxes, backs same-sex marriage and signed a law banning the use of trans fats in fast-food restaurants. The mayor once filed suit on behalf of the city against two dozen gun dealers. Click for Mike Bloomberg on other issues.   Source: Michael D. Shear, Washington Post, p. A1 on 2008 election

Mike Bloomberg on Gay Rights: (Gun Control Mar 25, 2007)
Sued New York City gun dealers to control guns

Bloomberg supports gun control, has raised taxes, backs same-sex marriage and signed a law banning the use of trans fats in fast-food restaurants. The mayor once filed suit on behalf of the city against two dozen gun dealers. Click for Mike Bloomberg on other issues.   Source: Michael D. Shear, Washington Post, p. A1 on 2008 election

Mike Gravel on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Feb 26, 2007)
Unequivocally supports same-sex marriage

A press release spelled out his support for the recognition of same-sex marriages and other aspects of the gay civil rights agenda. It said Senator Gravel:
• Unequivocally supports same-sex marriage and opposes the Defense of Marriage Act.
• Supports expanding hate-crime legislation and opposes laws that allow discrimination against sexual orientation, as well as discrimination on the basis of one’s gender identity or expression.
• In the absence of full marriage rights, supports domestic partner benefits for all Americans.
• Will repeal the military’s ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ legislation on the grounds that it is unconstitutional, as it restricts the rights of gay Americans.
• Opposes any state or national constitutional amendment that restricts the rights of the LGBT community.
Click for Mike Gravel on other issues.   Source: Wikipedia.org article on Mike Gravel campaign

Jennifer Granholm on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Nov 7, 2006)
Supports civil unions & domestic partner benefits

Appointments that Reflects ‘One Michigan.’ Governor Granholm has appointed the most diverse cabinet in the history of the state. She appointed dozens of qualified openly GLBT people to key positions in state government, including an openly gay man as her Chief of Staff and the first openly gay judge.
• Supports Domestic Partner Benefits.
• Supports Civil Unions
• Banned Discrimination in State Employment. based on sexual orientation.
• Urged Legislators to Pass Anti-bullying Legislation.
Click for Jennifer Granholm on other issues.   Source: 2006 Gubernatorial campaign website, granholmforgov.com

Hillary Clinton on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Oct 11, 2006)
Federal Marriage Amendment would be terrible step backwards

Senator Clinton voted against a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, but she has avoided making statements on the issue. When a reporter pressed her, she instead assailed the amendment as part of the “political machine of the White House & then GOP majority.”

Hillary has remained so tight-lipped about her feelings on gay marriage that homosexual groups have threatened to stop funding her.

Hillary’s awkward stance on this issue reflects a need to please her liberal base while not turning off conservative voters. When she does address the issue, she said she opposed gay marriage, supported some form of civil unions, but was against the Federal Marriage Amendment to the Constitution.

“I think it would be a terrible step backwards. It would be the first time we’ve amended the Constitution to deny rights to people.”

When she talks to conservatives, Hillary says she personally opposed gay marriage, pointing to her support for the Defense of Marriage act.

Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.   Source: Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy, by Amanda Carpenter, p. 84-87

Barack Obama on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Oct 1, 2006)
Opposes gay marriage; supports civil union & gay equality

For many practicing Christians, the inability to compromise may apply to gay marriage. I find such a position troublesome, particularly in a society in which Christian men and women have been known to engage in adultery or other violations of their faith without civil penalty. I believe that American society can choose to carve out a special place for the union of a man and a woman as the unit of child rearing most common to every culture. I am not willing to have the state deny American citizens a civil union that confers equivalent rights no such basic matters as hospital visitation or health insurance coverage simlpy because the people they love are of the same sex--nor am I willing to accept a readingof the Bible that considers an obscure line in Romans to be more defining of Christianity than the Sermon on the Mount.

The heightened focus on marriage is a distraction from other, attainable measures to prevent discrimination and gays and lesbians.

Click for Barack Obama on other issues.   Source: The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama, p.222-3

Barack Obama on Gay Rights: (Families & Children Oct 1, 2006)
Listening to evangelicals bridges major political fault line

Today, white evangelical Christians are the heart and soul of the Republican Party’s grassroots base. It is their issues-abortion, gay marriage, prayer in schools, intelligent design, Terri Schiavo, the posting of the Ten Commandments in the courthouse, home schooling, voucher plans, and the makeup of the Supreme Court-that often dominate the headlines and serve as one of the major fault lines in American politics. The single biggest gap in party affiliation is between those who attend church regularly and those who don’t. Democrats, meanwhile, are scrambling to “get religion,” even as a core segment of our constituency remains stubbornly secular, and fears that the agenda of an assertively Christian nation may not make room for them or their life choices.

The evangelists’ success points to a hunger for the product they are selling, a hunger that goes beyond any particular issue or cause. They need an assurance that somebody out there cares about them, is listening to them.

Click for Barack Obama on other issues.   Source: The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama, p.201-2

Deval Patrick on Gay Rights: (Abortion Jan 15, 2006)
Decisions on abortion should be made by women

A man carrying a red Bible to the microphone asked, How could Patrick support gay marriage and abortion rights if God doesn’t? Patrick treaded carefully. He said he believes decisions on abortion should be made by women, and not by the government, and that the law should regard everyone as equals, regardless of their sexual orientation. Patrick added that people are far less concerned about gay marriage and abortion than about paying their rent and heating bills. Click for Deval Patrick on other issues.   Source: Scott Helman, Boston Globe on 2006 MA Gov. race, p. A1

Deval Patrick on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Jan 15, 2006)
Supports equal marriage rights for gays

A man carrying a red Bible to the microphone asked, How could Patrick support gay marriage if God doesn’t? Patrick treaded carefully. He said that the law should regard everyone as equals, regardless of their sexual orientation. Patrick added that people are far less concerned about gay marriage than about paying their rent and heating bills.

’’I am not going to pander to anybody for anything,“ Patrick said. ‘’I respect differences of opinion, but I have a point of view which I think is right on the law and right as a matter of fundamental fairness.“

Ultimately, said Melvin B. Miller, publisher and editor of the Bay State Banner, a newspaper serving the black community, many people will decide that it’s foolish not to support Patrick because of gay marriage. ‘’I mean, we’re not going to support a candidate of those qualifications? That’s not good enough?” said Miller, himself an opponent of same-sex marriage. ‘’That’s ridiculous.“

Click for Deval Patrick on other issues.   Source: Scott Helman, Boston Globe on 2006 MA Gov. race, p. A1

Bill Weld on Gay Rights: (Tax Reform Nov 1, 2005)
1990s: Produced nine tax cuts as governor of Tax-achussets

A pre-campaign strategy in 1995 found negatives for Weld in the Republican Party. Weld was pro-choice; pro-gay rights; a creature of the eastern establishment and its core institution, Harvard, where Weld had graduated and received his law degree; he had been born with a silver spoon and had money; and he was from Massachusetts, which most people would assume meant he must be a liberal. All 5 reinforced each other and all came back to Massachusetts. The most effective way to handle the negatives was to meet them head-on and convert them to Weld's advantage. This could be done by building a message around Weld as the leader who changed the political culture of Massachusetts almost single handily in 4 years. In the state known for high taxes (Tax-achusetts, as it was sometimes called) and liberal social engineering, he had produced 9 tax cuts and started sweeping welfare reform. Who better to change the Washington political culture? Click for Bill Weld on other issues.   Source: The Choice, by Bob Woodward, p.115

Hillary Clinton on Gay Rights: (Abortion Oct 11, 2005)
Voted liberal line on partial birth & harm to fetus

Hillary’s votes all echo the liberal line in the Senate
• She opposed the ban on partial birth abortions
• She came down against criminalizing harm to a fetus during an attack on the mother
• She opposed a travel ban to Cuba
• She opposed a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage
• She backed extending the ban on assault rifles for 10 years
• She was against Bush’s tax cuts
• She opposed repealing the estate tax
• She opposed limits on class action lawsuits.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.   Source: Condi vs. Hillary, by Dick Morris, p. 85-86

Marty Walsh on Gay Rights: (Families & Children Sep 14, 2005)
Voted NO on affirming marriage for heterosexuals only

Mass. Democratic Party Platform indicates voting NO in Part I: CIVIL RIGHTS: Clause 9: Same-sex marriage. [State Rep. Walsh, a Democrat, voted NO].
A Legislative Amendment to the Constitution relative to the affirmation of marriage would:
• Protect the unique relationship of marriage by defining the institution of civil marriage as only the union of one man and one woman.
• Establish civil unions to provide same-sex persons with entirely the same benefits and obligations as are afforded to married persons, while recognizing that under present federal law same-sex persons in civil unions will be denied federal benefits available to married persons.
The relevant part of the MassDems Platform is Part I, clause 9: CIVIL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES: We affirm our commitment to the Massachusetts constitutional guarantee to same-sex marriage; and all of its rights, privileges and obligations; and reject any attempt to weaken or revoke those rights.

Bill S.3190 ; vote # H174

Click for Marty Walsh on other issues.   Source: Massachusetts House voting record via MassScorecard.org

Mark Sanford on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Nov 1, 2002)
No civil unions; define one-man-one-woman marriage

Q Should South Carolina recognize civil unions between same-sex couples?

A: No.

Q: Should South Carolina restrict marriage to a union only between a man and a woman?

A: Yes.

Click for Mark Sanford on other issues.   Source: 2002 S.C. Gubernatorial National Political Awareness Test

Barack Obama on Gay Rights: (Civil Rights Jul 2, 1998)
Include sexual orientation in anti-discrimination laws

Q: Do you believe that the Illinois government should include sexual orientation in Illinois’ anti-discrimination laws?

A: Yes.

Q: Do you believe that the Illinois government should recognize same-sex marriages?

A: Undecided

Click for Barack Obama on other issues.   Source: 1998 IL State Legislative National Political Awareness Test

Additional quotations related to Gay Rights issues can be found under Civil Rights. Click here for definitions & background information on Civil Rights.
Candidates on Civil Rights:
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