21.1.08

ΟΙ ΘΕΣΕΙΣ ΤΩΝ ΥΠΟΨΗΦΙΩΝ ΤΩΝ ΔΗΜΟΚΡΑΤΙΚΩΝ ΣΤΙΣ ΗΠΑ ΓΙΑ ΤΑ ΛΟΑΤ ΖΗΤΗΜΑΤΑ

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Hillary Rodham Clinton's Background: Hillary Rodham Clinton was married to President Bill Clinton when he was in office 1993-2001. She is a proponent for universal health care. She is a United States Senator from New York State since 2001. She is a lawyer and partner in the Rose Law Firm, Little Rock, AK. If elected Hillary Clinton would be the first woman president in the United States. This article looks at Hillary Clinton's stand on gay and lesbian issues.
Hillary Clinton as New York's Senator: Hillary Clinton sits on the following committees: Senate Committee on Armed Services, Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pension and Senate Special Committee on Aging. She has been criticized by liberals for her support of the Iraq war, but praised for her support of abortion rights, education support and health care.
Hillary Clinton and the United States Senate: Every two years the Human Rights Campaign, the largest national gay and lesbian organization, issues a scorecard for members of the Senate based on their sponsorship and voting on key issues of importance to gay and lesbian citizens. Hillary Clinton scored 89 out of 100% in the 2006 scorecard. Here's how HRC rated Hillary Clinton:
Federal Marriage Amendment: Hillary Clinton voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment (S.J. Res. 1) which would have defined marriage as between a man and a woman and included language which could have prevented recognition of civil unions and domestic partnership benefits. The amendment failed by a vote of 49-48.
Hillary Clinton and Gays in the Military: Hillary Clinton supports the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and supports the rights of gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military."It hurts all of our troops, and this, to me, is a matter of national security," she said to a group of HRC supporters.
Employment Non-Discrimination: Clinton said she would work to pass a federal law outlawing employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and propose another measure extending benefits to the partners of federal employees in March 2007 at an HRC fundraiser.
Hate Crimes and HIV Support: Hillary Clinton, in line with HRC, co-sponsored legislation to bring Medicaid coverage to low-income, HIV-positive Americans and the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act which would expand federal jurisdiction to reach serious, violent hate crimes perpetrated because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation or disability of the victim.
Gay Immigration Rights: Hillary Clinton did not co-sponsor Uniting American Families Act that would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide same-sex partners of U.S. citizens the same immigration benefits legal spouses of U.S. residents enjoy.
Gay Adoption: Hillary Clinton supports giving gays and lesbians equal rights in adopting children.
Hillary Clinton and Gay Marriage: Some gay and lesbian voters don't feel like Hillary Clinton has done enough to support gay and lesbian rights, while others believe she is the best candidate for gay and lesbian issues. Clinton opposes gay marriage but supports civil unions between members of the same sex. During her husband's administration, she supported the Defense of Marriage Act, a law preventing the federal recognition of same-sex marriage.
"Marriage has got historic, religious and moral content that goes back to the beginning of time, and I think a marriage is as a marriage always has been, between a man and a woman." - Hillary Clinton, opposing same-sex marriages, quoted in The New York Daily News.
However, in October 2006 Hillary Clinton was quoted by 365gay.com as saying,"I believe in full equality of benefits, nothing left out. From my perspective there is a greater likelihood of us getting to that point in civil unions or domestic partnerships and that is my very considered assessment."
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Barack Obama's Political Background: Barack Obama was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1996. He served for eight years and ran for United States Senate in 2004. His speech at the Democratic National Convention that year brought America's attention to this liberal political newcomer. He won the election easily over arch-conservative Alan Keyes.
Barack Obama in the Illinois Senate: Barack Obama was known as a liberal who was not afraid to build bridges across party lines during his term in the Illinois State Senate. He gained a 100% rating from Planned Parenthood for his support of family planning and abortion rights legislation.
Barack Obama and Gay Rights in Illinois: Barack Obama supported gay rights during his Illinois Senate tenure. He sponsored legislation in Illinois that would ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
Barack Obama in the United States Senate: Every two years the Human Rights Campaign, the largest national gay and lesbian organization, issues a scorecard for members of the Senate based on their sponsorship and voting on key issues of importance to gay and lesbian citizens. Barack Obama scored 89 out of 100% in the 2006 scorecard. Here's how HRC rated Barack Obama:
Barack Obama on Hate Crimes: Barack Obama co-sponsored legislation to expand federal hate crimes laws to include crimes perpetrated because of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Employment Non-Discrimination: Barack Obama supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and believes it should be expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity.
Don't Ask, Don't Tell - Gays in the Military: Barack Obama believes we need to repeal the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy and allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military. His campaign literature says, "The key test for military service should be patriotism, a sense of duty, and a willingness to serve."
Gay & Lesbian Adoption: Barack Obama believes gays and lesbians should have the same rights to adopt children as heterosexuals.
Barack Obama and Gay Marriage/ Civil Unions: Although Barack Obama has said that he supports civil unions, he is against gay marriage. In an interview with the Chicago Daily Tribune, Obama said, "I'm a Christian. And so, although I try not to have my religious beliefs dominate or determine my political views on this issue, I do believe that tradition, and my religious beliefs say that marriage is something sanctified between a man and a woman."
Barack Obama did vote against a Federal Marriage Amendment and opposed the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996.
He said he would support civil unions between gay and lesbian couples, as well as letting individual states determine if marriage between gay and lesbian couples should be legalized.
"Giving them a set of basic rights would allow them to experience their relationship and live their lives in a way that doesn't cause discrimination," Obama said. "I think it is the right balance to strike in this society." Sources: Chicago Daily Tribune, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
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(Kathy Belge, about.com)

2 σχόλια:

xomeritis είπε...

Η πολιτική "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" εφαρμόστηκε επί προεδρίας Clinton και υπήρξε η απογοήτευση όλων των glbt οργανώσεων τότε στις Η.Π.Α. Είχαν επενδύσει πολλές ελπίδες στους Δημοκρατικούς τότε, μεγάλη εκστρατεία - μέχρι και σε πάρτυ μιας glbt οργάνωσης θυμάμαι με είχαν καλέσει όταν βγήκε ο Clinton, λες και είχαν έρθει τα πάνω κάτω - αλλά ο Bill τους την έφερε (αφού τον ψηφίσαν βέβαια). Είναι υποκρισία από τη Hillary να λέει ότι η συγκεκριμένη πολιτική "It hurts all of our troops, and this, to me, is a matter of national security".

gay super hero είπε...

Η πολιτική του don't ask, don't tell δεν ήταν επιλογή της κυβέρνησης Κλίντον. Το πρώτο πράγμα που έκανε ο Κλίντον όταν εξελέγη πρόεδρος ήταν να ανκοινώσει την κατάργηση της διάταξης που απαγόρευε στους γκέι να υπηρετούν στο στρατό. Ήταν όμως τέτοια η αντίδραση του γενικού επιτελείου που τελικά κατέληξε σε αυτόν τον συμβιβασμό. 'Ασχετως του αν είναι πια ξεπερασμένος από τις εξελίξεις αυτός ο συμβιβασμός αποτελούσε σημαντική βελτίωση, καθώς με το προηγούμενο καθεστώς ο στρατός είχε το δικαίωμα να παρακολουθεί -ακόμα και να παγιδεύει- στελέχη που θεωρούσε "΄υποπτα" για σεξουαλικές παρεκκλίσεις.

Κατά τα άλλα και οι δύο υποψήφιοι συγκεντρώνουν βαθμολογία 89%. Οπότε καμία διαφορά.