Columbus, OH
July 27, 2004

DEMOCRATS NOT FOCUSED ON GAY-MARRIAGE ISSUE
Catherine Candisky, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Although Tristan-Paul Hand doesn't agree with John Kerry's opposition to same-sex marriage, Hand plans to stand with Ohio's delegates at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday night to nominate the senator from Massachusetts for president.

To Hand, a 58-year-old tavern owner from Warren who is gay, there are more-important issues facing the country.

"Job security is important. Health benefits are important. I'm scared to death of Medicaid," he said.

Kerry opposes the push for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, saying the issue should be left to states. He has endorsed an amendment to the Massachusetts Constitution prohibiting gay marriage in the only state where marriage licenses can be obtained by gays.

With the national spotlight on Kerry, Democratic officials are not interested in debating the gay-marriage issue. Not this week, anyway. They say it is critical for the party to focus on what unifies them and defeating President Bush.

"What I hope happens (at the convention) is that the various constituency groups, rather than focusing on their particular concerns, focus on the good that can be accomplished by getting behind John Kerry and John Edwards and getting rid of the Bush administration. Then we can get into grievances that individual groups have," said U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland, D-Lisbon.
And gays have a voice in that conversation.

Philip McNamara, director of delegate selection for the Democratic National Committee, said 15 states, including Ohio, set goals for the number of gays in their delegation, up from seven states in 2000. Of Ohio's 159 delegates, 11 are gay.

But not all gays agree on how and when to use their voices. Although some gay advocates are rallying around Kerry, others here this week are withholding their support and attempting to use the convention to draw attention to their concerns.

The Human Rights Campaign -- the nation's largest gay, bisexual and transgender advocacy organization, with 600,000 members -- endorsed Kerry last week.

Cheryl Jacques, president of the organization and a former Massachusetts state senator, said, "Kerry will have an open heart and open mind and continue the conversation."

However, Andy Thayer, national action coordinator for DontAmend.com, a Los Angeles-based group opposed to the proposed constitutional amendment, said this is the time to make a stand. "We have a presidential candidate who says he's for us, yet he wants to take away gay marriage in the one state we've won it," Thayer said. "Can you imagine NOW endorsing a candidate opposed to legal equality for women? Or the NAACP endorsing a candidate opposed to legal equality for African-Americans?"

Gay-rights advocates rallied last night at a nightclub near Fenway Park, and Sunday they were part of a larger demonstration on Boston Common, the city's downtown park.

Thayer disagrees that the protests are divisive and could aid Bush's re-election.

"Why shouldn't we confront Kerry, or any candidate on their position?" he asked, suggesting that former President Clinton signed
the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996 denying federal benefits to same-sex couples because gay advocates failed to demand enough from him.

At Sunday's rally, former Columbus resident Gerry Scoppettuoio said, "I'm not backing either presidential candidate because I don't think they can help. Besides marriage, we still have an AIDS crisis and 'don't ask, don't tell' (policy) rooting out gays in the military."Scoppettuoio, now of Burlington, Mass., is a member of Stonewall Warriors, the gay arm of the Act Now to Stop the War and Racism coalition.

Brad Goodnight, a junior at North Carolina State University who is in Boston this week to protest Kerry's position on gay rights, said the Democrats, like Republicans, are not adequately representing the gay community.

"Just because Kerry has more of a chance of winning doesn't mean he deserves our support. What we want are more choices," Goodnight said.For others, Kerry, if not perfect, is preferable.

"We have to keep advocating," said Elizabeth Galloway, of Boston. "On the whole, Kerry is so much better than Bush."

Democratic Party leaders say there was a tremendous effort to recruit gays to this year's convention.

"It's important that your delegation looks like your party, like your state, like your country," said Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Dennis L. White. "TV cameras scan the delegate parties, the convention hall. You tell me, which convention looks like America?

"A picture is worth a thousand words."

Hand commends his party's efforts.

"With the Democratic Party right now, we have a voice, we are listened to and we are taken seriously as part of the family. We are not in the kitchen. We're in the dining room at the table," he said. "Give me a piece of the pie and I'll come back for the rest later. We need a change."