Weekly Political Roundup: National News

Two issues dominated the national LGBT political news this week:

• The aftermath of Mary Cheney’s book launch and Primetime interview. USA Today has a trio of editorials representing the majority of opinions I’ve heard. (Summarized, they seem to be: “Why are you an apologist for a party that not only wants to restrict your rights, but uses this issue as a campaign tool? Furthermore, why are you then accusing others of using your sexual orientation for political gain?”) Let’s just ignore Mary now, and instead recognize the other two high-profile lesbian relatives of national politicians, Chrissy Gephardt and Candace Gingrich. Gingrich is Youth Outreach Manager for the Human Rights Campaign. Gephardt speaks widely on LGBT issues. She formerly served on the board of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and was Director of the Grassroots Campaign Corps for the National Stonewall Democrats, a grassroots LGBT organization.
• This brings us to the second big news of the week, Howard Dean’s misstatement of the Democrats’ position on same-sex marriage. Dean said the party platform defines marriage as between a man and a woman. The National Stonewall Democrats point out the correct platform:
   
  

  We support full inclusion of gay and lesbian families in the life of our nation and seek equal responsibilities, benefits, and protections for these families. In our country, marriage has been defined at the state level for 200 years, and we believe it should continue to be defined there. We repudiate President Bush’s divisive effort to politicize the Constitution by pursuing a ‘Federal Marriage Amendment.’ Our goal is to bring Americans together, not drive them apart.

  I think it’s a tribute to the power of our community that Dean was so quick to issue an apology I cannot condone his mistake, but hope the outcry motivates him to give us the support he should have in the first place.

In a quick look at international news:

• A big shout-out to the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), which passed a civil-union law last night. The federal attorney general must now decide if the law contradicts the federal Marriage Act.
• Pope Benedict XVI said that only love between a man and a woman could be the “rock” of a healthy society, and shouldn’t be confused with “other types of unions based on a weak love.” Is anyone surprised he said this? Is this really news?

U. S. state news to follow in a separate post.