Gay marriage: awkward issue for some GOP hopefuls

via Pride Source,  By Davis Crary

Same-sex marriage might seem like a straightforward issue: You're for it or against it. Yet for the field of Republican presidential hopefuls, it's proving to be an awkward topic as public attitudes change and more states legalize gay unions, the latest being New York.

Numerous recent polls suggest a slim majority of Americans now back gay marriage. Support is highest among Democrats, but is growing across the political spectrum even while religious conservatives - a key part of the GOP primary electorate - remain largely opposed.

The result, according to political analysts from both major parties, is a dilemma for the leading GOP candidates, most of whom oppose same-sex marriage but tend to avoid raising the topic unless asked.
"They see the polling - more and more Republicans are supporting gay marriage," said David Welch, a former research director for the Republican National Committee. "It puts them in an awkward position with the younger members of the party and also with independents whose votes you need to win."

Richard Socarides, a former Clinton White House adviser on gay rights, said the political climate has changed rapidly and dramatically as leading Democrats celebrate the advent of gay marriage in New York and the imminent end of the ban on gays serving openly in the military under President Barack Obama.

"It's now advantageous for Democrats to support gay rights, and a net negative for Republicans to oppose them," Socarides said. "It's become extremely complicated for many of the Republican candidates who are used to using anti-gay rhetoric as a way to gin up their base."

Obama, though still not ready to endorse gay marriage, says he's "evolving" on the issue and is supporting a bill that would extend federal recognition to same-sex couples who marry in the six states that allow it.

Read more.

PALIN AND BIDEN'S CONTRASTING RECORDS ON HIV/AIDS

GMHC Releases New Report Today

McCain-Palin vs. Obama-Biden on HIV/AIDS Issues

[and more]

New York City — Vice Presidential nominees Sarah Palin and Joseph Biden have sharply divergent records on HIV/AIDS, according to a report released today, "McCain-Palin vs. Obama-Biden on HIV/AIDS Issues," by Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC), the country's oldest HIV/AIDS organization. Palin is a staunch opponent of sex education and a supporter of abstinence-only-until-marriage. Her position on other HIV/AIDS policy issues is unknown. Senator Biden supports comprehensive sex education as well as syringe exchange to reduce HIV/AIDS transmission among intravenous drug users. Most recently, Biden helped craft a reauthorization of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief that repealed the statutory entry ban for people living with HIV/AIDS. It also promotes prevention among men who have sex with men (MSM), along with research on HIV incidence among MSM. While Biden supports civil unions, Palin opposes domestic partner health-insurance benefits for state workers in same-sex relationships

"Senator Biden has shown leadership by supporting civil rights for people living with HIV and evidence-based prevention to fight the epidemic globally," said Robert Bank, Chief Operating Officer of GMHC. "We know little about Governor Palin's positions on HIV/AIDS, except that she supports abstinence-only programming, which is full of anti-gay and sexist content, as well as dangerous misinformation about contraception and AIDS."

"We look forward to learning more about Governor Palin's positions in the weeks ahead. We will send her a survey asking her about her positions on a wide range of domestic and global HIV/AIDS issues, as we have sent Senator McCain twice. Thus far, the contrast between Joe Biden's courageous leadership on HIV/AIDS and Sarah Palin's lack thereof is striking," added Robert Bank.

Click here for the report.

Rebecca Haag Has Big Dreams for the 2009 Gay Men's Health Agenda

"Gay men, bisexual men, trans men, GBT men of color – ALL men – need our commitment and support."

[LifeLube has been asking folks around the country to weigh in on what a 2009 Gay Men's Health Agenda would look like. Click here to read some of the ideas that have been circulated. Rebecca Haag's piece below is the latest entry into the conversation. Please feel free to comment here on her post - share your own ideas, or spout off on whether you agree or disagree with her - or, you could send in a full post of your own here. We will be happy to publish it!]


What is needed to allow gay men, now and in the future, the opportunity to fulfill their inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?

The 2009 Gay Men’s Health Agenda
Envisioned by Rebecca Haag
AIDS Action (DC) and AIDS Action Committee (Boston)

As we enter the final stretch of this election season, it’s time to focus on what is coming next, and more importantly, on our goals for the future. It’s exciting – and challenging – for those of us in the HIV/AIDS community to envision a day when we are not merely scrambling to survive the latest round of budget cuts and homophobic attacks on our work, but that time may soon be here.

As the President and CEO of AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts and Executive Director of AIDS Action Council in Washington, DC, I have the opportunity to see the effects of the epidemic both on a particular region – New England -- and on the nation as a whole. LifeLube has asked me to dream big – about what is needed to allow gay men, now and in the future, the opportunity to fulfill their inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?

First, we must demand that a National AIDS Strategy be established to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic in our country. The next U.S. President must recognize that AIDS remains a national crisis, and as such, requires a results-oriented AIDS strategy. Since gay men continue to be disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS, they must be an integral part of this strategy. And any AIDS strategy worthy of the name must address the exceptionally high rates of HIV among Black gay men. We should be outraged at the nation’s failure to address the HIV crisis affecting this community, and the injustice of a generation of young gay Black men facing HIV.

Next, we need to follow the lead of The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and the Gay & Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA) to create a national standard for equal access to healthcare and treatment for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender patients and their families. Our nation’s healthcare must include all of our citizens and respond to all of our needs.

For more, click here.

Third, we must stop funding unscientific, stigmatizing and homophobic abstinence-only education. Federally funded “abstinence-only-until-marriage” education is both ineffective and harmful, particularly to our most vulnerable youth. It ignores the needs - and indeed the very presence - of young gay men, adding to their isolation. Such ideology-based education is both misguided and irresponsible. Effective sexuality education programs must address the needs of young gay, bi, and trans men who need to know how to protect themselves and stay safe in order to reach their full potential.

For more, click here.

To develop effective programming, we need to collect better data on gay, bisexual, and trans men so that we can fully identify and address their needs. In Massachusetts, we have seen the power of data collection through our decade-plus experience with the Youth Risk Behavior Survey. This survey has revealed important information about Massachusetts teens’ sexual identity and same-sex sexual activity. Such data has been essential both for designing programs that address queer youth needs and for making appropriate funding requests. And then, once we have the data, we must develop or adapt culturally appropriate prevention interventions around HIV, STDs, and substance use. The dollars must follow the data.

For more, click here.

Finally, we must continue to see, feel, and live the gay community in all its diversity. Gay men, bisexual men, trans men, GBT men of color – ALL men – need our commitment and support. The LGBT community must lead by embracing everyone and making all feel welcome. Segmentation and division are not an option, since these marginalize and isolate groups of gay men and increase vulnerability. We must do more to include everyone in our community and work together to address inequity in healthcare, access to prevention, and community support.

For more click here.

As I look into the future, I see many bright opportunities for gay, bisexual and transgender men. I look forward to our work together.

mmmmm, not bitter... obama condoms "for the elitist penis"

[um, borrowed from gothamist - thanks to lifelube pal judah for sharing]

While some New Yorkers are hustling to pick up free condoms distributed by Trojan today, others are showing their support for the presidential candidate of their choice by ordering John McCain and Barack Obama condoms from a local entrepreneur. If you haven’t heard about this yet, expect an email from your corniest family member in, oh, about five minutes.

Benjamin Sherman’s online company is selling the rubbers for $9.95 a pair, and the dueling websites are just loaded with comedy stylings: Obama condoms are “for the elitist penis, they won’t leave a bitter taste in your mouth,” and are perfect for “when you just want to close the deal.” If you thought that was funny, just make sure you swallow your coffee before reading about the McCain condoms, which are “old but not expired” and will “give your ‘troops’ the protection they deserve.”

Yeah, November is a long way off; we're definitely going to need more sad trombones.

Sssssssssssuper Tuesday, February 5

Yes, We Can - music video

Make The Candidates Address HIV/AIDS in the Final Debates Before Super Tuesday

FINAL PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES

before Super Tuesday Voting

Demand the Candidates address HIV/AIDS

in the United States and Globally!

When:

--> Republican Debate, Wednesday, January 30, 8 p.m. Eastern/5pm Pacific.

--> Democratic Debate, Thursday, January 31, 8 p.m. Eastern/5pm Pacific.

Submit questions on HIV/AIDS to the debate sponsor (CNN), California political parties, and the candidates!

CNN: http://dyn.politico.com/debate/

California political parties:

-- California Democratic Party

-- California Republican Party

The major candidates:

-- Clinton

-- Edwards

-- Huckabee

-- Obama

-- McCain

-- Romney

Submit questions on HIV/AIDS for the upcoming Republican and Democratic Debates! CNN: http://dyn.politico.com/debate/

TAKE AIDS ACTION

DNC Appoints Record Number of LGBTs to Convention Committees

[special congrats to Diego Sanchez of AIDS Action Committee and Dr. Marjorie Hill of GMHC - both orgs are part of the SHX - Sexual Health Xchange - that is responsible for this little blog.]

from the press release

January 16, 2008

Appointments Reflect Strength, Diversity and Energy of Democratic Party

DENVER - The Executive Committee of the Democratic National Committee(DNC) unanimously elected DNC Chairman Howard Dean's nominations for the Chairs and members of the 2008 Democratic National Convention Standing Committees, including a record number of openly LGBT members. Dean's LGBT appointments include Dr. Marjorie Hill of the Gay Men's Health Crisis organization in New York, Diego Sanchez from AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts, State Representative Patricia Todd of Alabama, and Ingrid Duran of Virginia to serve on the Platform Committee, along with Claire Lucas and Evan Low of California to the Rules Committee and Bob Rogan of Vermont to the Credentials Committee. In addition to appointing a record number of LGBT standing committee members, Dean was also the first DNC chair to appoint a member of the transgender community to a Convention committee.

For a full list of and biographical information on the Chairs and PLEOmembers from each Standing Committee, visit
http://www.demconvention.com/a/standingcommittees.pdf.

"They said that this day would never come"

Barack Obama's victory speech in Iowa last night

Yer a mean one, Mister Huckabee

Arkansan activist Eric Camp calls attention to Huckabee's AIDS atrocities during his tenure as Governor. Click Reliving the Nightmare to read more (via Housing Works), and watch the tragi-comedic vid below.

Advocacy Groups, Jeanne White-Ginder Still Waiting to Meet with Gov. Huckabee

Hey Mikey, what the huck ya waitin' on?

After two letters by the Human Rights Campaign and The AIDS Institute, the Huckabee campaign has not responded.

Read more here.

Huckabee Confronts His Past Comments About AIDS

In 1992 Campaign for Senate From Arkansas, Suggested Quarantining AIDS Patients

By JAKE TAPPER and KEVIN CHUPKA via ABC News

Dec. 9, 2007 —

As former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee soared to first place in polls among Republican presidential candidates in Iowa and to second place in many national polls, he is being gifted with both opportunity and further scrutiny.

Huckabee found himself this weekend explaining proposals he made during his disastrous 1992 Senate race, when he suggested AIDS patients be quarantined. For the most part, Huckabee defended his views from 17 years ago.

In an Associated Press survey from 1992, Huckabee suggested that the government isolate AIDS patients from the rest of the populace.

"If the federal government is truly serious about doing something with the AIDS virus, we need to take steps that would isolate the carriers of this plague," he wrote. "It is the first time in the history of civilization in which the carriers of a genuine plague have not been isolated from the general population, and in which this deadly disease for which there is no cure is being treated as a civil rights issue instead of the true health crisis it represents."

Saturday evening, at a brief press conference in Asheville, N.C., Huckabee explained his quarantine proposal.

"Fifteen years ago, the AIDS crisis was just that, a crisis," he said. "There was still a great deal of, I think, uncertainty about just how widespread AIDS was, how it could be transmitted. So we know more now than we did in 1992, all of us do -- hopefully."

Read the rest.

Visit AIDSVote.org and endorse the AIDSVote platform today!

The AIDS Foundation of Chicago--working in coalition with Housing Works, Gay Men's Health Crisis, AIDS Action Council and several dozen other groups--is proud to unveil a new source for information on U.S. presidential candidates' positions on HIV/AIDS.

www.AIDSVote.org is a candidate education and voter education project working to make sure candidates for public office know what it takes to end AIDS, and voters who care about ending AIDS know where the candidates stand on our issues.

The AIDSVote.org platform is a straightforward roadmap for our next President-it leads directly to the end of AIDS as a killer pandemic in America and around the world. We've got a ten-point domestic AIDS plan (http://www.aidsvote.org/platform#domestic) and a ten-point global AIDS plan (http://www.aidsvote.org/platform#global) with clear recommendations for public and private action to save lives, prevent new infections, and address the social conditions that drive the pandemic.

The AIDSVote.org has already been endorsed by dozens of the nation's leading AIDS groups, and by leading service and advocacy organizations in key early-primary states. We're working closely with the 08 Stop AIDS campaign (www.08stopaids.org) to highlight global and domestic AIDS issues in public events with the candidates. We'll be holding national conference calls during 2008 to explain how nonprofit groups can do election-year advocacy that's safe, legal and effective. And we'll be helping voters who care about HIV/AIDS understand the positions of candidates on life-and-death domestic and global AIDS issues.

Please take the time to visit AIDSVote.org, endorse the platform, and spread this message widely. This year World AIDS Day is on a Saturday - next year World AIDS Day will really be on Election Day.

Check out the AIDSVote website here: www.aidsvote.org

Full details on the platform are at www.aidsvote.org/platform

Endorse the platform here: http://www.aidsvote.org/member/register/

Where Do They Stand? Leading AIDS Groups Turn Up the Heat

Leading AIDS Groups
Turn Up the Heat on ’08 Presidental Candidates

Website and new report unearth surprising responses
on hot-button HIV/AIDS issues

Clinton, Edwards, Obama and Kucinich support
ending ban on federal funds for needle exchange

New York City, Nov. 28, 2007—Housing Works, Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), and the AIDS Foundation of Chicago—three of the nation’s leading AIDS organizations—polled 16 presidential hopefuls on pressing AIDS-related issues as part of an ongoing HIV/AIDS candidate and voter education campaign. Now the results are available on AIDSVote.org.

“World AIDS Day is this Saturday, but you could also say that World AIDS Day is Election Day 2008. That’s because our next President will have the opportunity and the responsibility to end AIDS,” said Charles King, President and CEO of Housing Works. “She or he will have the tools to treat 33 million people living with HIV—including over a million Americans—around the planet, as well as the tools to stop the spread of the virus. We’re here to build the political will to make that happen.”

“More than ever, the American public is calling for meaningful health care reform which includes bold leadership in the area of AIDS,” said GMHC Chief Operating Officer Robert Bank. “Voters need to know what the candidates will do to fight AIDS when determining their readiness to be President.”

The launch of AIDSVote.org, timed to coincide with World AIDS Day on December 1, features the results of the AIDSVote.org candidate questionnaire and Where Do They Stand? The Gay Men’s Health Crisis Report on the 2008 Presidential Candidates and HIV/AIDS Issues, a detailed portrait of every candidate’s history in public life on HIV/AIDS issues.

The AIDSVote.org website answers questions like "where does Rudy Giuliani stand on needle exchange funding?"; "will Sen. Barack Obama end federal support for ineffective and harmful abstinence-only education?"; and "will Sen. Hillary Clinton redouble efforts against global HIV/AIDS?". Voting records and public comments provide the basis for GMHC’s comprehensive report and a useful “quick chart” comparing the candidates’ AIDS-related public record and positions.

Some of the notable information available on AIDSVote.org and on GMHC.org:

• The GMHC report documents, for the first time in one place, the stark differences between Democratic and Republican presidential candidates on nearly every AIDS issue. For example, seven Democrats have committed to investing $50 billion to fight HIV/AIDS globally over the next five years. No Republican candidate has made a similar commitment. All eight Democratic candidates support comprehensive sex education, whereas seven of eight Republicans have opposed it. Most of the Democrats support lifting the ban against HIV-positive foreign nationals visiting and/or immigrating to the U.S.; most Republican candidates either support the existing ban or have not come out against it.

• The three leading Democratic candidates—Sen. Barack Obama, former Sen. John Edwards, and Sen. Hillary Clinton—have all publicly supported ending the ban on federal funding for needle exchange, a scientifically proven intervention to reduce the spread of HIV without increasing drug use. President George W. Bush and former President Bill Clinton faced stiff criticism by public health experts for failing to lift the ban during their terms in office.

• For the first time, five presidential candidates—Clinton, Edwards, Obama, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, and Gov. Bill Richardson—have committed to crafting a national AIDS strategy early in their first term if elected. The creation of a comprehensive outcomes-based national AIDS strategy with explicit benchmarks and accountability mechanisms is a key plank in the AIDSVote.org platform. The U.S. requires nations applying for billions of dollars in federal funding under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to develop such plans—but the U.S. has yet to develop its own national strategy to combat the domestic HIV/AIDS crisis.

AIDSVote.org is a nonpartisan voter and candidate education campaign endorsed by dozens of leading AIDS organizations including the Campaign to End AIDS, AIDS Action Council, the National Association of People with AIDS, the Global AIDS Alliance, and HealthGAP.

While not endorsing candidates for public office, AIDSVote.org is dedicated to ensuring that presidential candidates know about the best possible strategies to make progress against HIV/AIDS in the U.S. and abroad. The website includes domestic and global AIDS platforms, which detail how the next president of the U.S. can end AIDS in places as remote as South Africa and as close as South Carolina.

“We not only hope to better inform voters about how important HIV/AIDS policy issues and the need for a national AIDS strategy are in the election but also hope to better inform the candidates themselves,” said Rebecca Haag, AIDS Action Council executive director.

“AIDSVote.org wants to make sure that whoever moves into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in January 2009 will make ending the AIDS epidemic a top priority,” said David Ernesto Munar, vice president at the AIDS Foundation of Chicago. “It’s a matter of life and death.”

The answers to the candidate questionnaire and GMHC’s candidate report are only the first installments that will be available on AIDSVote.org, which will track the presidential candidates’ positions on HIV/AIDS up until the November 2008 election.

Clinton Announces Plan to Fight HIV/AIDS At Home And Abroad

Will Double Research Funding & Support Evidence-Based Prevention Programs

The Clinton campaign unveiled its plan to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the U.S. and around the world. The comprehensive approach addresses the multiple challenges that HIV/AIDS has presented for over 25 years and includes investments for increased research, prevention and education, and access to treatment and other services. Hillary’s plan would especially help groups in the U.S. that have seen HIV infection rates rise over the past several years, including African Americans and gay men, and address the continued risk in Latino communities and among women. In addition, Clinton has pledged to increase funding for the global HIV/AIDS fight to at least $50 billion by 2013.

Read the rest.

Andrew Sullivan on the McClurkin Rant and Obama

"Here it is. I just watched it. I was under the impression he would be singing. Allowing this guy to preach strikes me as a step far too far. No, he doesn't say anything homophobic as such. He uses the usual formula of loving those he wants to be other than they are - which is a very funny kind of love. But in saying that God "delivered" him from homosexuality, McClurkin describes sexual orientation as something that God wants to save me and other gay people from. If one were being generous, one would say this isn't meant as an attack; but it is certainly experienced as an attack. McClurkin, in short, should never have been allowed to speak at this event, because his words are inherently divisive, his record of comments on gay people offensive, and the point of the event was allegedly unifying. It wasn't. To my mind, this isn't ultimately about the difficulty of forging any kind of alliance between gays and African-Americans. It is the inherent danger of mixing religion with politics. That's called Christianism. Some of us have not spent the last few years trying to rescue conservatism from the toxin of theocracy only to support a candidate who wants to do the same thing on the left. I don't think Obama wants to go that far; I still believe that broadly speaking, his is the only major candidacy right now that offers the kind of change we need. But what happened on that stage was inexcusable, stupid, and damaging. I don't blame any gay American for jumping the Obama ship over it."

Read other LifeLube posts on McClurkin and Obama.

Obama is asked about Donnie McClurkin in Iowa

Click the pic for the YouTube vid and here what O had to say.

Read more on O and Donnie here.

Clinton Signs Pledge To Commit To Fight Against HIV/AIDS

via today's Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS report

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, recently signed a pledge to commit to investing $50 billion by 2013 to fight HIV/AIDS domestically and worldwide, the New York Times reports. Clinton also plans to issue a formal policy on the disease, according to the Times (Seelye, "The Caucus," New York Times, 10/26).

The Global AIDS Alliance Fund and other groups have called on U.S. presidential candidates to sign the pledge, which asks candidates to commit $50 billion to HIV/AIDS efforts. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) was the first candidate to sign the pledge. On the groups' Web site -- 08stopaids.org -- there is a citizen's pledge that calls on voters to urge the next U.S. president to "create, support and fund a comprehensive plan to address the HIV/AIDS pandemic" (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 10/22).

According to the Times, ACT UP, an HIV/AIDS advocacy coalition, had been planning a demonstration on Tuesday in Philadelphia -- where the Democratic candidates are scheduled to participate in a debate -- to protest Clinton because she had not signed the pledge. Clinton signed the pledge shortly after being contacted by the Times. According to a statement from Clinton's campaign, she has "been working on a formal AIDS policy that she will be unveiling in the near future." The statement added that Clinton "already supports investing $50 billion over the next five years to fight global AIDS and advocates a comprehensive approach to fighting AIDS both here and abroad."

According to the Times, former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), both of whom are running for the Democratic presidential nomination, have not signed the pledge. Kaytee Riek -- a member of ACT UP and Health GAP, which is co-sponsoring the Tuesday demonstration -- said the demonstration originally had been directed toward Clinton rather than the other candidates because "she's the front-runner," even though she has had a "spectacular" record on HIV/AIDS policy. Riek added that because Clinton has signed the pledge, the focus of the demonstration likely will shift to encouraging all candidates to discuss HIV/AIDS during their campaigns.

Edwards was the first candidate to issue a comprehensive, $50 billion HIV/AIDS plan, the Times reports. Obama has said that if elected, he would increase foreign spending to $50 billion annually for several projects, including increased treatment access for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Obama in his "millennium development goals" said he would "dedicate as much funding to HIV/AIDS as possible ... to ensure a comprehensive fight against this global pandemic" ("The Caucus," New York Times, 10/26).

Obama Explains Why He's the Best Candidate for LGBT Americans

Read the interview with him in the Advocate.com here.

Excerpt:

"You’re talking to somebody who talked about gay Americans in his convention speech in 2004, who talked about them in his announcement speech for the president of the United States, who talks about gay Americans almost constantly in his stump speeches. If there’s somebody out there who’s been more consistent in including LGBT Americans in his or her vision of what America should be, then I would be interested in knowing who that person is."

“Ex-Gay” Donnie McClurkin is Not So “Ex-Gay”

[previous LifeLube post on this Obama drama here]

Donnie McClurkin, the African American gospel singer and so-called “ex-gay” is apparently not as “ex-gay” as he would have everyone believe. Blogger Clay Cane has an interview with a former bed buddy of McClurkin’s who says clearly that he had sex with McClurkin after McClurkin claimed to have prayed away the gay.



Read the rest on Bloggernista.


Read some interesting analysis on Rod 2.0