George W. Bush called homosexuals sinners July 30 during a press conference in the White House Rose Garden.
Bush was asked: 'Many of your supporters believe that homosexuality is immoral. They believe that it's been given too much acceptance in policy terms and culturally. As someone who's spoken out in strongly moral terms, what's your view on homosexuality?'
The president responded: 'Yes, I am mindful that we're all sinners, and I caution those who may try to take the speck out of their neighbor's eye when they got a log in their own. I think it's very important for our society to respect each individual, to welcome those with good hearts, to be a welcoming country. On the other hand, that does not mean that somebody like me needs to compromise on an issue such as marriage. And that's really where the issue is heading here in Washington, and that is the definition of marriage. I believe in the sanctity of marriage. I believe a marriage is between a man and a woman. And I think we ought to codify that one way or the other. And we've got lawyers looking at the best way to do that.'
Gay activists were floored.
'When they were talking about big-tent politics during the campaign, well, no, it's not true,' said National Gay & Lesbian Task Force Communications Director Sheri Lunn. 'The big tent obviously does not include LGBT people.'
'The president can hold whatever religious beliefs he does,' said Human Rights Campaign Political Director Winnie Stachelberg. v'But somehow an insinuation that we as gay men and lesbians are sinners is of concern. ... An important point is that whether you are faith-instructed to believe that homosexuality is a sin or not, the president of the United States should not be fostering legislation or policy proposals that foster discrimination.'
Matt Foreman, NGLTF's executive director, said: 'It is unbecoming of the president of the United States to characterize same-sex couples as 'sinners.' It is also sad that, at a moment in history that cries out for leadership and moral courage, President Bush has instead opted for the divisive, anti-gay politics of the past.
'He's obviously desperate to keep the country's focus off the war in Iraq and the dismal state of the economy, and he's willing to do it on the backs of gay men and lesbians, even if it means proposing legislation that already exists as law,' Foreman said, referring to the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between one male and one female.
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation rushed to urge the media to get the story right.
'The president is clearly signaling his conviction that his personal religious beliefs should be the basis for governing law,' said Director of Communications John Sonego. 'In a country where the separation of church and state is a founding principle, this mix of personal beliefs and his administration's public policy needs to be examined critically by the media.'
Even the gay Log Cabin Republicans were upset.
'I gather that he said that [that gays are sinners],' said Director of Public Affairs Mark Mead. 'He believes that. ... What's interesting, though, is that he gave a rebuke to the religious right on attacking us.
'If he's supporting the constitutional amendment [to ban gay marriage], that would be new ground,' Mead said. 'We would be strongly against that. I hope we don't get to that. ... If the Republican Party fights a cultural war like they did in 1992, they will lose.'
LLEG�", the National Latina/o Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Organization, said gays are not sinners.
'Love is not a sin,' said Executive Director Martín Ornelas-Quintero, 'and the president should not distort spiritual belief to support inequality. It's important that the state simply recognize same-sex couples in the same way that it recognizes opposite-sex couples. Religion is not a part of that.'
Metropolitan Community Church founder Troy Perry agreed.
'Once again President Bush has placed his personal religious convictions above his constitutional duty to ensure justice and equality for all citizens,' Perry said. 'As a person of faith, I am especially disturbed that in today's White House press conference, the president began his response to a question on homosexuality by saying, 'I'm mindful that we're all sinners.'
Such a comment, even if it is part of one's personal theological beliefs, has no relevance to the question of ensuring the civil rights of all our citizens.
'The imposition of any public official's religious beliefs is inappropriate to our nation's public policy. Even with all of our progress in recent days, today's comments by the president are yet another sad reminder that our work on behalf of equality is far from done.'
Other response
Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun, Democratic candidate for President, also responded to George Bush's plan to use government lawyers to define marriage and take away basic human rights.
'This is yet another example of the Bush Administration's obsession with using the full power of the federal government to take away civil liberties. The decision by President Bush to use the resources of the White House to seek legislation that prohibits a fundamental right, the right to marry, sets back the clock on civil rights for all Americans.
'Americans in this century expect protection of their fundamental rights and freedoms from the government. Instead, this Administration seems intent on returning to the days when the power of the federal government was used to intrude on the civil rights of Americans. No President has taken such a strong stand against the civil rights of Americans since Woodrow Wilson formally segregated federal Civil Service in 1913.'
U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., also strongly attacked the president's position.
'I was shocked and saddened by your response to a question about homosexuality during your news conference,' Schakowsky wrote in a letter to Bush. 'Your response that 'we are all sinners' seemed to equate homosexuality with sin. While you may not approve of homosexuality, as the leader of all Americans, you have no right to make such judgments. Regarding same-sex marriage, as someone who clearly values committed, monogamous, long-term relationships, I would hope that you would rethink your position and drop your advocacy of legislation that would prohibit the sanctioning of these unions. I believe that you owe a sincere and immediate apology to the lesbian and gay communities for your insensitive remarks.'
