President George W. Bush wrapped himself in the mantle of commander in chief as he kicked off his reelection bid in the State of the Union Address on January 20. Gays had little to cheer about.
Much of the domestic focus played to his conservative base. One key element was a forceful restatement of his belief that marriage is between a man and a woman and an attack on activist judges who threaten to bring gay marriage. But he stopped short of endorsing the Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA).
Last year he surprised many with his African AIDS initiative. This year AIDS, both foreign and domestic, was not even mentioned. Instead Bush announced a doubling of funding for abstinence programs to prevent young people from becoming infected with sexually transmitted diseases. And he again pushed for his faith-based initiative 'so people of faith can know that the law will never discriminate against them again.'
Bush vigorously defended the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), passed in 1996 with wide bipartisan support and signed into law by Bill Clinton, that 'protects marriage under federal law as the union of a man and a woman, and declares that one state may not redefine marriage for other states.'
'Activist judges, however, have begun redefining marriage by court order, without regard for the will of the people and their elected representatives. On an issue of such great consequence, the people's voice must be heard. If judges insist on forcing their arbitrary will upon the people, the only alternative left to the people would be the constitutional process. Our nation must defend the sanctity of marriage.'
While the chamber applauded, the volume seemed muted, suggesting that even some Republicans were not eager to take on this issue.
The President seemed to imply that there was to be no gay bashing in debating this issue when he said, 'The outcome of this debate is important, and so is the way we conduct it. The same moral tradition that defines marriage also teaches that each individual has dignity and value in God's
sight.'
Pundits could not recall when a President had ever spoken before of sexually transmitted diseases in an address to Congress. But that did not deter Bush.
'Each year, about 3 million teenagers contract sexually transmitted diseases that can harm them or kill them or prevent them from ever becoming parents,' he said in proposing to 'double federal funding for abstinence programs so schools can teach this fact of life: Abstinence for young people is the only certain way to avoid sexually transmitted diseases.'
Gays and lesbians who stayed tuned for the Democratic response hoping for a defense on these issues were sadly disappointed, even though it was delivered by Senate leader Tom Daschle and one of the most pro-gay members of Congress, House leader Nancy Pelosi.
There was not one word on HIV or on any gay issue even though press accounts in the days leading up to the speak noted a slight increase in domestic AIDS funding in the President's proposed budget and his intent to defend traditional marriage.
Senator John Kerry, the upset winner in the Democratic caucuses in Iowa the previous day, defended his 1996 vote against DOMA in an interview on ABC News. He called his vote a denouncement of the 'gay bashing' that took place during the Senate debate on that legislation. He was one of only 14 Senators vote against the bill. However, Kerry said that when it comes to gay marriage, 'I have the same position as the President.'
The GLBT community reacted to the evening's speech with dismay.
Log Cabin Republicans spokesman Mark Mead said that Bush 'was elected by bringing Americans together.' Supporting the FMA 'is not in keeping with this pledge...It is not necessary, it is not conservative, and we urge the President to not engage in a culture war, the same kind of culture war that doomed his father's reelection efforts.'
The organization has gone on record as saying that it would not endorse any candidate who supports the FMA.
'President Bush has proved that he doesn't care about gay families, he just doesn't,' said Dave Noble, executive director of National Stonewall Democrats. 'He's completely ignorant of the reality that gay families have existed throughout American history.'
'The bottom line is that gay Americans live in more than 99 percent of the counties in this country, and more than one million children are being raised by same-sex couples,' said Cheryl Jacques, president of the Human Rights Campaign.
She said the President also 'misrepresented the proper role of the courts in protecting rights and freedoms by criticizing 'activist judges,'' though she did acknowledge that Bush did not explicitly endorse the antigay FMA.
But Bush's rhetorical denunciation of gay marriage didn't satisfy the far right. The Family Research Council's Tony Perkins was disappointed. He said the President 'promised to help the families of America – after the bomb goes off and the damage is done.' He urged Bush to press for the FMA now.
The reaction from the AIDS community was of equal disappointment.
'Tonight's speech was a missed opportunity to continue the great work President Bush began last year,' said Marsh Martin, executive director of AIDS Action. 'To speak only about abstinence and not other scientifically accepted public health interventions for young people (and their adult parents) is a costly omission—not just in dollars, but also in lives,'
'The lack of mention of the domestic HIV epidemic simply is not acceptable. So much more is needed, and I'm not talking just about money.'
It's like, 'Where's Waldo?' – what happened to AIDS?' which was a focus of the President's address just a year ago, said Paul Feldman spokesman for the National Association of People With AIDS (NAPWA).
He acknowledged that abstinence is a valid part of a total HIV prevention program 'but abstinence only programs are not supported by science.' There needs to be 'a comprehensive approach to arm people with knowledge to protect themselves.'
As gay conservative Andrew Sullivan noted on his blog, '$23 million for drug testing children in schools? A tirade against steroids? More public money for religious groups? Abstinence only for prevention of STDs? Whatever else this President is, he is no believer in individuals running their own lives without government regulation, control, or aid. If you're a fiscal conservative or a social liberal, this was a speech that succeeded in making you take a second look at the Democrats.