The Republican Party is Reaching Out to You!
Two of the four Republican candidates for governor are courting an unlikely constituency in their long-shot bids to win the hearts of Republican voters:
Gays and lesbians.
Scottsdale businessman Mike Harris and Gilbert resident Gary Tupper questioned what Harris called their party’s “holier than thou religious attitude.” They said independent voters, including gays and lesbians, could help turn the tide in an election where most Republican voters still are undecided. Both candidates trail in the polls just weeks before the Sept. 12 primary.
Their comments appeared in Aug. 10’s Echo Magazine, a statewide gay publication that devoted its most recent edition to gay Republicans. The two candidates said there’s a place in the Republican Party for gay men and women.
“When two people are in a loving relationship for a long time, God bless ‘em,” Harris said in an interview with The Arizona Republic. “Who are gay people? They are our brothers, our sisters . . . They are our family. The Republican Party is on the way to imploding with their holier than thou religious attitude.” (source)
The Republicans are reaching out to gays and lesbians huh? And just as we gear up for the November election. How predictable. I understand that this is happening in Arizona, but I won’t be surprised to see this sort of thing spring up here and there as we approach the November election.
“The two candidates said there’s a place in the Republican Party for gay men and women.”
There is no place in the Republican Party for us as it stands today, unless you are a self-loathing homosexual who cares nothing about equality. The Republicans of today say they are “defending marriage”. Fair enough. I don’t agree with that, but as a reasonable man (and voter), I can understand that.
But why is it that I keep seeing on every single state constitutional amendment that is being pushed by their party language that ALWAYS defines marriage as “one man, one woman” AND ALWAYS goes on to say that civil unions or “anything that approximates marriage” will also be unlawful? If they were only defending what they consider to be marriage, why go that extra step to ensure that gay couples will get no protection under the law? Do I smell a “moral values” agenda going on? Or perhaps its just old fashioned gay bashing wrapped around the cloak of “moral values”?
All of this aside, I believe that, as much as the Republican Party loves to call the Democratic Party the party of “special interests” that have “no direction”, the Republic Party is fast becoming the party of spend spend spend, and war war war. And here I always thought that they were the party of “smaller government”, “less government spending”, “controlling the deficit”, and “being less intrusive” in the lives of every day Americans. That’s their party line. That’s what they claim.
How long do they think we will actually continue to buy that line? Well, if the polls are any indication, not much longer. I also believe that their push for “moral values” will back fire. All that is serving are the deep divisions in this country against certain groups of people. That will never build a strong America.
And this from a student at Arizona State University.
Prop. 107 isn’t changing the law, it’s changing the language of the law to exclude any and all domestic-partner benefits. Both straight and gay couples take advantage of the benefits.
Most people don’t realize that if the initiative becomes law, it will hurt far more straight people than it will gay people.
To give you the numbers, according to the 2000 U.S. Census, there were 118,196 unmarried couples, which totals 10.7 percent of all couples in the state.
And of those 118,196 people, only 12,000 were same-sex couples.
Therefore, about 10.2 percent of all unmarried couples in Arizona were same-sex couples in 2000. If you do the math, you can figure out that in 2000, roughly 90 percent of Arizona’s unmarried couples were straight in and would be hurt by Prop 107.
Got that? This is a straight issue, not a gay one.
Actually, it’s all about caring for people. I understand what she is saying, but we have to get away from this “us” vs. “them” mentality. We are all Americans. We all deserve equal rights. End of story.
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Gary,
I can understand your disappointment. Honestly, I can. But I am not your enemy.
If last November proved anything, it proved that Republicans are not friends to gay citizens. It proves that the gay community are the sacrificial lambs to be slaughtered for the votes of religious conservatives. I don't want to be "tolerated". I want to be part of this society in every way, shape, and form. Am I being unreasonable? If I am, then why am I not getting a discount on the taxes I pay?
With all due respect, it is not me you should be yelling at Gary. It is the party you belong too. I love my country. Kent and I come to Arizona most every year to visit his parents at Christmas. If the amendment passes, we will have to think long and hard if we will continue doing that. Do we really want to put money into a state that openly supports discrimination? This will be a painful decision for us because we dearly love our parents. Why should they suffer because the beautiful state of Arizona has succumbed to bigotry? So, yes, I suppose we will deal with it and look the other way as we spend our money in a state that will likely vote our hope for equality away.
As for your stand, you never answered my question posed in my comment:
"Are you saying that you are for full equality for domestic partnerships here, Gary? MARRIAGE - MARRIAGE is the word I'm looking for here Gary, along with all the "rights and privileges" that come with it. "Domestic Partnerships", "Civil Unions" are just crap because they are second-class."
If you, as a Republican, will stand up and say that you support full civil marriage for gay couples, I would have supported you in every way I could, including a donation. I'll even issue a formal apology on this site for misjudging you.
What I won't do is to throw a bone to anyone who gives us a second-class status (civil unions) that won't be portable from state to state (or honored by the Federal Government), thus denying our families the same protections that heterosexual families obtain through civil marriage.
"And the next time a white middle-age, middle-class heterosexual sticks his neck out for gay rights, you might want to consider not helping to get it cut off."
What do you define as "gay rights" Gary? Civil Unions? Let me tell you something about the gay community. We are not about "gay rights" any longer. That was in the 1970's. Today, our community has come a long ways in trying to achieve equality with our fellow straight citizens. We are not asking for "special rights" that people love to claim, but equal rights. Speaking for myself, I give a lot to this country through my contributions to this society. I shouldn't have to sit in the back of the bus for the rest of my life. This is not an issue of "gay" rights. It's about the unalienable rights that every single citizen should have.
Not only has the Republican Party not backed marriage equality for gays, but they have openly tried to kill all efforts for civil unions as well. They want us to have nothing. If you truly do believe that people should be treated equally, you might start questioning if the Republican Party is for you, because equality is not what they are about!
I spent months traveling the conservative election circuit. Taking heat from Republicans for opposing the PMA. Stating that I could care less about gay marriage and if gays get married.
What did I get? Not a single contribution. Not a single e-mail. Not even one thank you from even one gay person for standing up for them.
The closest thing I got was the insult of this post.
In the next few weeks, I will be withdrawing my opposition to PMA for lack of interest. I have seen no support against it and considerable support for it. It is not my personal position but the overwhelming position of the people I have spoken to.
No one supported your cause.
And the next time a white middle-age, middle-class heterosexual sticks his neck out for gay rights, you might want to consider not helping to get it cut off.
Thanks for your post, Bill.
Gary Tupper
I suppose there are Republicans out there who don't froth at the mouth at the very thought of being fair and equitable (allowing EQUALITY) for gays, but where the hell are they?
Are you saying that you are for full equality for domestic partnerships here, Gary? MARRIAGE - MARRIAGE is the word I'm looking for here Gary, along with all the "rights and privileges" that come with it. "Domestic Partnerships", "Civil Unions" are just crap because they are second-class.
As a Republican, are you willing to do that, or are you just like all the other Republicans out there?
Just for the record...
"Three of the four Republican candidates want new restrictions on abortion. And the same three - Gary Tupper being the exception - support a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage and outlaw benefits by government employers to the domestic partners of their workers."