Hillary to Advocate: I'm not for Marriage Equality

That's reportedly what she made clear in an interview to the Advocate magazine, according to the Daily Intelligencer. I'll wait to read the entire Advocate piece, but whether or not she believes in marriage equality, I'm willing to bet you President Hillary Clinton would never take as outspoken or courageous a stand for marriage equality as, say, well the Republican Mayor of San Diego.

Here's what the Intelligencer had to say about the Advocate article:

Some hopeful gay voters take her carefully worded objections to marriage equality and interpret them as hints that she really, deep down, believes in it. But in the Advocate story, Clinton for the first time makes it aggressively clear that this is not the case. "I would tell you [if it was]," she said to Kennedy. "This is an issue that I’ve had very few years of my life to think about when you really look at it, when you compare it to a whole life span. I am where I am right now, and it is a position that I come to authentically."

Progress in the Dem Field

There appears to be progress in the Democratic presidential field. The Human Rights Campaign released results from their candidate survey that shows all seven back federal rights for same sex couples as well as support for other pro-gay legislation. This includes repeal of the part of DOMA that would prevent extension of federal rights to committed same sex couples.

Details at Gay News Watch.

Gay Community Pulling Punches for Marriage Equality in DC -- Part I

I missed a great forum last night (by all account) called "The State of the Movement," a panel discussion by several leaders of gay organizations and notables in the community. Pam Spaulding, of Pam's House Blend, participated and has a good summary here.

I was struck by this exchange as recounted by Metro Weekly (Who's editor Sean Bugg moderated the event). The following occurred when audience member Lane Hudson asked the following:

''I understand with conversations with people that there is no conversation going on about [same sex civil marriage] in the district of Colombia, why isn't there? And can we go ahead and get that conversation started?''

The conversation became heated when Rick Rosendall, a local activist and vice president for political affairs for the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance (GLAA), angrily declared that despite the fact that the majority of gay rights supporters are Democrats, he feels that the majority of members in Congress strongly oppose same-sex marriage rights.

''In Congress it would be insane to push marriage rights now because Congress has a long history of stomping on the District of Colombia,'' he said.

Forum attendant Michael Crawford, a former HRC staff member, responded by calling out that Rosendall and other people's ''old school mentality'' is to blame for the lack of progress in marriage rights in D.C.

''When will be the right time? At some point we have to politically man up,'' he said.

So it would appear then the leadership of the Gay Activists Alliance would rather quake in fear at the booth at Annies Steak House rather than join the fight.

Part II later