GLBT Bonus: Palin Sucks Too

Bonus blog! It's GLBT History Month and we've already told you how much McCain would suck for the future of GLBT rights, we thought we'd throw in a little Sarah Palin suckage too. Albeit, she has less of a record against gay rights - mainly because she has less of a record period - but she's still blatantly against gay rights.

When it comes to marriage, Sarah Palin is actually more anti-gay rights than her running mate, if you can believe that. She does support a federal ban on same-sex marriage, which goes against McCain's states-rights position (but is pretty much on point with McCain's anti-gay stance) and has voted in the past for a state amendment to ban same sex marriage in Alaska.

In the Vice Presidential debate against Joe Biden, Palin said that she and Biden shared the same position on same-sex marriage (both against it). However, the fact is that Palin is a little tiny bit more against it. Although Biden does not agree with legalizing same-sex marriage (because he felt that "marriage" was a term that should be left up to the faiths) he said that he "absolutely positively" supported granting same-sex couples with the same legal rights and benefits as married couples.

"Absolutely positively. Absolutely no distinction from a legal standpoint between a same-sex and a heterosexual couple. That's only fair."

However, Palin attached a qualifier to her support of same-sex benefits that Biden did not. That is, while he said "absolutely positively", she had an "if":

"Well, not if it goes closer and closer towards redefining the traditional definition of marriage between one man and one woman. And unfortunately that's sometimes where those steps lead.

...I will tell Americans straight up that I don't support defining marriage as anything but between one man and one woman, and I think through nuances we can go round and round about what that actually means."

That "if" is so vague and so broad (how close is "closer and closer") that it can be interpreted in a number of ways, some which may strongly hinder same-sex couples from actually receiving the benefits that Palin claims she supports. In her 2006 Gubernatorial Candidate Questionnaire, she listed "preserving the definition of 'marriage'" as one of her top three priorities in regard to families, if elected governor and said that she believes spousal benefits should be "reserved for married citizens".

Also in that questionnaire, she affirmed her stance on the expansion of hate crime laws and implementing explicit sex-ed programs (neither would get her support).

In case you're still not sure... let's look back at her record in Alaska. There's been a lot of talk about how, as Governor, she vetoed a bill that would have prohibited the state from granting health benefits to same-sex partners of public employees, because she found it to be unconstitutional. Or that is, the Alaska attorney general advised her that it was unconstitutional and would likely be defeated in the courts. Some people might look at this veto as a sign that she supports spousal benefits for same-sex couples, but she doesn't. She and her office made it clear that she doesn't, when they released this statement about the bill:

"The Department of Law advised me that this bill, HB4001, is unconstitutional given the recent Court order of of December 19th, mandating same-sex benefits. With that in mind, signing this bill would be in direct violation of my oath of office."

"The Governor's veto does not signal any change or modification to her disagreement with the action and order by the Alaska Supreme Court."

"The Supreme Court has ordered adoption of the regulations by the State of Alaska to begin providing benefits January 1. We have no more judicial options. We may disagree with the rationale behind the ruling, but our responsibility is to proceed forward with the law and follow the Constitution."
"I disagree with the recent court decision because I feel as though Alaskans spoke on this issue with its overwhelming support for a Constitutional Amendment in 1998 which defined marriage as between a man and woman. But the Supreme Court has spoken and the state will abide."

She even raised the possibility of amending the state constitution so that a similar bill would pass at a later date. So I don't really think it's completely fair to say she shares the same opinion as Senator Biden.

Palin recently declined to issue a proclamation recognizing National Coming Out Day in Alaska, even after receiving a formal request from Alaskans Together for Equality to acknowledge the day. So far in October 2008, she has issued proclamations for such very important days as:

• Careers in Construction Week
• 10th Annual Christian Heritage Week
• Biomedical Technician Week
• Alaska Taiwan Friendship Week
• World Farm Animals Day
• Breastfeeding Awareness Month
• Grand Opening of Rilke Schule Day

Palin has claimed to have good friends who are gay, but I find it pretty hard to believe that any self-respecting gay person would really be friends with someone who has fought so hard to prevent them from having basic rights. Of course, she's never named any of the gay friends, nor have they come out to support her publicly, nor has anyone else been able to find these gay friends. She mentioned one of these alleged friends her interview with Katie Couric:

"I am not going to judge Americans and the decisions that they make in their adult personal relationships. I have one of my absolute best friends for the last 30 years happens to be gay, and I love her dearly. And she is not my 'gay friend', she is one of my best friends, who happens to have made a choice that isn't a choice that I have made. But I am not going to judge people."

So basically she not only believes that homosexuality is a choice, but she actually thinks that by trying to deny her "friend" the right to marry she's not "judging" her. Palin may not have as strong of an anti-gay record as McCain, but I'm sure that by the time she has been in politics as many years as he has, her record will far surpass his. Even though she's only the VP candidate - so obviously McCain's anti-gay stance is more pressing - given McCain's age there is a good chance that she may very well serve as President of the United States if McCain is elected. And I think it's all too clear how dangerous it would be for either of them to be in the Whitehouse.