Gays Against Bush- Why Protest?

WHY PROTEST?

War and Homophobia: The U.S. military culture of war and the destruction of entire communities in Iraq, Afghanistan, and in too many parts of the world, all in the name of promoting "democracy", is nothing short of tragic. Never have we lost such respect among the international community than under Bush's mission to cease all "weapons of mass destruction" and declare war against defenseless citizens simply seeking to live freely. This past spring's scandal involving the torture and abuse of Iraqui prisoners by U.S. military personnel where forced simulated sex, threats of male rape, and anti-gay slurs for the purpose of humiliating prisoners, lends strong credence to the U.S. military being an institution fraught with homophobia and an ideology of "us against them". Sadly, the military's support for the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, which prohibits lesbian and gay people from openly serving in the U.S. armed forces, makes all the more possible the very heinous crimes that we purport to defend ourselves and others from. The Abu Ghraib prison scandal is not an isolated incident. Prisoner abuse is part and parcel of an institution that mourns the deaths of its own, turns its cheek away from "foreign" children and families lost, celebrates the deaths of "enemies" and fosters a climate of contempt, disrespect, and abuse of American LGBT servicemembers, a number of whom have been victims of anti-LGBT violence and murder.

Same-Sex Marriage: Mr. Bush’s support of an amendment banning same-sex marriages is part of an ongoing battle to perpetuate and expand discriminatory laws against the LGBT community. In a statement issued immediately after the recently failed passage in the Senate of the constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, the president casted the outcome as a temporary setback and said he was "deeply disappointed". Within a week the House of Representatives passed, in a 233 to 194 vote, H.R. 3313, the Marriage Protection Act (MPA), which would remove federal jurisdiction of the U.S. Supreme Court (and all lesser federal courts) to rule on the interpretation or the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). One state’s recognition of same-sex marriages can be unrecognizable elsewhere, regardless of the U.S. constitution's "full faith and credit" clause. The clause ensures that every state honors the public acts, records and judicial proceedings of other states. The constitution's “equal protection clause” ensures that there is no discrimination in the enforcement of laws. H.R. 3313 grants individual states ultimate jurisdiction in deciding if they will recognize same-sex marriages performed in their state or in other states. The bill also prevents residents of states that don’t recognize same-sex marriages from appealing to a federal court to overturn their state’s marriage laws.

Bush's support of the Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA), which would have amended the U.S. Constitution to define marriage as only between a man and a woman and prevent state legislatures or courts from mandating more limited benefits through civil unions or domestic partnerships, is a clear sign that he has declared war within this country as well. We can expect that, if re-elected, he will continue to ally with conservatives to ultimately pass a constitutional amendment to strip away civil liberties and/or support and lobby for the Marriage Protection Act.

Adoption: Bush opposes the adoption of children by gay and lesbian families, and his promotion of heterosexual marriage and fatherhood as solutions to child poverty sends the message that only heterosexual married couples are fully suited for raising children. The Bush administration has supported a constitutional amendment that would oppose adoption by gay parents and continues to consistently support constitutional amendments that discriminate against gay, lesbian, transgender, and bisexual people.

Hate Crimes: He opposes nondiscrimination laws and hate crimes legislation that include gender identity and sexual orientation.

Sex Education: Bush opposes age-appropriate, research-based sex education, and has increased funding for abstinence-only, until-marriage, sex education programs promoting sex outside the context of marriage as inherently dangerous, both physically and psychologically.

Judicial Appointments: He has nominated numerous anti-LGBT judges, and has appointed federal officials who are openly hostile to LGBT people. He has advocated allowing faith-based service providers to ignore local and state non-discrimination laws that include sexual orientation or gender identity when hiring for positions paid for with federal funds.

AIDS: The Bush Administration has conducted costly and time-consuming audits of AIDS service organizations. As shown in official records, this administration has practically abandoned the UN supported Global AIDS program. In 2003, National Institutes of Health (NIH) staff warned researchers to avoid certain terms connected with homosexuality in federal grant proposals to avoid extra scrutiny. And, in October 2003, the Traditional Values Coalition, an anti-LGBT, right wing religious organization, prompted the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to audit 250 research projects funded by NIH that involved issues related to sexuality.

Overall, the message sent by policies and acts proposed by Mr. Bush and his "compassionate conservative" cohorts is that of hatred against our community. We cannot allow such discriminatory positions to prevail. Our organization needs your help in raising people's consciousness regarding this administration's propaganda. We are organizing joint efforts with a number of progressive and pro-equality groups to ensure Bush's administration is not back in power in 2005.

We feel it is our duty as a community to oust the reactionary, conservative and anti-gay officials currently in power and hope that you will join us.