Aug 29, 2003  |  By: LOU CHIBBARO JR.  | COMMENTS     

Congressman Mark Foley (R-Fla.), who has been dogged by press reports that he is gay, is disputing a report in the St. Petersburg Times that he told an audience of Republican Party activists in a conservative county that he opposes allowing gays to adopt children.

Foley has a mostly pro-gay voting record in the House of Representatives but has been emphasizing his conservative positions on other issues while campaigning for the Republican nomination for Florida’s U.S. Senate seat. Supporters of his opponents in the upcoming Republican primary have been bringing up his gay rights positions at campaign appearances.

Foley also recently withdrew as a “lead” sponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, a bill that would ban employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. Foley said he would remain a co-sponsor of the bill, but his withdrawal as one of three chief sponsors has highlighted his dilemma as a gay-supportive Republican running in a primary dominated by mostly conservative GOP voters.

According to the Times, when asked at an Aug. 4 meeting of Republican Party activists whether his pro-gay positions are out of step with his party, Foley boasted about his support for the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act in 1996 and added that he opposes gay adoptions. The newspaper said he made his remarks before the Spirit of ‘76 Republican Club of Pasco County, which is located north of Tampa.

Kirk Fordham, chief of staff at Foley’s congressional office in Washington, said Foley disputes the accuracy of the newspaper’s report on his statement about adoption.

“He never said he opposes gay adoption,” Fordham said. “He said he supports DOMA, and that’s the best way to go on the gay marriage issue,” Fordham said.

The Defense of Marriage Act, signed in 1996 by President Clinton, provides that states are not required to recognize gay marriages from other states, and defines marriage under federal law as strictly opposite-sex, denying gay couples Social Security, income tax and other benefits.

Fordham said Foley pointed out at the Aug. 4 event that he voted against two proposed House amendments in past years seeking to restrict domestic partner benefits in San Francisco and calling for banning gay adoptions in D.C.

The St. Petersburg Times, however, has insisted the report was accurate. “We stand by our story,” said Mike Moscardini, city editor at the St. Petersburg Times’ Pasco County bureau.

Questions about Foley’s sexual orientation surfaced earlier this year when the New Times, a weekly newspaper in West Palm Beach, which is part of Foley’s district, published a front-page story saying Foley was gay. Foley refused to confirm or deny the paper’s report, insisting his private life should not be part of the public discourse surrounding his candidacy for public office.

Foley walks fine line
Fred Ulmer, president of the Tampa chapter of the gay group Log Cabin Republicans said Foley’s views on gay rights surfaced at another Republican Party event in Ocala, Fla., a short time after the Pasco County event. Ulmer said Foley, in response to a question, told the Ocala event he supports legislation giving the federal government authority to prosecute anti-gay hate crimes.

Andy Eddy, an official with the Log Cabin Republicans chapter in the Ft. Lauderdale area, said Foley enjoys strong support among gay Republicans in Florida.

“I may not agree with him on all issues,” Eddy said. “But he is running in areas of the state where people are not similar to Ft. Lauderdale,” which is known as one of the state’s most gay-supportive areas.

“We have to ask ourselves, who else do we want in that office,” said Eddy, who noted that Foley’s Republican Party rivals in the primary are less supportive than Foley on gay issues.

MORE INFO
U.S. Rep. Mark Foley
104 Cannon HOB
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-5792
www.house.gov/foley