THE
ELECTION
ON
Tuesday
will
determine
whether
our
nation
moves
forward
on
the
issues
of
the
humanity,
dignity,
and
equality
for
gay
Americans,
or
if
we
begin
a
tragic
process
of
going
backwards.
The
future
of
the
Supreme
Court
hangs
in
the
balance,
and
with
it,
the
direction
our
nation
will
take
on
many
issues,
including
gay
rights.
Over
the
next
four
years,
it
is
quite
likely
that
Justices
John
Paul
Stevens
and
Sandra
Day
O’Connor,
as
well
as
Chief
Justice
William
Rehnquist,
will
retire.
The
next
president,
either
George
W.
Bush
or
John
Kerry,
will
be
nominating
their
replacements.
On
the
issue
of
justice
for
gay
Americans,
a
Kerry
or
Bush
presidency
will
make
all
the
difference,
not
for
the
next
four
years,
but
for
the
next
40.
A
president’s
term
lasts
for
only
four
years,
but
a
Supreme
Court
Justice
is
appointed
for
life.
On
so
many
issues,
I
believe
George
Bush
has
made
the
wrong
choices.
But
as
a
gay
man,
I
am
fully
aware
that
the
choice
I
make
as
to
who
I
want
to
run
our
nation
over
the
next
four
years
will
have
a
profound
influence
on
the
lives
of
all
GLBT
people.
If
the
Republicans
maintain
control
of
Congress
and
the
presidency,
the
next
four
years
could
end
the
progress
we
have
made
regarding
Supreme
Court
recognition
of
equal
protection
and
due
process
for
gay
Americans.
TO
GAY
PEOPLE
who
either
sit
out
the
election,
or
vote
for
Ralph
Nader
or
George
W.
Bush,
you
cannot
say,
“I
didn’t
know,”
or
“nobody
told
me.”
I
am
telling
you
now:
If
Bush
gets
a
second
term,
it
is
likely
that
many
of
the
gains
we
have
fought
so
hard
for
since
the
dark
days
of
Stonewall
will
be
reversed,
and
our
struggle
for
equality
will
be
postponed
for
generations.
Right
now,
the
Supreme
Court
is
narrowly
divided
on
crucial
issues
concerning
gay
rights.
Just
one
or
two
new
right-wing
justices
like
Antonin
Scalia
and
Clarence
Thomas
—
the
justices
President
Bush
has
called
his
models
for
Supreme
Court
appointments
—
would
reverse
the
progress
made
on
gay
rights
over
the
last
decade,
and
could
make
further
progress
through
the
courts
virtually
impossible.
One
more
justice
like
Scalia
and
Thomas
would
likely
reverse
the
landmark
ruling
in
the
Texas
sodomy
case,
allowing
states
to
once
again
treat
gay
men
and
lesbians
as
criminals.
Two
more
Scalia-Thomas
votes
would
also
reverse
a
Supreme
Court
decision
overturning
an
anti-gay
constitutional
amendment
in
Colorado,
and
would
allow
states
to
abolish
local
laws
against
discrimination
based
on
sexual
orientation.
And
of
course,
any
hope
for
gaining
federal
rights
for
gay
couples,
even
those
with
a
Massachusetts
marriage
license
or
a
Vermont
civil
union,
would
disappear.
During
oral
arguments
in
Lawrence
vs.
Texas,
Justice
Scalia
actually
suggested
that
with
gay
kindergarten
teachers,
“children
might
be
induced
to
become
homosexuals.”
In
his
dissent,
Scalia
accused
the
majority
of
“largely
signing
on
to
the
so-called
homosexual
agenda.”
THE
APPOINTMENTS
GEORGE
Bush
has
made
to
the
lower
courts
have
already
had
devastating
effects
on
our
issues.
Bush’s
appointment
of
William
Pryor,
who
in
past
comments
compared
homosexuality
to
necrophilia,
to
the
federal
appeals
court
provided
the
tie-breaking
vote
in
July
against
three
homosexual
couples
challenging
Florida’s
law
banning
adoption
by
gays.
I
cannot
stress
more
the
importance
of
this
election
to
GLBT
Democrats,
Republicans,
Independents,
Libertarians,
Greens,
Naderites,
and
every
other
faction
of
our
community.
Unless
we
wake
up
to
the
news
next
Wednesday
that
John
Kerry
will
become
our
44th
president,
we
could
very
well
be
facing
a
Scalia-led
Supreme
Court
that
views
the
humanity
and
civil
rights
of
gay
people
as
unworthy
of
any
consideration
by
the
nation’s
highest
judicial
voice.
