May 14, 2004  |  By: LOU CHIBBARO JR.  | COMMENTS     

A charge by the director of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force that Senate Democrats were backing away from their commitment to oppose a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage drew sharp criticism this week from gay Democratic leaders.

The flap over whether Senate Democrats may be wavering over the Federal Marriage Amendment surfaced as Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who strongly opposes same-sex marriage, abruptly cancelled an expected appearance as a star witness before a May 18 Senate hearing on the proposed amendment.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a supporter of the FMA, was expected to give Romney a platform to discuss his strategy for passing a constitutional amendment in Massachusetts to ban same-sex marriage. Hatch named the hearing, “Preserving traditional marriage: A view from the states.”

Romney reportedly became concerned over the latest polls in his state — including a poll commissioned by the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest gay political group — that show his popularity declining among voters. Among other things, the polls show voters object to his involvement in a number of controversial social issues, including gay marriage, according to HRC President Cheryl Jacques.

According to sources, Romney said a scheduling conflict in Massachusetts prevented him from coming to Washington for the hearing.

With Romney out of the picture in the Senate hearing, attention on Capitol Hill shifted to the House, where gay U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) was expected to clash with famed conservative leader and failed Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork. Frank and Bork were scheduled to be among the witnesses at a hearing Thursday, May 13, on the FMA before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution.

Frank was expected to be the only Democratic witness at the Republican-organized hearing. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-Colo.), the author and lead sponsor of the FMA, was also scheduled to testify at the House hearing.

Dems not backing down
Gay Democratic leaders, meanwhile, expressed concern this week that claims that Senate Democrats were backing away from their earlier commitment defeat the FMA were off-base.

The flap surfaced when NGLTF executive director Matt Foreman stated in a guest editorial in the Washington Blade on May 7 that a pledge last year by Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) that Senate Democrats would vote to kill the Federal Marriage Amendment may no longer be in effect if the wording of the anti-gay amendment changes to clearly preserve civil unions.

“We’ve since discovered that the Daschle pledge was a classic display of Washington legalese,” Foreman wrote in his editorial. “You see, it apparently applied only to ‘the’ Federal Marriage Amendment as written last year. If the amendment is reworded so it still outlaws same-sex marriage anywhere in the country but leaves the door open to state-based domestic partnerships or civil unions, all bets are off,” he wrote.

Foreman said he based his assertion on conversations that Task Force officials and supporters in the field have had in recent weeks with key Democratic senators and Senate staff members.

Rep. Frank and veteran gay Democratic strategist Jeff Trammell, who was named last month as a campaign adviser to Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, called Foreman’s assertions inaccurate and unfair. The two insist that Senate Democrats are steadfastly opposed to a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage and would help defeat such an amendment in a Senate vote that could come as early as this summer.

“Matt is flatly wrong,” Trammell said. “He’s a smart guy who occasionally makes mistakes.”

Trammell said he spoke in person with Daschle last week.

“He’s as solid as a rock,” in his opposition to a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, Trammell said.

Frank, who has led efforts in the House to oppose the FMA, called Foreman’s account “silly.” He said his own sources on Capitol Hill inform him that the Senate is poised to defeat the FMA, with an “overwhelming” vote by Senate Democrats against it.

Battle of priorities
Foreman said his editorial was generated, in part, by his frustration that a possible softening of opposition to the FMA by Senate Democrats would force the Task Force and other gay organizations to expend resources in a Senate fight to defeat the FMA. He would much rather use those resources to fight anti-gay marriage amendments that have surfaced in the states, Foreman said.

Foreman noted that Jacques and other HRC leaders have also expressed concern that a multi-million dollar lobbying campaign by social conservative groups could intimidate a number of Democratic senators to back some form of a constitutional ban on gay marriage.

Jacques said HRC ...