BOSTON
—
Gays
participated
in
the
Democratic
National
Convention
in
greater
numbers
and
in
higher-level
positions
than
ever
before,
pledging
to
pull
out
all
the
stops
to
help
elect
John
Kerry
president.
A
record
contingent
of
at
least
252
gay,
lesbian,
bisexual
and
transgendered
Democrats
—
serving
as
delegates,
alternate
delegates
and
convention
standing
committee
members
—
downplayed
Kerry’s
opposition
to
gay
marriage
and
gladly
embraced
the
Kerry
campaign’s
call
to
stay
on
"message."
For
the
first
time
ever,
an
openly
gay
person,
U.S.
Rep.
Tammy
Baldwin
(D-Wis.),
delivered
a
speech
before
a
Democratic
convention
during
a
prime-time
television
hour.
Baldwin
was
also
selected
as
a
convention
vice-chair,
another
first
for
an
openly
gay
person.
Baldwin,
who
was
assigned
to
discuss
the
party’s
plans
for
expanding
health
care
for
Americans,
did
not
mention
that
she
is
a
lesbian
or
discuss
specific
gay
issues,
although
she
said
health
care
coverage
should
include
"domestic
partners."
Gay
Democratic
activists
nevertheless
called
Baldwin’s
appearance
"historic,"
saying
the
party
designated
her
as
a
prime
time
speaker
knowing
that
her
status
as
a
lesbian
would
be
viewed
as
a
symbolic
advance
for
gay
rights
causes.
Gay
U.S.
Rep.
Barney
Frank
(D-Mass.),
who
addressed
the
convention
at
6:15
p.m.
on
July
29,
the
final
night
of
the
convention,
spoke
openly
about
gay
issues
and
gay
marriage.
He
described
himself
and
the
National
Stonewall
Democrats,
of
which
he
is
the
founder,
as
the
"gay,
lesbian,
transgendered
and
bisexual
wing
of
the
Democratic
Party."
Frank
appeared
to
join
the
Rev.
Al
Sharpton
in
becoming
the
only
two
speakers
to
take
liberties
from
the
Kerry
campaign’s
call
for
toning
down
controversial
subjects.
Frank
was
the
only
speaker
to
come
out
strongly
for
gay
marriage
and
one
of
only
a
few
that
mentioned
transgendered
persons.
"[W]hen
two
people
are
in
love
and
they
are
willing
to
be
morally
and
legally
committed
to
each
other
and
financially
responsible
for
each
other,
that
if
they
are
prepared
to
get
married,
it’s
a
good
thing
for
the
stability
of
society,"
Frank
said.
Similar
to
most
of
the
4,322
delegates
and
611
alternates
attending
the
convention,
nearly
all
members
of
the
gay
contingent
said
they
understood
the
term
"message"
to
mean
doing
everything
possible
to
oust
George
W.
Bush
from
the
White
House
in
the
November
election,
even
if
it
means
downplaying
controversial
issues
they
deem
important.
Among
those
leading
the
clarion
call
for
this
strategy
was
gay
civil
rights
attorney
Mary
Bresslow,
the
lead
attorney
in
the
Massachusetts
Supreme
Judicial
Court
case
that
led
to
the
legalization
of
same-sex
marriage
in
that
state.
"John
Kerry
has,
by
far,
the
best
record
on
our
issues
than
any
presidential
candidate
in
American
history,"
she
said
Wednesday
at
a
meeting
of
the
gay
convention
contingent.
Bresslow
and
veteran
gay
Democratic
activist
Jeff
Trammell
serve
as
co-chair
of
the
Kerry
campaign’s
gay
outreach
committee.
"We
all
know
what
we’re
here
for,"
said
David
Meadows,
president
of
D.C.’s
Gertrude
Stein
Democratic
Club.
"We
may
not
be
pleased
with
Mr.
Kerry’s
position
on
gay
marriage,
but
we
know
he’s
far,
far
better
than
Bush
on
all
the
issues
that
matter
to
us
and
that
matter
to
Democrats."
Kerry
has
said
he
supports
civil
unions
over
gay
marriage
and
has
pledged
to
push
for
legislation
that
would
provide
the
same
rights
and
benefits
to
same-sex
couples
in
civil
unions
and
domestic
partnerships
as
those
enjoyed
by
heterosexual
married
couples.
Kerry
and
his
vice
presidential
running
mate,
Senator
John
Edwards
(D-N.C.),
have
said
they
strongly
oppose
a
constitutional
amendment
to
ban
same-sex
marriage,
saying
they
favor
allowing
states
to
decide
the
issue
of
gay
marriage
as
well
as
civil
unions.
His
gay
supporters
note
that
Kerry
has
embraced
virtually
every
other
gay
civil
rights
initiative,
including
a
federal
gay
civil
rights
bill
banning
employment
discrimination
against
gays
and
legislation
giving
the
federal
government
authority
to
prosecute
anti-gay
hate
crimes.
Kerry
has
said
he
opposes
the
"Don’t
Ask,
Don’t
Tell"
policy
on
gays
in
the
military
and
would
push
for
allowing
gays
to
serve
openly.
With
the
approval
of
the
Kerry
campaign,
the
Democratic
Convention’s
Platform
Committee
earlier
this
year
included
these
and
other
gay
rights
proposals
in
the
party’s
platform.
Gay
civil
rights
attorney
Roberta
Achtenberg,
who
served
as
an
assistant
secretary
of
housing
during
the
Clinton
administration,
read
the
"gay"
planks
in
the
platform
in
a
brief
speech
before
the
convention
on
Monday.
Achtenberg’s
speech,
which
took
place
about
6:30
p.m.,
when
few
outlets
other
than
C-Span
and
public
television
stations
covered
the
convention,
was
one
of
the
few
speeches
during
the
first
three
days
of
the
convention
that
touched
on
gay
issues.
Among
other
things,
Achtenberg
pointed
out
that
the
platform
calls
for
"full
inclusion"
of
gay
and
lesbian
families
in
the
life
of
the
nation
and
expresses
support
for
"equal
responsibilities,
benefits
and
protections"
for
those
families.
Achtenberg
and
Baldwin
were
two
of
six
open
gays
scheduled
to
speak
at
the
convention.
Andrew
Tobias,
the
gay
treasurer
of
the
Democratic
National
Committee,
and
Jim
Stork,
the
former
mayor
of
Wilton
Manors,
Fla.,
near
Fort
Lauderdale,
and
a
candidate
for
the
U.S.
House
of
Representatives,
spoke
on
Monday
night
and
Tuesday
...
