Jun 24, 2005  |  By: EARTHA MELZE  | COMMENTS     

The major party candidates for governor are now official following last week’s primary elections in Virginia.

Of the three candidates, only Democrat Tim Kaine’s campaign responded to a recent Blade request to outline positions on key issues of concern to gays in the state.

Kaine spokesperson Jeff Kraus said in an e-mail that Kaine supports equal treatment of gays and lesbians, has publicly supported including sexual orientation in Virginia’s employment anti-discrimination legislation, and opposed House Bill 751, the Marriage Affirmation Act, a measure that he says unconstitutionally limits the rights of gay Virginians to enter into private contracts.

“Tim Kaine does not believe the federal government should begin regulating marriage,” Kraus said. “Kaine believes that marriage is between one man and one woman and does not believe we need any new form of marriage in Virginia.”

The Kaine camp did not directly answer whether Kaine supports the state marriage amendment that was approved by the Virginia General Assembly this year that is expected to be put to the voters in November 2006.

Though the Kilgore campaign did not respond to Blade inquiries this week, Equality Virginia, the statewide gay rights organization, said that Kilgore has generally opposed equal rights for gays during his tenure as the state’s attorney general. He opposes marriage rights for gays and publicly criticized the Supreme Court decision in Lawrence vs. Texas, overturning sodomy laws.

“As one who believes that the courts are to interpret and not create law,” Kilgore said at the time, “I disagree with the ruling and am always disappointed when a court undermines Virginia’s right to pass legislation that reflects the views and values of our citizens.”

But Kilgore met with the Log Cabin Republican Club of Virginia, a statewide gay GOP group, in early 2003, drawing the ire of some conservative groups. And at least two conservative groups criticized Kilgore in October 2003 for signing a pledge that he would not discriminate against gay men and lesbians in his office.

The Family Foundation, a conservative group based in Virginia, issued a statement at the time criticizing Kilgore for alienating “pro-family” voters.

Kilgore hires strategist
State Senator Russell Potts (R-Winchester), the independent candidate, has publicly stated that he doesn’t think the focus of the campaign should be on gay issues. Potts has a mixed record on gay issues as state senator. In 2005, he voted to repeal the state sodomy law and to allow private companies to offer domestic partner benefits but he also voted in favor of the marriage amendment.

Several observers have pointed out that Jerry Kilgore has hired Scott Howell as a media strategist. In 2002, Howell ran the Saxby Chambliss campaign in Georgia, which successfully unseated incumbent Max Cleland in part by smearing him as unpatriotic even though Cleland lost three limbs fighting in Vietnam.

Last year, Howell ran the media campaign for John Thune, who beat incumbent Democratic leader Sen. Tom Daschle in South Dakota in part by painting Daschle, who voted for the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act and opposes gay marriage, as supportive of gay rights.

“Our biggest concern is with the tenor of the campaign,” said Dyana Mason, executive director of Equality Virginia, a statewide gay rights organization.

If the Kilgore campaign does gay-bait, “In the long run it is going to backfire just like race baiting backfires,” Mason said. “I would caution them to engage in honest discussion and avoid baiting, that would only hurt Virginia and LGBT people in Virginia.”

“I think that if they push it too far, this idea that being anti-gay can get them votes is going to hurt them,” Mason said. “They don’t want to go so far out of the mainstream that they can’t represent their constituencies.”

Mason said that Equality Virginia is not going to be focusing much on the statewide races but plans to become involved in some delegate races after the Equality Virginia PAC is formed.

The Democratic candidates will probably try to avoid the subject of gay rights and the Republican candidate may bring it up to try and tar the Democrat, said Larry Sabato, professor and director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.

“Kaine has been pro gay rights at various points in his career. In 2001, when he was running ...