Democratic
Party
Chair
Howard
Dean
has
contradicted
his
party's
platform
and
infuriated
gay
rights
advocates
by
saying
the
party's
platform
states
"marriage
is
between
a
man
and
a
woman."
"The
Democratic
Party
platform
from
2004
says
marriage
is
between
a
man
and
a
woman,"
Dean
said
May
10
during
a
"700
Club"
program
hosted
by
conservative
Christian
leader
Pat
Robertson
on
his
Christian
Broadcasting
Network.
That
statement
contradicts
the
Democratic
National
Committee's
official
stance,
adopted
in
2004.
The
'04
party
platform
indicates
that
marriage
is
an
issue
that
should
be
left
to
the
states
to
resolve,
taking
no
position
on
whether
or
not
states
should
marry
same-sex
couples.
"We
support
full
inclusion
of
gay
and
lesbian
families
in
the
life
of
our
nation
and
seek
equal
responsibilities,
benefits,
and
protections
for
these
families,"
the
platform
says.
The
DNC
issued
a
statement
May
11
clarifying
Dean's
remarks
on
the
"700
Club."
"I
misstated
the
Democratic
Party's
platform,
which
does
not
say
that
marriage
should
be
limited
to
a
man
and
a
woman,
but
says
the
party
is
committed
to
full
inclusion
of
gay
and
lesbian
families
in
the
life
of
our
nation
and
leaves
the
issue
to
the
states
to
decide,"
Dean
is
quoted
as
saying
in
the
statement.
"The
Democratic
Party
remains
committed
to
equal
protection
under
the
law
for
all
Americans.
How
we
achieve
that
goal
continues
to
be
the
subject
of
a
contentious
debate,
but
our
party
continues
to
oppose
constitutional
amendments
that
seek
to
short
circuit
the
debate
on
how
to
achieve
equality
for
all
Americans."
Gay
organizations
were
quick
to
criticize
Dean,
saying
this
is
just
the
latest
in
a
series
of
missteps
by
the
former
Vermont
governor
on
gay
issues.
"Howard
Dean
puts
his
foot
in
his
mouth
so
often
that
he
should
open
a
pedicure
wing
in
the
DNC
during
his
tenure,"
Log
Cabin
Republicans
President
Patrick
Guerriero
said
Wednesday.
"Howard
Dean's
positions
on
LGBT
issues
have
changed
more
often
than
the
weather
in
New
England,
where
he's
from."
The
Human
Rights
Campaign
refused
to
accept
that
Dean's
remarks
were
an
accidental
misrepresentation
of
the
party's
possition
and
issued
a
strongly
worded
statement
on
Thursday,
May
11,
condemning
the
remarks.
"Governor
Dean's
comments
weren't
a
mere
slip
of
the
tongue
but
a
glaring
reminder
of
the
governor's
lack
of
leadership
on
this
issue,"
said
Human
Rights
Campaign
President
Joe
Solmonese.
"As
we
face
a
Senate
vote
in
June
that
threatens
to
put
discrimination
in
our
Constitution,
Governor
Dean
should
not
only
have
known
better
but
he
should
have
used
the
opportunity
to
speak
out
about
the
lack
of
values
involved
in
the
current
constitutional
debate," Solmonese
said,
referring
to
the
upcoming
vote
on
the
"Marriage
Protection
Amendment,"
which
would
ban
states
from
marrying
gay
couples.
Solmonese
said
the
DNC's
clarification
was
"a
step
in
the
right
direction,"
but
that
Dean
has
failed
to
convey
a
"commitment
to
equality."
Jo
Wyrick,
interim
executive
director
of
National
Stonewall
Democrats,
a
gay
partisan
group,
also
said
that
Dean
was
not
accurately
representing
the
Democratic
Party's
views
on
marriage.
"Democrats
do
not
believe
that
the
federal
government
should
forcefully
dictate
family
policy
for
individual
states,
as
championed
by
congressional
Republicans
and
the
Bush
administration,"
she
said
in
a
statement
issued
May
10.
"Therefore,
we
strongly
point
out
that
Governor
Dean
incorrectly
spoke
when
stating
that
the
2004
Democratic
Party
platform
defines
marriage
as
between
a
man
and
a
woman."
Task
Force
returns
DNC
donation
Within
hours
of
the
program's
broadcast,
the
National
Gay
&
Lesbian
Task
Force
denounced
Dean's
misrepresentation.
"Disturbingly,
this
is
not
the
first
time
he
has
misrepresented
this
important
and
affirming
plank
[of
the
Democratic
Party
platform],
and
he
has
been
asked
before
to
correct
the
record
and
to
cease
making
these
misleading
statements,"
said
Matt
Foreman,
executive
director
of
the
Task
Force.
"Governor
Dean's
record
on
lesbian,
gay,
bisexual
and
transgender
issues
since
becoming
DNC
chair
has
been
sorely
and
sadly
lacking,"
Foreman
said.
"The
Democratic
Party
chair
should
stand
by
and
fight
for
the
party's
own
platform
and
values."
On
May
2,
Dean
fired
the
Democratic
Party's
gay
outreach
adviser
Donald
Hitchcock.
The
firing
came
less
than
a
week
after
Hitchcock's
domestic
partner,
Paul
Yandura,
a
longtime
party
activist,
accused
Dean
of
failing
to
take
adequate
steps
to
defend
gay
rights.
Foreman
said
in
response
to
Dean's
"pandering
and
insulting
interview"
with
the
Christian
Broadcasting
Network,
the
Task
Force
would
return
a
$5,000
donation
it
received
from
the
DNC.
"We
do
so
with
great
sadness,
knowing
that
the
Democratic
Party
has
long
been
a
champion
of
our
rights,"
he
said.
"We
...
