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| Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton and Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese greeted supporters at an event last week in which the New York senator endorsed several pro-gay legislative initiatives. (Photo by Judy Rolfe/HRC) |
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HOME > NEWS > NATIONAL NEWS
By: LOU CHIBBARO J COMMENTS
 
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can still be fired because of who they love,” she said.
“It is unfair, it is un-American and we’re going to put a stop to it once and for all.”
Promoting adoption
She said she would continue to push for legislation authorizing the federal government to prosecute hate crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Noting that she has long been an advocate for encouraging Americans to adopt children in need of homes, Clinton said she would try to remove barriers to gay adoptions.
“We’re going to make sure that nothing stands in the way of loving couples, gay or straight, who want to adopt children,” she said.
On the question of gays in the military, Clinton also made no mention of her husband’s role in creating the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy after Congress rejected President Clinton’s initial plan in 1993 to allow gays to serve openly.
Yet her remarks before HRC appeared to be her strongest condemnation of the gays-in-the-military policy.
“We are also going to work to end the failed policy of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ because we know that courage, honor, patriotism and sacrifice, the traits that define our men and women in uniform, have nothing to do with sexual orientation,” she said. “In fact, we are discouraging people with critical skills, including desperately needed language skills.
“This policy doesn’t just hurt gays and lesbians,” she said. “It hurts all of our troops. And this to me is a matter of national security and we’re going to fix it because we know that our nation is stronger when our best men and women can be permitted to serve if that is the choice they want to make.”
Marriage a non-issue?
Gay Democratic activist Peter Rosenstein of Washington, who is backing Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid, said he did not believe her opposition to same-sex marriage would hurt her among gay voters.
“All of the main candidates, including Senator Obama, have the exact same position that she has on gay marriage — they oppose it,” Rosenstein said. “I don’t think it’s going to be an issue in 2008.”
Clinton’s critics in New York have said that while Clinton has expressed support for civil unions, she has remained silent on whether she would push for the federal implementing legislation needed to make civil unions meaningful.
Legal experts have said that civil unions have no legal weight beyond the boundaries of the states that adopt civil unions laws, such as Vermont, Connecticut and New Jersey. And even within those states, same-sex couples joined in civil unions are ineligible for any of the more than 1,200 federal rights and benefits, including Social Securit
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