Bay Area Reporter - November 1, 2007
Lisa Keen

Efforts to get Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama to distance himself from anti-gay gospel singer Donnie McClurkin had mixed success last week. Obama did issue a statement, saying he "strongly disagrees" with McClurkin's views on homosexuality. (Among other things, McClurkin has called it "abominable" and a danger to children.) He telephoned Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. He added an openly gay minister to the bill of his planned gospel concerts in South Carolina. And he issued a second statement saying he would organize a meeting to bring leaders of the LGBT and African American communities together. But, according to the New York Times political blog The Caucus, McClurkin still took to the stage Sunday night in the Obama campaign's gospel concert tour. While Obama did not attend (he was in Iowa campaigning), McClurkin used the increased spotlight on his own appearance to proclaim that "God delivered me from homosexuality." The blog speculated that "Mr. McClurkin's support for Mr. Obama could signal to some black evangelical voters that race and religion are more important than Mr. Obama's support for gay rights." About a dozen protesters held a vigil across the street from the Columbia, South Carolina, auditorium where about 2,000 Obama supporters gathered for the concert October 28.

HIV plans and pledges

Barack Obama also announced a national AIDS plan October 16. It calls for developing and implementing a "comprehensive national HIV/AIDS strategy" in his first year to "reduce HIV infections, increase access to care, and reduce HIV-related health disparities." Democrat John Edwards was the first presidential candidate to unveil a plan for combating the AIDS epidemic. On October 26, Senator Hillary Clinton (D) signed a "Presidential Pledge for Leadership on Global AIDS and Poverty." The pledge, developed by Iowans for AIDS Action and New Hampshire Fights AIDS, promises to have the U.S. spend $50 billion on HIV by 2013. Edwards and Obama signed it three days later.

Conservative plan

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney released a "12-Point Conservative Plan" to strengthen American families October 19. The plan borrows heavily from Reagan administration ideas, including a "White House Summit" and an executive order requiring that all government policies and programs include a "family impact statement." Romney took that idea a step further, saying, "I will initiate an audit of all current programs and policies which negatively impact families. And I will look to support the rights of parents who are not always consulted about decisions affecting their children. There is something wrong when a school can tell a parent that they have no right to remove their second grader from a class where they are teaching about same-sex marriage." Romney unveiled his conservative plan to a friendly audience û the class=style11>Family Research Council's "Washington Briefing: Values Voter Summit." Point number four of the 12 promises that Romney will "champion" a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. The plan also includes a commitment to defending the free exercise of religion.

Obama retort

Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama was quick to respond to remarks by outgoing Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Peter Pace last month. Speaking to a Senate hearing September 26 on the war budget, Pace said, concerning the military's policy excluding gays, that he doesn't think federal law should "condone activity that, in my upbringing, is counter to God's law." Obama released a statement the next day saying, "General Pace's comments were wrong and they play into a politics of fear that divides our nation instead of uniting us. Gay and lesbian service members are honorably fighting and dying on behalf of our nation overseas, and they deserve the full support of their military leaders. Not only is it a moral imperative, but it's in our security interest, to allow gays and lesbians to openly serve and protect America."

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