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novcmkwr 21, 1987 ▼
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by Bob Roehr
’m delighted to be here.”
W ith that simple phrase Bill Clinton
became the first sitting president to attend
a gay and lesbian event. The symbolism far
outweighed the words he spoke, and the
audience roared back its appreciation.
A capacity crowd o f 1,500 tuxedoed and
gowned supporters o f the Human Rights Cam
paign paid $250 a plate to gather at the Grand
Hyatt a half dozen blocks from the W hite House
for the Nov. 8 gala dinner.
Celebs Ellen DeGeneres and Anne Heche,
dressed in matching white dinner jackets, quietly
slipped in through the back door. Applause, then
a standing ovation, rippled like a wave before
them as they worked their way down the barely
perceivable main aisle o f the crowded room to
ward the head table.
Elizabeth Birch, H R C ’s executive director,
told the audience, “ Because our needs were al
most as great as our expectations, it was inevi
table that we— you and this community— would
including you and those you represent— have got
to be a part of it.
He restated his support o f END A. “ Being gay,
the last time I thought about it, seemed to have
nothing to do with the ability to read a balance
book, fix a broken bone, or change a spark plug,”
he told the crowd.
“W hat counts is energy and honesty and tal
ent. No arbitrary distinction should bar the w ay,”
he continued. “When we deny opportunity be
cause of ancestry or religion, race or gender,
disability or sexual orientation, we break the
compact. It is wrong and it should be illegal.”
While Clinton discussed ENDA, he did not
mention another bill he signed into law, the De
fense o f Marriage Act, aimed at preventing the
legalization of same-sex unions.
At two points during his speech, Clinton was
briefly interrupted by protesters from ACT UP
who shouted, “People with AIDS are dying.”
The chief executive shrugged it off, saying,
“I ’d have been disappointed if you hadn’t been
“We all know there
is continuing
discrimination against
gays and lesbians, ”
the president told
the crowd “But we
also know that if we
are ever going
to build one America,
then all Americans
including you and
those you represent
have got to be
a part of it. ”
.
—
—
President Clinton
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experience both shared disappointment and some
disagreement. But, Mr. President, you have played
a brave and powerful and indispensable role in the
march toward justice for us, and all Americans.
We ask only to be treated as other Americans
would wish to be treated if, as they grew up, they
found themselves in our place.”
Birch em phasized areas o f com m onalty with
C linton, particularly support for the federal Em-
» ploym ent N on-D iscrim ination Act, which HRC
has made the cornerstone o f its legislative
agenda. She avoided areas in w hich HRC and
Clinton disagree, including allow ing openly gay
and lesbian people to serve in the m ilitary and
granting equal m arriage rights for sam e-sex
couples.
here tonight.” He defended his record to thunder
ous applause. It was the only time he mentioned
the subject of HIV during his remarks.
Clinton also asked for support in the confirm a
tion fight for Bill Lann Lee, his nominee for
assistant attorney general for civil rights. Many
Republican senators oppose Lee because of his
strong support for affirmative action.
Clinton met backstage with DeGeneres, but
declined to do so on camera. The actress was there
to receive an award for coming out last spring.
Clinton did not express an opinion about the
fact that the television comedy series Ellen re
cently portrayed its lead character as coming out
of the closet. (Vice President A1 Gore recently
came under fire from conservatives for praising
Ellen in a Hollywood speech.
he president, his voice edged with huski
Also honored were Dorothy Height and Wade
ness, spoke of the numerous lesbians and
Henderson of the Leadership Conference on Civil
Rights.
gay men serving in his administration, from
special assistant Virginia Apuzzo to Hal Creel at Outside the hotel, protesters occupied three
the Maritime Administration.
different street comers. About 10 members of the
“ I want us to come together across all our lines
aggressively anti-gay Fred Phelps clan from Kan
o f differences into one America. That is my
sas stood on one corner with signs reading “God
vision,” said Clinton, who received a three-minute
Hates Fags.”
standing ovation and cheers.
Another group o f demonstrators protested
“We all know there is continuing discrim ina
Clinton’s “legitimatization” o f “the homosexual
tion against gays and lesbians,” the president told
lifestyle,” but tried to disassociate themselves
the crowd. “ But we also know that if we are ever
from Phelps. Their signs read, “Ellen Can Change.”
going to build one America, then all Americans—
AIDS activists occupied the other corner.
T