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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (May 5, 2000)
Just mat • may 5,2000 FTÎVïTîTm news P ress C onference Queer media mavens mull over the movement, marriage, money and presidential prospects by Bob Rœhr Superstorec a The Hyundai Advantage/America’s Best Warranty 10 Year/100,000 Mile Warranty 2000 Accent APR as low as 3.9% •j . . QJ upto , 42 MPG • 5-speed • Air bags • And much more ~ Rgi !i-: 2000 Elantra GLS don’t think that any president has ever put us in such a favorable light, in terms of rhetoric,” said writer Andrew Sullivan, former editor of The New Republic, referring to Bill Clinton. “However, I think it is also true that no presi dent in history has ever done as much tangible damage to gay people, signing the Defense of Marriage Act, throwing more than twice as many people out of the military as his predeces- _ »» sors. Sullivan was part of a lively April 27 forum held at the National Press Club and sponsored by the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association. Exchanges among the five pan elists were spirited. “We have to distinguish between nice ference for us between a President Gore and a President Bush. The difference is, with a Presi dent Gore we will have a seat at the table. Maybe it is not the best seat at the table, but it is a seat at the table. With Bush, we barely have our foot in the door.” “If George Bush is elected president, the wel come mat at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue will be snatched away,” chimed Jonathan Capehart, leader of the Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial team at the New York Daily News. It was no surprise the issue of marriage popped up. “Marriage is such a hot button word that peo ple get irrational,” said Capehart. If Vermont can give gays all of the benefits of marriage without actually calling it that, then Detroit News columnist Deb Price (left) and Jonathan Capehart of the Daily News $750 rebate or APR as low as 3.5% Automatic • A/C AM/FM cassette Cruise control Carpeted floor mats Mud guards • Tilt / ■» 2000 Sonata V-6 GLS APR as low as 0.9% V-6 170 hp Premium AM/FM CD Keyless entry Pwr pkg Cruise control HH | | 2000 Tiburon $500 rebate or APR as low as 5.9% • • • • • • Sun roof • Rear spoiler 100 Watt AM/FM CD/cass. Keyless entry Pwr wlndows/locks Premium wheels Window tint Must present ad at time of purchase THE AND LOVE LOW of CARS PRICES Conveniently located out 122nd Way just south of Stark Street $0 down • Low Payments. • Low APR 503-257-2420 • 800-460-5275 Rebates and special interest rates assigned to customer. Dealer retains all incentives. All vehicles subject to prior sale. Actual vehicles may differ from those pictured. Vehicles plus tax, tag, license, $35 doc foe & subject to credit approval. See dealer for full details. rhetoric and giving jobs to people who give you money.. .and then shaft the gay agenda at every possible opportunity," Sullivan continued. “That is the Clinton-Gore strategy. I don’t see any reason why it will not continue to be so.” Sullivan said he believes there is “no huge difference” between what Al Gore or George W. Bush would do as president on gay-specific issues. But he did concede that Gore would per haps be marginally better. Lisa Keen, executive editor of the The Wash ington Blade and The New York Blade News, dis agreed. I have no doubt that there is a very big dif- “(I don’t] see how I could be against that,” he added. In response, Sullivan brought up the Supreme Court decision in Loving vs. Virginia, which struck down the state’s interracial mar riage ban on constitutional grounds. He asked Capehart, who is African American, whether he would have been happy calling interracial marriage a domestic partnership. Capehart stumbled, but finally answered, “No.” “So you think that the right to interracial marriage is a deeper one than the right to same- sex marriage?” Sullivan persisted.
