Where Do the Top 2008 Presidential Candidates Stand on Gay and Lesbian Issues?

A good friend of mine asked me if I would blog about the 2008 presidential candidate's stance on GLBT issues. Since the elections seem to be weighing on many peoples minds lately, I decided to take on the task. However, since there are 5 major Democratic candidates and 7 major Republican ones, I decided to narrow my scope to the top 3 of the Democratic Party and the Top 4 of the Republican Party.

So let me introduce you to you our 7 players:
The top three Democratic candidates are: Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards,

The Top Four Republican candidates are: Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, John McCain, and Mike Huckabee.

The main GLBT issues/questions for this upcoming 2008 election are as follows:

• Do the candidates Support or Oppose including sexual orientation and gender identity in the Employment Non-Discrimination Act?



• Do the candidates Support or Oppose funding for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment through funding initiatives such as the Ryan White Act and the Early Treatment for HIV Act?



• Do the candidates Support or Oppose doing away with “Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell?”



• Do the candidates Support or Oppose including sexual orientation and gender identity in hate crime legislation, especially Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act of 2005?



• Do the candidates Support or Oppose same-sex civil unions and/or domestic partnerships?



• Do the candidates Support or Oppose same-sex marriage?



• Do the candidates Support or Oppose same-sex couples adopting children?



• Do the candidates Support or Oppose the Federal Marriage Amendment, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman only?

Okay, so lets begin...

Starting with the Democrats:

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton
Announced: 31 Sep. 2007
Age: 59
Occupation: Lawyer, U.S. Senator
Current Job / Position: Senator from New York
Residence: Chappaqua, NY
Hometown: Park Ridge, IL
Religion: United Methodist
Campaign Website







Hillary's stance on GLBT Issues:

• Supports transgender-inclusive ENDA


• Supports HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment


• Supports lifting military ban


• Supports transgender-inclusive hate crimes laws


• Supports Civil Unions


• Opposes Same-Sex Marriage


• Opposes Federal Marriage Amendment


• Supports Same-Sex Adoption

Sen. Barack Obama

Announced: 10 Feb. 2007
Age: 46
Occupation: Lawyer
Current Job / Position: Senator from Illinois
Residence: Chicago, IL
Hometown: Jakarta, Indonesia; Honolulu, HI
Religion: United Church of Christ
Campaign Website





Barack's stance on GLBT Issues:

• Supports transgender-inclusive ENDA


• Supports HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment


• Supports lifting military ban


• Supports transgender-inclusive hate crimes laws


• Supports Civil Unions


• Opposes Same-Sex Marriage


• Opposes Federal Marriage Amendment


• Supports Same-Sex Adoption

Former Sen. John Edwards
Announced: 28 Dec. 2006
Age: 54
Occupation: Trial Lawyer (litigation record)
Current Job / Position: Trial Lawyer, Director of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity
Residence: Chapel Hill, NC
Hometown: Robbins, NC
Religion: Methodist
Campaign Website






John's stance on GLBT Issues:

• Supports transgender-inclusive ENDA


• Supports HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment


• Supports lifting military ban


• Supports transgender-inclusive hate crimes laws


• Supports Civil Unions


• Opposes Same-Sex Marriage


• Opposes Federal Marriage Amendment


• Supports Same-Sex Adoption

And now for the the Republican Candidates:

Former Mayor Rudolph W. "Rudy" Giuliani
Announced: 5 February 2007
Age: 63
Occupation: Lawyer
Current Job / Position: Businessman, Consultant
Residence: New York
Hometown: Brooklyn
Religion: Catholic
Campaign Website






Rudy's stance on GLBT Issues:

• Unknown if he Supports transgender inclusive ENDA. (Supports sexual orientation inclusion, unclear about gender identity/transgender inclusion.)


• Opposes HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment


• Opposes lifting military ban (He said the issue should not be revisited during a time of war.)


• Unknown if he supports transgender inclusive hate crimes laws. (Supports sexual orientation inclusion, unclear about gender identity/transgender inclusion.)


• Supports Civil Unions


• Opposes Same-Sex Marriage


• Opposes Federal Marriage Amendment


• Unknown if he supports Same-Sex Adoption

Former Governor Mitt Romney
Announced: 13 February 2007
Age: 60
Occupation: Businessman
Current Job / Position: Candidate
Residence: MA
Hometown: Detroit, MI
Religion: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon)
Campaign Website

Mitt's stance on GLBT Issues:

• Opposes transgender-inclusive ENDA


• Opposes HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment


• Opposes lifting military ban


• Opposes transgender-inclusive hate crimes laws (When Mitt Romney ran for Senate in 1994, he favored a federal nondiscrimination law for gays and lesbians, but after his term as Massachusetts governor, he now says he no longer favors nondiscrimination laws for gays and lesbians.)


• Opposes Civil Unions


• Opposes Same-Sex Marriage


• Supports Federal Marriage Amendment


• Opposes Same-Sex Adoption

Sen. John McCain
Announced: 28 February 2007
Age: 71
Occupation: Military Officer, Politician
Current Job / Position: Senator from Arizona
Residence: AZ
Hometown: Coco-Solo, Panama Canal Zone
Religion: Baptist
Campaign Website






John's stance on GLBT Issues:

• Opposes transgender-inclusive ENDA


• Opposes HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment


• Opposes lifting military ban


• Opposes transgender-inclusive hate crimes laws


• Opposes Civil Unions


• Opposes Same-Sex Marriage


• Opposes Federal Marriage Amendment


• Unknown if he supports or Opposes Same-Sex Adoption

Former Governor Mike Huckabee
Announced: 28 January 2007
Age: 52
Occupation: Businessman, Baptist Minister
Current Job / Position: Candidate
Residence: North Little Rock, AK
Hometown: Hope, AK
Religion: Southern Baptist
Campaign Website







Mike's stance on GLBT Issues:

• Unknown if he Supports or Opposes transgender-inclusive ENDA


• Unknown if he Supports or Opposes HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment


• Opposes lifting military ban


• Opposes transgender-inclusive hate crimes laws


• Opposes Civil Unions


• Opposes Same-Sex Marriage


• Supports Federal Marriage Amendment


• Unknown if he supports or Opposes Same-Sex Adoption

If your still confused about who to vote for, I found this great website that matches your own political positions with the Presidential candidate that most closely matches your views. You can find this site at www.2008smartselect.com.


Most of the information above was gathered from the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force's website, The Washington Post, and the individual candidate's websites.