A Gay Guide to the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election

By Samuel Leighton-Dore

With the new season of Rupaul’s Drag Race coinciding perfectly with the Race for the White House, it’s no secret that I’ve been having a little trouble slowing down recently. I mean, there’s simply too much shade, bronzer and bitchiness (Rupaul or Donald Trump?) to look away.

But with the crazy traveling circus that is the 2016 presidential campaign starting to heat up once more, I’ve decided to forget lip-sync battles and Kim Chi’s fabulous Kim Jong Il impersonation for a moment, and take a closer look at the leading Republican and Democratic nominees and their respective histories on LGBTIQ issues.

Because this shit’s super important – and it’s one thing to jump aboard the equality train once it’s moving full-steam ahead, but it would’ve taken a truly assertive leader to support queer rights before it was considered cool to do so.

Hillary

Despite voting in support of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which barred federal recognition of gay marriage, Hillary has evolved into an avid campaigner for equality and LGBTIQ rights. In fact, she’s even been the subject of persistent lesbian rumours, which is totally dreamy but kinda beside the point.

Still, it’s hard to ignore her long stint on the dark side. Channeling her best Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada, she, along with the vast majority of U.S. politicians at the time, consistently sided with the American majority – which was against same-sex marriage.

In a 2000 press conference, she said:

“Marriage has got historic, religious and moral content that goes back to the beginning of time, and I think a marriage is as a marriage has always been, between a man and a woman. But I also believe that people in committed gay marriages, as they believe them to be, should be given rights under the law that recognize and respect their relationship.”

However, just like Meryl in The Devil Wears Prada, Hillary’s icy exterior melted away in the face of unrelenting humanity and kindness (along with a healthy dash of political agenda). Naw, Hill-dog! After more than a decade opposing marriage equality, Hillary finally changed her tune in 2013 – one year after President Obama did the same – with a video released by the Human Rights Campaign, in which she stated:

“LGBT Americans are our colleagues, our teachers, our soldiers, our friends, our loved ones. And they are full and equal citizens, and they deserve the rights of citizenship. That includes marriage. That’s why I support marriage for lesbian and gay couples. I support it personally and as a matter of policy and law, embedded in a broader effort to advance equality and opportunity for LGBT Americans and all Americans.”

Despite her apparent flip-flopping on several LGBTIQ issues, Hillary has continued to win herself a legion of queer supporters.

Bernie

“Bern, baby, Bern – disco inferno”.

Bernie Sanders has recently emerged as a strong contender for the Democratic candidacy, partly due to his strong affinity with young voters and marginalised communities – and there’s good reason.

In 1983, as mayor of Burlington, Bernie Sanders signed a Gay Pride Day proclamation calling LGBTIQ equality a civil rights issue. Better yet, he was one of just 67 members in the House of Representatives to vote against the Defense of Marriage Act, a politically daring decision he still prides himself on and regularly points to as proof of his progressive roots. Sanders also opposed Don’t Ask Don’t Tell in 1993 and supported civil unions in Vermont in 2000.

However, despite opposing the aforementioned discriminatory laws, Sanders didn’t openly support marriage equality until as late as 2009 – significantly later than he’s now leading the public to believe. In fact, he’s been criticised by some for sitting on the fence while many prominent Democrats, including Sanders’ successor as mayor of Burlington and a gubernatorial nominee, spoke out in favor of gay marriage.

Peter Freyne, a lauded writer and political reporter in Vermont, said at the time that, “Obtaining Congressman Bernie Sanders’ position on the gay marriage issue was like pulling teeth… from a rhinoceros.”

Still, when it comes to the LGBTIQ community, Bernie easily boasts the strongest and most consistent track-record.

Donald

Firstly, we’re talking about a man who reckons the LGBTIQ community should support him because he once held the Miss Universe pageant in Russia. Which is a little like saying that Mexican migrants should support him because he enjoys the occasional burrito.

There’s no denying that Trump has been a consistent opponent of marriage equality. He once claimed that he opposed it because he was a “traditional” guy, choosing to support domestic partnership benefits instead. However, not wanting to be mistaken as a somewhat decent human, Trump later hit the reverse and said he also opposed civil unions.

After the Supreme Court ruling, Trump said the court had made its decision and, although he disagreed with the ruling, he did not support a constitutional amendment that would allow states to re-ban marriage equality. However, he later said he would make it a priority to appoint Supreme Court judges who would be committed to overturning the ruling.

Nice one Trumpy.

Again, it’s probably important to remember that we’re talking about a man who compared his opposition of marriage equality to his dislike of long putters in golf. So, yeah… There’s that.
Ted

Ted Cruz is perhaps the scariest prospect for the LGBTIQ community, mostly because he seems to have the intelligence and broad conservative/religious appeal to back up his hateful rhetoric.

Okay, so here are some bullet-points: Not only has he consistently opposed marriage equality, but he believes that being gay is a personal choice and has refused to speak out against conversion therapy. He has also openly attacked other Republicans for marching in pride parades – and warns of the queer agenda working towards “mandatory gay marriage”.

Shudder.

As Solicitor General, Ted Cruz led the charge to deny Texas couples marriage equality, while also working in Senate to support a constitutional amendment that would prevent the federal government from recognizing marriage equality. He has said that a ruling in favor of marriage equality was “fundamentally illegitimate” and promised to campaign “front and center” on his opposition to marriage equality.

Basically, if Heaps Gay were given the chance to eject ONE Republican nominee into space without a helmet…