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Jane Kidd, chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia, pledged the party would fight back if Republicans try to ban gay adoption in the state. (Photo courtesy electjanekidd.com)
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HOME > NEWS > LOCAL
By: MATT SCHAFER
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The two candidates vying to top the national Democratic ticket, Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, support civil unions for gay couples. The last person to top the state Democratic ticket, 2006 gubernatorial nominee Mark Taylor, opposed banning job discrimination based on sexual orientation.
While Democrats at the national level have grown increasingly supportive of gay civil rights issues, the state party has remained largely silent, not even fighting back against the 2004 gay marriage amendment that helped solidify Republican control over state government. But at a pair of fundraisers April 18, Democratic Party of Georgia Chairperson Jane Kidd told gay donors that would change.
The Gay Lesbian Leadership Council of the Democratic National Committee hosted an off-the-record fundraiser at the Vaknin Gallery in Midtown, followed by dinner at local attorney Paul Horning’s home. Kidd and openly gay DNC Treasurer Andy Tobias spoke and took questions from the attendees.
The reception at the Vaknin Gallery carried a suggested minimum donation of $50; “hosts” paid $1,000 to attend both the reception and the private dinner.
“It went really well,” Horning said. “We held a small donation event so we could open it up to more people and we had a diverse group and that’s always good to see.”
Harry Harkins attended the fundraisers and donated to the DNC, but said he hasn’t given to the state party.
“There is a distinction between the Democratic National Committee and the Georgia party. I think that the DNC has been much more supportive of the GLBT community than the state party ever has been,” he said.
Kidd agreed with that assessment and told the donors they were working to bridge that gap.
“There is a difference between what may be possible in the nation and what may be possible in the South,” she said. “Our goals would be in line with the national, but we have a very practical and realistic view on how much time it will take.”
While the 2008 Democratic platform will be drafted in August at the national convention in Denver, the 2004 platform included language calling for “full inclusion of gay and lesbian families in the life of our nation and seek equal responsibilities, benefits, and protections for these families.” Georgia’s 2004 Democratic platform made no mention of gay men and lesbians.
The national Democratic platform also decried the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment to ban same-sex marriage, but added that the definition of marriage should be a decision left to the states. In Georgia that meant a constitutional ban on marriage went to voters in 2004 and was approved by nearly 80 percent of voters, even though same-sex marriage was already illegal in the state.
Democrats enjoyed a 35-seat majority in the state House in 2004, but still passed the bill that put the measure on the ballot.
“I don’t think that was a true indication because it was really a Republican ploy to divide Democrats and to get Republicans out to the polls for an issue,” Kidd said in an interview before the fundraiser. “It was more a political ploy than it was a philosophical read of the state of Georgia, I think.”
Gay Georgians criticized the state party for not blocking the measure before it got to the ballot. Kidd said the party was aware of an oncoming Republican tide, and many thought the vote would be a way to appease voters.
Kidd insisted the Democratic Party of Georgia has learned from its mistakes. If, as some pundits speculate, legislators may place a state constitutional amendment on the ballot to ban gay adoption, she vows a stronger fight.
“We’re always concerned about that, and we think that might happen,” Kidd said. “We’re on the lookout for [an adoption ballet initiative] and we would do our best to make sure that never gets out of committee, to make sure that our legislators don’t have to face that kind of intense ideological pressure from both sides.”
Brian Bond, the executive director of the GLLC, told Southern Voice it is important for gay Democrats not to be discouraged by Georgia party’s slower pace on gay rights.
“The old adage of taking your marbles and going home seldom changes anything, and in fact, this often has a negative impact on progress,” Bond said in an email interview. “There are many people within the state party who want to move forward and ensure greater inclusion. ...
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