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George W. Bush, Jr. Warned by Log Cabin Republicans

Anti-Gay Comments Diminish Governor's Inclusive Image
Say: 'Pandering to Anti-Gay Cohorts Will Doom Candidacy'

Compiled By GayToday

Washington, D.C.--The nation's largest gay Republican organization strongly criticized comments on gays by Texas Governor George W. Bush (R), and warned the likely Republican presidential candidate that he will not be able to avoid addressing the issue of anti-gay intolerance in the 2000 elections.

At a press conference on March 22, Governor Bush was asked about legislation in the Texas state legislature that would ban gay individuals or couples from adopting children or providing foster care in all possible circumstances, and would order the state to remove children currently in the homes of gay people in the state.

Bush was quoted as saying: "I believe children ought to be adopted in families with a woman and a man who are married" and "I am opposed to gay adoptions." When asked if he then supported the removal of children from gay homes, he said: "I have no idea whether the children ought to be removed or not removed."

Bush further stated that he believes there is no reason to include sexual orientation a state hate crimes bill, which is moving through the Texas legislature. Since his comments at the press conference, Bush spokespersons have tried to back away, saying he would "carefully consider" legislation that comes to his desk.

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"This seems like a case of 'here we go again,'" said Rich Tafel, executive director of Log Cabin Republicans. "The Governor appears to be making the same mistake as his father made in 1992, and Bob Dole made in 1996. Pandering to the religious right in the primaries and trying to run back to the center in the general election has failed over and over again. But worse, it seems like the Governor was badly prepared to address these very serious issues."

"Governor Bush needs to understand that the gay vote is as large as the Latino vote, and it's just as Republican," Tafel said. "And when you attack gays, you have families and friends and others that make up the swing voters that you need to win a general election.

"Republicans everywhere were hoping this campaign would be different, but this might be an indication that it will be more of the same."

On the adoption issue, Tafel said: "You don't just wade into the issue of tearing children out of stable, loving homes if you want to be the leader of the free world.

"I hope the Governor will take another, much more serious look at this issue, because he needs to understand the terrible moral implications of what he said in the context of what is sitting in his own legislature right now."

On February 9, Tafel wrote to Bush about the gay adoption bills in the legislature, detailing how the bills "are so sweeping and aggressive that from an objective standpoint, their passage would do serious harm to the best interests of adoptive and foster care children in the state of Texas."

Tafel wrote that the bills "were designed merely to express a blanket intolerance towards gay people in Texas, with innocent children as political pawns."

Gov. George W. Bush

On hate crimes, Tafel observed: "If the governor believes that all of the people in Texas are protected under current laws, than he needs to be consistent and call for the end of all hate crimes legislation, and not single out gays.

"In fact, there are few states in the country with a worse record of allowing perpetrators of anti-gay violence to get off scott free than Texas.

"We are still asking Governor Bush to listen to other points of view on these issues," Tafel said. "He needs to demonstrate that he wants to be a leader of all the people."