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Covering The DC Metro Area Jerry Falwell takes back remarks made after the attacks On Thursday, September 13th, just two days after the terrorist attacks, Jerry Falwell appeared as a guest on "The 700 Club". During his appearance, he said "I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America, I point the finger and say, quote ‘You helped this happen.’". Pat Robertson responded by stating "Well, I totally concur and the problem is we have adopted their agenda at the highest levels of our government". Pat Robertson quickly tried to distance himself from those comments, but he has also found himself having to answer to them. The New York Times reported this story on Friday, September 14th. The criticism that both men have received has been unseen before with such high profile "religious" leaders. The fact that both of these men have had to apologize for their comments shows a real step forward. This attack happen to all Americans. Pointing to a few groups of people to place the blame on makes us no better then the terrorist who hijacked those planes. We here at DCDykes.com are glad to see that this story did not get pushed aside at a time when there was so much news to report. We are posting the comments that were posted on www.falwell.com on September 20th. This is the exact text as listed on the site and has been posted here without permission. Jerry
Falwell Apologizes Last Thursday during an appearance on the 700 Club, in the midst of the shock and mourning of a dark week for America, I made a statement that I should not have made and which I sincerely regret. I apologize that, during a week when everyone appropriately dropped all labels and no one was seen as liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican, religious or secular, I singled out for blame certain groups of Americans. This was insensitive, uncalled for at the time, and unnecessary as part of the commentary on this destruction. The only label any of us needs in such a terrible time of crisis is that of 'American.' I obviously did not state my theological convictions very well and I stated them at a bad time. During the difficult weeks ahead there will be much discussion about the judgment of God. It is a worthy discussion for all of us at a time when we are reminded of the fleeting nature of life itself, but it is a complicated discussion. I do not know if the horrific events of September 11 are the judgment of God, but if they are, that judgment is on all of America--including me and all fellow sinners--and not on any particular group. My statements were understandably called divisive by some, including those whom I mentioned by name in the interview. This grieves me, as I had no intention of being divisive. In conclusion, I blame no one but the hijackers and terrorists for the barbaric happenings of September 11. We know, as
Abraham Lincoln anguished in his second inaugural address, that
"The Almighty has his own purposes," but as he said,
"The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether." 
Va.
GOP Attacks Democrats on Gays By Craig Timberg
All three candidates on the ticket headed by the Democratic nominee for governor, Mark R. Warner, today called the Republican ads misrepresentations of their records. Gay rights organizations, including a group of gay men and lesbians who are Republicans, criticized the ads as distorted, divisive and irrelevant to the election. Republicans are unapologetic. Warner's GOP rival, Mark L. Earley, has touted his "Virginia values, not Vermont values," a reference to a state that recognizes gay civil unions. The GOP nominee for lieutenant governor, Jay Katzen, has been quoted in a Richmond magazine as saying that AIDS is a product of people choosing to be homosexuals. The Republican Party ads that started this week on mostly rural radio stations feature a man and a woman talking about several policy positions supposedly held by the Democrats, though only Warner's name is mentioned. The ad never makes clear that Warner has voiced opposition to legalizing gay unions. The man says of the Democratic candidates, "One of them wants to legalize gay marriage in Virginia." The woman responds: "Wait. Gay marriage in Virginia?" The man continues: "Oh, you haven't heard the worst of it. Mark Warner opposed welfare reform and the abolition of parole for violent felons." The ad ends by saying, "This message brought to you by the other guys, the ones who share your values . . . the Republican Party of Virginia." The tactics are similar to those used by U.S. Sen. George Allen (R) last year in his successful campaign against Democratic incumbent Charles S. Robb, when he portrayed Robb as out of step with Virginians. Allen coined the term "Vermont values" to describe Robb and made frequent reference to Robb's support for allowing gays to serve in the military and his opposition to a bill that would have blocked federal recognition of gay civil unions. Similar tactics have emerged in campaigns across the nation, said Winnie Stachelberg, political director for the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay political group. She said the attacks are becoming less common but are still polarizing. "This kind of appealing to fear and bigotry has no place in campaigns in 2001," Stachelberg said. Ed Matricardi, executive director of the Republican Party of Virginia, said the radio ads are fair because Warner and his running mates are portraying themselves as centrists, not the liberals Matricardi said they really are. "We don't think we've gone that far out on a limb," Matricardi said. "It's overwhelming. . . . The people of Virginia do not support gay marriages." Earley spokesman David B. Botkins said the issue illustrates "how Mark Warner and his ticket mates are out of step and out of touch with the majority of Virginians." The GOP ad campaign grows out of comments made by Timothy M. Kaine, the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, at a debate in May, before the party primary's election. Kaine, the mayor of Richmond and a civil rights lawyer, said he supported the right of gay men and lesbians to enjoy the "civil benefits" of married couples, such as the ability to hold property and pass it to heirs. He added, "I also believe that civil benefits that are accorded to heterosexual married couples should also be accorded to gay and lesbian couples in long-term relationships." Some newspapers reported the next day that Kaine supported legalizing gay civil unions. Republicans have amplified those reports in their mailings and in the radio ad. Kaine vehemently denied today that that was his position, saying that although he opposes discrimination against homosexuals and believes that the state's hate-crimes law should protect gays, he is against allowing homosexuals to marry or to join in a legally recognized civil union. He also blasted Republicans for seeking to use the issue against him and Warner. "It's a campaign of bigotry and division," Kaine said. "Virginia's seen a lot of that in its history, and it's never done one good thing for the state." In reply, Katzen issued a statement accusing Kaine of distortions and asked, "Just what civil benefits do you have in mind for gay and lesbian couples, Mr. Kaine?" Last month, Katzen was quoted in Richmond's Style Weekly magazine as saying: "AIDS is the product, sadly, in most cases of a choice that people have made. . . . We recognize that homosexuality is a choice. It's a lifestyle with public health consequences." David Lampo, a spokesman for Log Cabin Republicans of Virginia, a group of gay Republicans, said the candidates should stick to more important issues such as tax policy and transportation. He added that club members were discouraged by the Republican mailings and the radio ad and would register their discontent with party leaders. "If the Republican Party is going to grow, then it has to be an open, inclusive party," Lampo said. © 2001 The Washington Post Company Printed without permission from the Washington Post website. Read the story along with additional history on this story at the Washington Post website.
Count
of Gay Couples Up 300% By D'Vera
Cohn Nearly 1.2 million people say they are part of gay and lesbian couples in the United States, and though most live in metropolitan areas, nearly one in six lives in a rural community, according to 2000 Census numbers released today. Three Washington jurisdictions -- the District, Alexandria and Arlington County -- ranked among the top 10 in concentration of gay households, according to an analysis by Urban Institute researcher Gary Gates. The Washington metro area ranked fourth -- behind San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles -- in the number of heavily gay neighborhoods. The census counted nearly as many lesbian couples as gay male couples -- a change from 1990, when many more males were recorded. That helps explain the sharp increase in same-sex couples in rural areas, where, the census shows, lesbians are more likely to live. Despite the increase, though, advocates say the number of gay couples reported in the census figures was almost certainly low, because some people are reluctant to tell the government of their relationships, even on a confidential form. "I do believe it is the tip of the iceberg or an undercount, because while more people are comfortable being honest about their sexual orientation, the majority are not," said Jay Fisette (D), chairman of the Arlington County Board and Virginia's only openly gay elected official. The census figures released today for Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas also completed the publication of state-by-state statistics that are revealing broad changes in the makeup of American households. The figures have shown that there are now more households with single people than married-with-children households, that the two-parent family increasingly is Asian or Hispanic, and that single-father numbers rose sharply. The number of gay couples -- 594,391 -- rose more than 300 percent since the 1990 Census, which was the first to offer people the option to call themselves "unmarried partners." Of that number, 5,934 live in suburban Maryland, 4,992 in Northern Virginia and 3,678 in the District. Census Bureau officials say the increase stems partly from a change in the way the data were analyzed, but advocacy groups say most of it is because more gay couples feel comfortable reporting themselves to the government than they did a decade ago. Since the 1990 Census, domestic-partner benefits and local anti-discrimination laws have spread, and a recent Gallup poll concluded that most Americans have come to believe that homosexuality should be legal. But the decade also saw the passage of state and federal laws forbidding gay marriage. The census is not a count of the gay population, because it includes only those in couples, which other studies show is about a third of gay men and lesbians. All but 22 of the nation's 3,141 counties include at least one gay couple, according to Gates's analysis of the census figures, which was underwritten by the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights advocacy group. But same-sex couples also are highly concentrated: Nearly 40 percent live in California, Florida, New York or Texas. According to the census data, same-sex couples are most likely to live in state capitals, college towns, resort communities and big-city areas with visible gay enclaves, such as Washington. Fisette said he and his partner checked off the unmarried partner box when the census form arrived last year. It was less a political statement, he said, than a reflection of his upbringing: "My mother taught me to be honest." Fisette, who was elected in 1997, said he is not surprised that his community ranks high in its concentration of gay couples. "There's a tradition of respecting and celebrating differences here," he said. He said he hopes the census numbers can provide ammunition when county officials argue for new laws in Richmond. In 1999, a county judge struck down Arlington's ordinance allowing insurance benefits to domestic partners of county employees, ruling that Virginia communities need General Assembly permission for such laws. So far, the legislature has rejected Arlington's request. The sharpest increases in the number of gay couples -- 900 percent or more -- were in the rural states of Idaho, Wyoming and South Dakota. In Idaho, there is now a Boise Gay Couple Supper Club, which sometimes draws guests from towns 100 miles away. "We're not married -- at least they won't let us be -- therefore we had to put down something," said the co-host of the club's most recent potluck dinner, a retired government worker. He asked not to be identified by his full name because he is concerned about being targeted by anti-gay neighbors. "I wasn't going to lie and say I'm single. I'm not ashamed of the fact that we are who we are." "I also wanted them to know," he said, "that there are people out here living this life. . . . This is a large segment of the population." A spokeswoman for the Family Research Council, an organization that opposes gay marriage laws and other rights for gay men and lesbians, said gay couples actually make up a very small proportion of the U.S. population. "This is a very small percentage of the total number of households," said Kristin Hansen. Gay couples account for less than 1 percent of the nation's 105 million homes, according to the census. Furthermore, she said, "What we've seen in the numbers thus far is that homosexuals are located by and large in urban areas. The fact that they are located mostly in cities does not indicate that homosexuality is widespread." © 2001 The Washington Post Company Printed without permission from the Washington Post website. Read the story along with additional history on this story at the Washington Post website |
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