Two Republicans endorsed by radical LGBT group in upcoming elections
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| English: Rep Robert Dold Official portrait (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
The
Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has backed two GOP members of Congress against
their Democratic opponents – specifically because the Republicans back
legislative priorities of the LGBT movement.
On Saturday, HRC announced its first set of
endorsements. Out of more than a dozen candidates for office, Senator Mark Kirk
of Illinois and Rep. Bob Dold – who took Kirk's old seat in the House –
received support due to their "strong commitment" to LGBT issues on
Capitol Hill.
Perhaps the most important contribution Kirk and Bold
have made to the LGBT agenda is their co-sponsorship of the so-called
"Equality Act," which would add sexual orientation and gender
identity to the list of federally protected demographics. Dold was the first
Republican in Congress to back the Act, while Kirk's support makes it just his
latest effort to push the homosexual agenda.
"From supporting nationwide marriage equality, to
co-sponsoring the Equality Act, these members of Congress have demonstrated a
strong commitment to equality during their terms," said HRC President Chad
Griffin in a press release. "These members of Congress are standing with
the bipartisan majority of Americans who believe that everyone, including LGBT
people, should be able to have a fair chance to earn a living, provide for
their families, and live free from fear of discrimination. HRC is proud to
support them in their re-election campaigns."
The endorsement of Kirk, who is facing Rep. Tammy
Duckworth, D-IL, in what many say could be the toughest Senate fight of the
year, was perhaps the most surprising in the list. Duckworth has a higher
scorecard ranking with HRC, which "scores" how members vote on
different pieces of legislation, but a spokesperson for the group said in an email
to The Hill that "Mark Kirk has had a strong record and scores during his
time in Congress, including votes for ENDA and HIV/AIDS funding. The scorecard
is one of several criteria used to evaluate members of Congress, but doesn't
capture their full record."
"Because the scorecard reflects the particular
mix of votes and cosponsorships that occur in each chamber during a particular
Congress, House and Senate members are not rated on the exact same
issues," said the spokesperson.
"ENDA" is short for the "Employment
Non-Discrimination Act," which would force
businesses to ignore
sexual orientation, gender identity, and other factors when hiring. Three
Senate votes were highlighted by HRC in its endorsement list, and one House
vote was highlighted.
All of the endorsed incumbents back legally redefining
marriage. Kirk was one of two Republican senators to file support with the U.S.
Supreme Court asking it to redefine marriage, which it did last year.
Both Kirk and Dold also support federal funding of Planned
Parenthood. Many pro-life activists, especially Catholics, consider marriage
and abortion two sides of the same life equation. The founder of 40 Days for
Life, David Bereit, told LifeSiteNewsat
the 2015 March for Marriage that "the various moral issues we confront in
our culture today are all intrinsically connected. When you look at the various
factors that lead to the breakdown of nations and civilizations, they are moral
factors. It's the devaluing of human life, it's the abandonment of religious
belief and practice, it's immorality – the increase thereof – and it's the
breakdown of the family."
Two LGBT activists seem to agree, at least on a
constitutional level. A prominent same-sex couple wrote in a recent op-ed that "LGBT rights and abortion
rights are inseparable" because the same privacy rights the Supreme Court
found in Roe v.
Wade were the
harbinger of the sodomy privacy laws found by the U.S. Supreme Court in
2003.
