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By Christina
Almeida
Associated
Press
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| LAS VEGAS — Amid celebratory
comments about Canada’s decision to legalize
same-sex marriages, a national gay rights leader
on Saturday warned of a major fight ahead over the
issue in the United States and a backlash that
could erode the community’s hard-fought
rights.
Matthew Foreman, executive director of
the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, struck a
somber tone during a speech at the Dignity/USA
national convention in Las Vegas.
“We’ve had
this extraordinary, unprecedented, and in my mind,
terrifying, confluence of events in the past nine
weeks — something of the likes our community has
never seen,” Foreman said.
Foreman’s comments
followed last month’s high-profile opposition to
same-sex unions from President Bush and the
Vatican. Bush said he believes in the “sanctity of
marriage” between a man and a woman. The following
day the Vatican launched a global campaign against
gay marriages, warning Roman Catholics that
same-sex unions are “gravely immoral.”
“We all
have to admit we’re at a time of crisis and
peril,” Foreman said. “We are seeing a backlash
the likes of which we’ve never seen
before.”
Foreman spoke about 20 minutes to the
crowd from Dignity/USA, which is the nation’s
largest group of gay Catholics with 3,000 members.
He expressed hope that an upcoming decision from
the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court would
legalize same-sex unions. But he warned the ruling
could worsen a current backlash against gay
marriage, prompting right-wing opponents to
aggressively pursue a federal amendment defining
marriage as between a man and a woman.
“This is
armageddon for them,” he said. “They see marriage
as the ultimate gay right, and they are going to
stop it with everything they have.”
On the
Vatican’s declaration, Foreman said it prompted
feelings of anger and hurt. “The wording of that
was so hateful, so hurtful and so, frankly, evil,”
Foreman said. “It’s still hard for me to talk
about it.”
Marianne Duddy, executive director
of Dignity/USA and a lifelong Catholic, struggled
to speak about the Vatican’s stance on gay and
lesbian parents. Duddy, who lives in Boston, is in
the process of adopting a girl with her
partner.
“For the Vatican to say that’s an act
of violence against children, it was devastating
and hurtful,” Duddy said. “The Vatican never came
to talk to me or my partner. They have no business
generalizing.”
Duddy also expressed anger over
the comments considering the sex abuse scandal
that rocked the church last year. “How dare they
accuse anyone else of doing violence to children,”
she said.
For now, the gay community has the
support of Democrats, who have vowed to oppose the
federal amendment that could also include language
against domestic partnerships, Foreman said. But
Democratic support could change if that language
is eliminated and the amendment only focuses on
marriage between a man and a woman.
“I’m not
sure the Democrats would stand with us,” he
said.
Foreman urged the group to force the
issue with politicians who have received support
from the gay community in the past.
“This is
the time to stand with us. No deals, no excuses,”
he said. “We’ve let our friends off way too many
times, way too long. We can’t let it happen this
time.
“If we lose this fight, it’s not just
about gay marriage. It’s about setting all the
things we’re working towards back for decades to
come.”
©2003, Associated Press. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast,
rewritten or redistributed. |
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| NGLTF executive director Matt
Foreman . . . “We are seeing a backlash the
likes of which we’ve never seen
before.” | |
