OCTOBER 11, 1996 GAY PEOPLE's ChroniclE

9

ELECTION 1996

Kucinich, Coyne will support gays in Congress

by Doreen Cudnik

Cleveland-While much of the talk this election season revolves around the presidential race, the outcome of two key congressional races stand to have a major impact on the gay, lesbian and bisexual community in northern Ohio.

In the 10th District, which covers most of

Dennis Kucinich

one else will succumb to the poisonous gas of discrimination." He added that ENDA will be a first step toward knocking down the walls of discrimination.

To help send Kucinich to Congress, Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., will be in Cleveland on Friday, October 11 for a fundraiser at Swingo's on the Lake, followed by a private reception.

DOREEN CUDNIK

Cleveland's West Side and most western suburbs including Lakewood and Parma, state senator and former Cleveland mayor Dennis Kucinich hopes to unseat two-term Republican incumbent Rep. Martin Hoke.

In the 19th District, Brook Park mayor Tom Coyne hopes that his third run for Congress will be the charm. The 19th District seat is currently held by Republican Steven C. LaTourette, and covers all of Lake and Ashtabula counties as well as the outer eastern and southern suburbs of Cleveland.

LaTourette is a first-term member, elected in 1994 to a seat previously held by Democrat Eric Fingerhut.

The voting records of LaTourette and Hoke indicate that they vote with Newt Gingrich over 90 percent of the time. Both incumbents supported the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act, while opposing the pro-gay Employment Non-Discrimination Act. On the other hand, challengers Kucinich and Coyne have publicly expressed strong support for ENDA.

"My politics are a politics of inclusion, of expanding the definition of freedom and justice in this country," Kucinich said, "And we need to make everyone full participants."

"[Tom Coyne] is not for discriminating against anybody, especially not on the basis of sexual orientation," said Erin Sullivan, Coyne's executive assistant.

In a meeting with members of Cleveland's gay, lesbian and bisexual community on September 17, Kucinich called the Senate's narrow defeat of ENDA "discouraging for people who want to see an end to discrimination."

"I can tell you that as a member of Congress, I will be a vote and a voice for ENDA, and I will insist on equal rights," Kucinich said. "It's absolutely abhorrent that anyone would be subject to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation." Kucinich likened members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities to the canaries that coal miners used to send into the mines so they could find out if there was poisonous gas present.

“In a sense,” he said, “members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community are society's canaries. Because if their rights aren't protected, then every-

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The decision to bring the openly-gay Frank in to campaign for Kucinich has been met with some skepticism from people within his own party, and some believe that Hoke will use the occasion as an opportunity to gay-bash. But Kucinich believes the visit will be a great opportunity to reach out to a broad-based group of support-

ers.

"Let me tell you something," Kucinich said, “Barney Frank is a wonderful congressman and he's a friend of mine. And I'm going to work with him [in Congress] to create educational and economic opportunities. Because that's what we need to do to make a better America."

Whether or not it is related to Frank's visit, Hoke did play the gay card in a recent paid advertisement in the Plain Dealer, saying that "Kucinich allies funnel millions of dollars into such radical groups as... the Human Rights Campaign Fund, which advocates spousal benefits for same-sex domestic partners, a cause Kucinich supports. Are these

your values?”

The advertisement also names the National Abortion Rights Action League as one of these "radical” groups, but fails to mention that Kucinich is pro-life, and that as a state senator, he voted against socalled "partial birth” abortioffs.

"I believe that life begins at conception," Kucinich said, "but I do admit to having some questions about how effective government can be in this area.” He added that as a member of Congress, he would not vote to appropriate funds for abortion.

"While I believe that life begins at conception, I don't believe it ends at birth," Kucinich said. "I'm very concerned about some of the social and economic conditions that help to create a climate where abortion is an option that is more often considered. These problems must be addressed. If we're going to take a stand on behalf of life, then we need to do that consistently, not just as a matter of dogma, but as a matter of faith in our fellow human beings."

He added that the abortion debate is "an

Auto Life

area that requires the utmost sensitivity," and that an elected official needs to be "very careful to listen to what women have to say" about this issue.

In addition to their support of equal rights for all Americans, including gays and lesbians, both Kucinich and Coyne have reputations as friends of working people, the middle class, and the disenfranchised, while their opponents are viewed as the protecters of big business and America's wealthy citizens.

Cleveland city council member Dale Miller, pinch-hitting for Kucinich at a recent "Boot Newt" rally held at Democratic headquarters, said that "the Newt Gingrich

Congress has been about cutting Medicare, cutting Medicaid, cutting education, and doing away with efforts to improve the environment.'

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"This contract with America that we've had in the last two years of Clinton is clearly not what the people want and what the people voted for two years ago," Miller said. "When the government doesn't serve the people, we have the opportunity to boot them out. We're going to boot out Newt and Republicans Martin Hoke and Steve LaTourette and bring in a Democratic Congress to work with Bill Clinton and build a bridge to the 21st century."

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