Articles in Politics
Lima Beans for Croft, the Equality Candidate
- “I believe and have always believed that people should be free to choose their life partner and have that recognized by the state,” Croft wrote in a recent email to Alaska GLBT News. “I will continue to fight for and vote for equality.”
- Croft fought against and voted against the gay marriage constitutional ban in the Legislature in 1998.
- “In the House debate, I compared the gay marriage ban to constitutional bans in southern states against interracial marriage, and told my colleagues that we as a state would be embarrassed by this amendment. We lost. In the decade since, I have always been proud of that vote. I am today.”
- On partner benefits, he told the ADN the Supreme Court was right to allow benefits for same-sex couples.
- “I don’t understand why two people expressing their love for each other affects my marriage,” said Croft in 2006. Eric and Joanna have been married for 15 years.
- When asked if he thinks people choose to be gay: “I don’t care. It’s none of my business, really,” Croft said. “I grew up in an Alaska where you didn’t really inquire too much into people’s personal lives.”
- “At one mayoral forum, they asked us to hold up a green or red card on gay marriage and I held up the red signifying that I knew of the constitutional amendment. I did not mean that my position had changed.”
“Please let Anchorage know that here in Juneau Eric Croft was an outright supporter of us finally getting our state partner benefits. He offered wisdom and support on all his committees when he was a legislator. His opinions were always sound and balanced, thoughtful and well spoken. I think you can’t go wrong with Eric Croft,” wrote Maureen Longworth and Lin Davis, plaintiffs in the state domestic partner benefit case.
- Dan tried to block implementation of domestic partnership benefits in Anchorage, against the Supreme Court ruling. (we got the benefits despite him.)
- He lead the opposition against selling a municipal building to Out North as their new home. (they bought it anyway.)
- He opposed the School Board over a PFLAG-sponsored display in the high schools.
- He promoted a religious right-wing agenda on the Assembly.
- He doesn’t have lips. (I admit that my partner sent that reply. It’s a pet peeve. How can you trust a lip-less man?)
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Alaskans Together on WAR’s Defeat
Alaskans Together for Equality applauds the legislature’s vote to reject Wayne Anthony Ross as Attorney General.
“Wayne Anthony Ross’s derogatory statements about gay Alaskans, his stance on native rights, and his views on women and domestic violence made him an incredibly polarizing and divisive figure,” wrote Tim Stallard for Alaskans Together.
“Many Alaskans joined us in our doubt that Ross could uphold the constitutional rights of ALL Alaskans without discrimination. We hope that Governor Palin will nominate someone who will earn the public’s trust and respect the constitutional rights of all Alaskans.”
Alaskans Together for Equality, Inc. is the statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender civil rights organization in Alaska.
WAR goes down!
Report from Mel: “23 yeas, 35 nays. Wayne Anthony Ross will NOT be Alaska’s Attorney General. We fought the good fight, people, and we WON!”
WAR’s anti-gay letter: pedophile jokes, criminals, "immoral in the eyes of anyone with intelligence"
UPDATE from Mel: “23 yeas, 35 nays: WAR goes down! Wayne Anthony Ross will NOT be Alaska Attorney General. We fought the good fight, people, and we WON!”
* * *
Wayne Anthony Ross’ letter to Lawyers Against Discrimination began with a reference to gays as pedophiles: “Dear LAD: (LAD??? Intentional, on your part? Or merely a Freudian slip?)”
Three weeks ago, Bent Alaska reported that Attorney General-nominee Wayne Anthony Ross called gays “degenerates”, “immoral” and a “perversion” in a letter to the Alaska State Bar Association’s newsletter, according to the ADN. Since then, Ross has refused to answer the legislators when asked if he feels this way about gays and lesbians now, and, when pressed, compared his homophobia to hating lima beans.
We’ve learned much about Ross, on many topics, but the question remained: what did the rest of his letter say? The Legislature is scheduled to vote on Ross’ appointment Thursday at 11 a.m., and Bent obtained the letter just in time.
Ross wrote the letter to the Alaska Bar Rag in March 1993 in response to an appeal from “Lawyers Against Discrimination,” a group that fought the repeal of a non-discrimination ordinance, approved by the Anchorage Assembly, which prohibited the Municipality from employment discrimination on the basis of “sexual preference.”
“It was a big messy battle in Anchorage in late 1992/early 1993,” writes Mel Green. “The ordinance was ultimately rescinded.” Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or preference remains legal today in Anchorage and the rest of Alaska.
Ross’ full response to Lawyers Against Discrimination:
“Dear LAD: (LAD??? Intentional, on your part? Or merely a Freudian slip?)
I received your letter of 23 February 1993 regarding the Anchorage homosexual rights ordinance. While I am not surprised to see some of the names on your letterhead, I am most disappointed in other names thereon. I had more respect for some of you than I do now.
I am in favor of repeal of the measure. I see nothing involving civil rights in this matter. We all, heterosexual or homosexual, have certain rights. This bill seems to give extra rights to a group whose lifestyle was a crime only a few years ago, and whose beliefs are certainly immoral in the eyes of anyone with some semblance of intelligence and moral character.
It is a shame that you folks don’t have some causes you could become involved in that are of benefit to society in general. Instead, you support degenerates. No wonder the legal profession is treated with less respect than we wish.
If, as you apparently believe, morality is not based on long-standing God-given and God-instilled principles, but is something that changes from time to time based on public perception of right and wrong, then that is even more reason for you to allow this referendum to go to a vote of the people. After all, isn’t it your position that public morality is based upon whatever the public decides?
None of you has done anything publicly (to my knowledge) to attempt to protect the millions of lives of innocent children killed each year through abortion, yet you collectively contribute $5,000 to the cause of sexual perversion. It is quite disheartening to me to see my fellow members of our honorable profession display such a lack of proper priorities.
Wayne Anthony Ross
(from page 7 of the May-June 1993 Alaska Bar Rag)
— hat tip to Steve for obtaining Ross’ letter
Mel’s anti-WAR letter: “cavalier” attitude on domestic violence and abuse
I’m a writer-blogger, not a political blogger — though I did try it out a little last fall after Palin became a vice-presidential candidate. But it proved too emotionally exhausting for me, & other Alaska progressive bloggers were doing it better. Sometimes, though, you gotta take a stand on something. So here’s the letter that I just finished sending out to Alaska legislators. Every. Single. One. Of. Them. It’s about my opposition to confirming Wayne Anthony Ross as Alaska Attorney General.
WAR compares gays to lima beans, "hates" us
Wayne Anthony Ross, Gov. Palin’s choice for Attorney General, was asked during Friday’s confirmation hearing how he would view cases involving homosexuality, since he called gays “immoral”, “perverse” and “degenerates” in the Alaska Bar newsletter.
“Let me give you an analogy,” Ross said. “I hate lima beans. I’ve never liked lima beans. But if I was hired to represent the United Vegetable Growers, would you ask me if I liked lima beans. No. If I disliked lima beans. No. Because my job is to represent the United Vegetable Growers.”
Gays=Lima Beans. He compares publicly insulting a minority group to hating the taste of a food. He “hates” us.
Later in the hearing, a representative talked about Ross’ well-known “flamboyance” and Ross said that flamboyance is something he associates with a fancy hanky in his breast pocket, “that kind of guy,” he chuckled.
What ‘kind of guy’ is Ross? He insults gays, Native Alaskans, women, blacks, unions members, peace activists, environmentalists … he called the federal government our ‘enemy’ during last week’s hearing … he made a sexist joke in response to an ethics complaint against Palin … and he wants to be the top attorney for the State of Alaska.
Ross thinks the hypothetical Vegetable Growers would hire a lawyer who publicly declares “I hate lima beans.” The question is, will the real State of Alaska hire an Attorney General who “hates” Alaskans?
