A long-overdue Bent Alaska update — October 2013

The Texas GOP platform made headlines for stating that gay sex should be illegal, and anyone issuing a marriage license to a same-sex couple should be jailed, among many anti-gay points. The Montana GOP platform calls for “legislation to keep homosexual acts illegal” even though sodomy laws were declared unconstitutional. What does the Alaska GOP platform of 2010 say about gays?

“We affirm the family, defined as people living together related by blood, marriage or adoption, as the foundational unit of society. We embrace the definition of marriage in our State constitution as the union of one man and one woman and support reserving certain benefits to this union alone.”

They oppose same sex marriage, and they also oppose domestic partnership benefits, which are legal for state and some city employees in Alaska. Adding insult to injury, their official platform does not want gay and lesbian couples to be called FAMILIES, even when we are living together and raising children.

“We support requiring active, written parental consent prior to teaching any sex education curricula. Any such curriculum must be age appropriate and abstinence based. We also support teaching prenatal development. We oppose teaching or promoting alternative lifestyles as legitimate or desirable.”

Only abstinence based sex ed, and the parents can opt out of that. Ignorance is bliss. And that last sentence: they don’t want kids to know that some people are gay, that being gay is “legitimate or desirable.” They don’t even want the gay kids to know they are ok. Perhaps they would rather have the kids commit suicide. And who still uses “alternative lifestyles” as code for gays? That’s so 90’s.

“We oppose any modification of the application of the current “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy as adopted in 1993 to implement Public Law 103-106.”

Oppose gays serving openly in the military? Check. Oppose same sex marriage? Check. Oppose school programs that lower the suicide rate of LGBT teens? Check. And they also oppose our legal domestic partnerships.

But what about ENDA? They oppose labor unions, but don’t mention non-discrimination policies. Maybe they recognize the inevitable passage of a jobs ordinance and are softening on that. Or maybe they just forgot.

If their statements against gays aren’t appalling enough, look at their section on education. They support the teaching of Creationism, and want science teachers to present evidence against evolution:

“We support teaching various models and theories for the origins of life and our universe, including Creation Science or Intelligent Design. If evolution outside a species (macro-evolution) is taught, evidence disputing the theory should also be presented.”

Here’s another interesting item:

“We support a change to the Alaska Constitution that would eliminate the practice of the Alaska Judicial Council to limit the list of potential appointees to only those it finds “qualified.” The council could still give its rating, but the Governor could choose a nominee from all applicants.”

They want to put unqualified judges on the bench! Why would they want to pack the courts with judges who don’t have strong legal skills, or don’t have the temperament for being a good judge?

The GOP could hand pick judges who pass their “morality” test, including their views on gay rights. Like Sarah Palin appointing Wayne Anthony Ross to be the Attorney General… calling gays “degenerates” and comparing us to lima beans (among his many prejudices) made him their perfect choice for the state’s top lawyer, despite the low rating by his peers. Expect judges like WAR if the GOP gets it’s way on this.

And the platform calls for a constitutional amendment against choice:

“We endorse the Human Life Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Man is made in the image of God; therefore, we embrace the sanctity of life from the moment of conception until natural death. We heartily encourage our elected officials to use every legal means to protect the unborn and recognize the worth of even the smallest members of the human race.”

The GOP platform also opposes gaming, health reform, embryonic stem cell research, taxes, amnesty for illegal aliens, human cloning, marijuana and assisted suicide. They are the party of “no”.

So, what does the Alaska Democratic Party platform say about LGBT rights? The first principle of the platform is Equality:

“We are committed to the protection of full civil and equal rights for all people and the continued efforts to eliminate all forms of discrimination.”

Nice. That covers all of our issues. Other sections discuss families…

“Alaskans must be guaranteed the freedom to make and act on personal decisions regarding religion, reproduction, medical care, and marriage and life partners.”

… and jobs…

“Every worker is entitled to a living wage and a safe, healthy, harassment-free workplace that promotes equal employment opportunity in all terms and conditions of employment. We expect the enforcement of nondiscrimination laws and the promotion of Alaska preference in hiring.”

… and international human rights.

“We believe that the U.S. government should support multinational efforts through the United Nations and elsewhere to stop genocide, reduce hunger and disease, protect human rights, and to promote justice, prosperity and peace in the world.”

Neither the ARP nor the ADP specifically mention LGBT Alaskans in their platforms. But the Republican platform openly opposes gay rights and the Democratic platform supports full equal rights for all. Although gay rights are becoming a cross-party issue in some states, a big divide remains in Alaska. On gay issues, the choice is clear.