Sen. Arlen Specter is a Republican: He’s not 100 percent on LGBT issues, but he’s close. All the others running for his Senate seat in both parties are either anti-LGBT or have few achievements to show. And at this point in time, we deserve more than just lip service. Arlen’s a guy who has a long record on LGBT issues, going back to the 1970s. He also believes in a woman’s right to choose. He believes in stem-cell research and evolution. And the magic-bullet theory. (Just couldn’t help myself, had to toss that in.) So what the hell is he doing in the Republican Party?
Specter says he’s running for reelection. To do that, he must first win the primary. He barely won last time when a right-winger went after him. Now, most of the Pennsylvania Republican moderates have changed parties. The Republicans are in free fall in Pennsylvania with nothing but the right-wingers remaining. Not a good sign for Specter.
On the other hand, he could switch to the Democratic Party, where he would be welcomed with open arms. He’d still have a primary fight, but it would be among like-minded moderates. He would be the front-runner since he is very well known in the five-county Philadelphia area and has seniority — nothing his competitors could compete with.
Then there’s the point of that seniority. He has it as a Republican, but as a new Democrat, where would he fit in? The Democratic Senate leadership would move mountains to achieve that magic number of 60 seats. Senator, test the waters.
On to another (former) senator, Vince Fumo. He was the strongest ally of this community in Harrisburg. Yes, way stronger than even our governor. While all men and women have their frailties, I’d like to remember him for his emotional speech on the Senate floor calling for gay marriage. No other elected state figure has done so to this date. His help in killing the antigay-marriage legislation last year was invaluable, as was his assuring the funding of dozens of LGBT organizations. This community will undoubtedly feel his absence in office. The jury has spoken, but a friend is a friend in good times and bad.
Last item: district attorney’s race. There are three Democratic candidates vying for the opportunity to replace Lynne Abraham as our DA. Only one has a negative record on gay rights: former City Councilman Dan McElhatton, who was opposed to domestic-partner legislation. He called me the other day to tell me he’s had a change of heart and supports civil unions. Dan, you were behind the times on domestic partners and you seem to be behind the times on civil unions. These days the issue is gay marriage, not civil unions. You might want to take note that in the last mayoral election, all of the Democratic candidates supported gay marriage. While not a city issue, it is a litmus test of sorts, since it tells us how a candidate really feels about us as individuals and if he or she understands that LGBT people should have equal rights.
So I called the other candidates, Dan McCaffery and Seth Williams, to get their position on same-sex marriage. McCaffery responded: “It shouldn’t even be an issue, all people should be treated with fairness. Of course I support marriage equality.” Williams stated: “I believe the state should offer civil unions to all, and it is up to each religion to perform marriages.”
Mark Segal is PGN publisher. He can be reached at [email protected]