NEWS for Tuesday, June 6, 2000
GORE IGNORES CALLS TO RENOUNCE SUPPORT FOR ROME GAY EVENT
WASHINGTON, DC (CWNews.com)
Vice President Al Gore this
week refused to answer calls to back down from his
endorsement of a controversial homosexual activist event
planned for Rome in July.
The New York-based Catholic League for Religious and Civil
Rights asked the vice president, who is also the Democratic
nominee for president, to reverse his endorsement of the
event which he gave in a letter dated March 23. In that
letter to organizers, Gore said he intended to "stand ready
to ensure gay and lesbian Americans have the opportunity to
participate fully in a nation and a world that is united in
those goals of importance to us all."
The event, planned for July 1-8, has been criticized for
taking place during the Church's Jubilee Year and during a
week with several high-profile religious events. Similar
"gay pride" events elsewhere have included homoerotic
satire of the Church because of her teaching that
homosexuality is immoral.
The Gore Campaign 2000 headquarters did not immediately
return a call for comment on whether the candidate will
remove his support for the event. Catholic League president
William Donohue has said that Gore has already received
solid support from homosexual activists for his
presidential campaign, referring to a rally by Human Rights
Watch in Washington, DC, several weeks ago where leaders
called on the crowd to "get Gore elected."
Donohue said the event in Rome was purposely scheduled to
coincide with the Jubilee in order to make an "in your
face" statement, and it would likely commence regardless of
Roman political officials' recent denial of funding.
"Rome won't give them any money, but they'll come up with
their own private sources," Donohue said.
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