TUESDAY-THURSDAY
June 6-8, 2000
volume 11, no. 105


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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