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 Joined by Human Rights Campaign Anti-Gay Crusader Unlikely to Support Civil Rights Protections Bush's Choice for Attorney General Expected to Remain a Bigot |
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Compiled by GayToday
"President-elect Bush is entitled to create a cabinet of his own design," said HRC Executive Director Elizabeth Birch. "However, he does so against the backdrop of a fundamental promise made throughout his campaign to unite the nation. The nomination of Senator Ashcroft represents the extreme antithesis of that goal. "Senator Ashcroft is a divisive figure who does not represent the mainstream values of this nation. Ashcroft's record raises serious doubt about his willingness to fully enforce our nation's civil rights laws." Ashcroft, a one term Republican senator has repeatedly earned a zero rating on HRC's voting scorecards. But more important, his anti-gay views make it uncertain he will uphold existing federal law that affects gay and lesbian Americans, such as the Hate Crime Statistics Act and the Hate Crimes Sentencing Enhancement Act. "We, like many Americans, are gravely concerned that Ashcroft, based on his record, will turn the focus of the department from justice to judgement, selectively enforcing only laws that he personally approves," said Birch. "As a senator, Ashcroft was an adamant opponent of hate crimes legislation and failed to cosponsor legislation that would mandate that statistics be kept on hate crimes against gay people." In 1997, Ashcroft was one of two senators on the Foreign Affairs Committee who opposed the nomination of openly gay businessman and philanthropist James Hormel to be ambassador to Luxembourg. Despite this opposition, Hormel's nomination passed out of committee on a 16-2 vote. But during the process, Ashcroft distorted Hormel's record in the media. "His conduct and the way in which he would represent the United States is probably not up to the standard that I would expect," Ashcroft said in a June 24, 1998 Boston Globe article. The following year, the current administration appointed Hormel as ambassador to Luxembourg during a congressional recess ending a nearly two-year standoff over the nomination.
Under the previous administration the Justice Department mounted a strong battle against hate crimes in this country. Today, in an unprecedented manner, funding is available to help gather information that is used by several programs in the Justice Department to assist and guide law enforcement officials and prosecutors when handling crimes motivated by hate. Ashcroft's nomination represents a clear departure from this recent progress, says HRC. Ashcroft, who briefly considered a run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000 with backing of some religious conservatives, lost a re-election campaign last month to Gov. Mel Carnahan, whose name remaind on the ballot after he had died a few weeks earlier in a plane crash. For further information and a complete listing of Ashcroft's anti-gay voting record, visit the HRC website at www.hrc.org or the coalition website at www.stopashcroft.com. |
