By Tom Klem

There have been a lot of references to Bill Clinton as a friend or supporter of the queer community. Some of the praise has been more extravagant, though some of the descriptions have been more qualified. For instance, some Clinton supporters have described him as an "imperfect friend" or as "the best friend we have ever had in the White House." However, for Clinton to be even an "imperfect friend," he would have to be a friend of some sort in the first place. Yet, aside from a few symbolic gestures, Clinton has yet to be supportive of us in a more substantive manner. When one looks past a few high-gloss publicity events, Clinton's record refutes claims that he supports the rights of queers and efforts to fight AIDS. It would be extremely difficult to get together a comprehensive list of all of the hostile acts of the Clinton Administration towards queers and people with AIDS, but the following is an attempt to cover many of these actions. Pushing states to require mandatory reporting of all people with HIV to health authorities and working towards a national reporting system. Signing the ban on queers in the military into law which has increased the number of discharges on the basis of sexual orientation, as it was designed to do. Refusing to even propose a promised "Manhattan Project to Cure AIDS." Refusing to support the AIDS Cure Act which would implement that campaign promise and reform federal AIDS research. Refusing to sign a Friend-of-the-Court briefing to oppose anti-gay Amendment 2 from Colorado before the Supreme Court. Signing into law sexphobic, homophobic, and AIDSphobic censorship of the Internet in spite of the promise he made during his oath of office to uphold and defend the Constitution. If the law were not thrown out by the courts, the HRC and other queer organizations would have faced criminal prosecution for their WWW pages. Diverting AIDS research funds away from finding a cure and towards efforts to help Glaxo-Wellcome market AZT, a drug whose effectiveness has been disproven in long-term studies when not taken in concert with other treatments. The studies mentioned involved AZT used by itself, without other anti-virals. Opposing equal treatment for same sex marriages. Holding a bogus "AIDS Summit" which was nothing more than a cruel hoax designed to create the impression of concern about AIDS without involving any real action to fight the disease. Keeping HIV-positive Haitians in concentration camps until the ACLU went to court to force him to abandon that policy. Refusing to attend the 1993 March on Washington either in person or by video. All he did was to send what the Los Angeles Times accurately described as a "tepid" letter of support. Scheduling a "historic" meeting with gay and lesbian leaders for a time when he knew he was going to be out of town. This was a much bigger slap on the face than even the glove incident. Proposing a fiscal year 1997 AIDS budget which didn't even keep up with inflation. Firing of Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders for her perfectly rational comments about AIDS prevention on World AIDS Day and for her pro-queer and pro-safer sex views. Discriminating against gays and lesbians in appointments. Remember, there still is not even one openly queer member of the cabinet and only one openly queer federal judge. Although the US has diplomatic relations with over 100 countries, Clinton waited to the 5th year of his presidency to appoint the only openly queer ambassador. Guess which country he picks—-Luxembourg. Eliminating a policy which kept drug companies from price-gouging on AIDS drugs developed partially or in whole with federal research money. Meeting with Baptist ministers in the White House and telling them that he would do nothing to "promote the homosexual lifestyle." Refusing to implement a national plan for AIDS intervention and blocking federal needle exchange, despite his campaign promises and a large volume of scientific data proving its effectiveness in preventing infection among IV drug users. After promising a cabinet-level AIDS czar, setting up a National Office of AIDS Policy in a remote office with little access to the White House and whose purpose is to do public relations for Administration AIDS policy (or lack thereof). Joining the "family values" bandwagon, out-Quayleing Dan Quayle by blaming social problems on pregnant teens and blaming pregnant teens on Hollywood. We have learned the hard way that "family values" is nothing more than a code phrase for misogyny, homophobia, and racism. Attacking humanitarian medical marijuana initiatives, threatening doctors treating people with AIDS, breast cancer, and other serious illnesses with criminal prosecution, and threatening people with AIDS with loss of benefits should they use marijuana for medicinal purposes. Supporting cuts in Medicaid almost as large as those proposed by Newt Gingrich and House Republicans. Supporting such outrageously low levels of AIDS funding in his FY 1988 budget that even House Republicans were unable to stomach spending so little. Running campaign ads on Christian broadcasting stations proclaiming that he had defended the family by signing the "Defense of Marriage Act" into law. Although it would be nice if there actually were a President who was a friend of bisexuals, lesbians, gays, and transgenders, Bill Clinton is not that President. A President who was merely neutral on our issues would be a vast improvement on what we have seen from Clinton and his predecessors. Clinton has discovered that with a few cheap and empty speeches, he can round up a tremendous amount of support—-political, financial, and otherwise—-from the very communities that have been devastated by the intended impacts of his policies. It is long past time to break through the denial and face the reality of Bill Clinton's homophobia and AIDSphobia. You cannot solve a problem until you acknowledge its existence. It also is equally important to remember that our movement's relevance and real success will come in the area of substantive changes, not merely a few media events. Over 20 states have sodomy laws. Nearly 40 states have no laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Most hate crime laws, including federal criminal statutes, do not include sexual orientation. Efforts to pass a queer-friendly initiative in the state of Washington failed badly at the polls, and it is looking more and more likely that the Religious Right will win in their efforts to block the queer civil rights law in Maine. We no longer can afford to be lulled into complacency by a few media events by a President who is the most skillful media manipulator ever. Our community needs to more actively challenge homophobia whether it comes from Ralph Reed, Jesse Helms, and Beverly LaHaye or whether it comes from Bill Clinton and Al Gore.