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John McCain |
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Republican politician who served
as a United States Senator for Arizona from 1987
until his death in 2018. He previously served two
terms in the United States House of Representatives
and was the Republican nominee for president of the
United States in the 2008 election, which he lost to
Barack Obama. |
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LGBT And Marriage Issues |
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"McCain had a mixed record on LGBT rights,
although his positions on LGBT rights were
much more liberal than most of his other
Republican counterparts. McCain had said
that he opposed same-sex marriage or civil
unions, but "McCain, who also oppose[d] an
amendment to the U.S. Constitution to ban
same-sex unions, said people should be
encouraged to enter into legal agreements,
particularly for insurance and other areas
where decisions need to be made." In 2013,
he told Anderson Cooper, that he had not
changed his position but McCain said: "I
have admired your forward position and stand
on this issue." McCain was endorsed by Log
Cabin Republicans, a Republican PAC
supportive of same-sex marriage and gay
rights. |
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In 1996 McCain voted against the Employment
Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would
have prohibited discrimination against
employees on the basis of sexual
orientation. When the bill was reintroduced
in 2006, McCain told ABC's This Week,
"I don't think we need specific laws that
would apply necessarily to people who are
gay." On November 7, 2013, he did vote in
favor of ENDA. |
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In October 2006, McCain said he would
consider changing the U.S. military's don't
ask, don't tell policy: "The day that the
leadership of the military comes to me and
says, 'Senator, we ought to change the
policy,' then I think we ought to consider
seriously changing it." In December 2007,
McCain said he supported the policy, citing
reports from military leaders that "this
policy ought to be continued because it's
working." In January 2010, when Defense
Secretary Robert M. Gates and Joint Chiefs
Chairman Mike Mullen – the top civilian and
uniform leadership of the military – came
out in favor of repealing the policy, McCain
said he was "disappointed" by their stance:
"At this moment of immense hardship for our
armed services, we should not be seeking to
overturn the Don't ask, don't tell policy,"
which he described as "imperfect but
effective." McCain also criticized Gates for
what he saw as an attempt to usurp
Congressional authority over the policy. In
December 2010, McCain voted against
repealing the policy. |
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McCain broke with his party on more than one
occasion by opposing a federal ban on gay
marriage. In 2004, McCain voted against the
Federal Marriage Amendment, an amendment
intended to ban gay marriage, arguing that
each state should be able to choose whether
to recognize same-sex marriage. He supported
the failed 2006 Arizona initiative to ban
same-sex marriage and the successful
California Proposition 8. He also voted in
favor of the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996
which barred the federal government from
recognizing same-sex marriages. In 2006,
McCain again voted against the Federal
Marriage Amendment, one of seven Republicans
to break with their party, reiterating that
the issue should be left to the states.
Senator John Cornyn, a conservative
Republican from Texas, criticized the
Democrats and Republicans voting against
cloture saying that a 'no' vote on the
motion was "a 'no' vote against traditional
marriage." |
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When asked if he supported civil unions for
homosexuals, McCain said: "I do not." Still,
on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on May
22, 2008, McCain said that people ought to
be able to enter "legal agreements ...
particularly in the case of insurance and
other areas", but that the "unique status of
marriage" should be retained between a man
and a woman." |
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In July 2008, McCain told The New York
Times that "I think that we've proven
that both parents are important in the
success of a family so, no I don't believe
in gay adoption." Two days later, McCain's
Director of Communications said "McCain
could have been clearer in the interview in
stating that his position on gay adoption is
that it is a state issue, just as he made it
clear in the interview that marriage is a
state issue." McCain also clarified that he
does not support a federal ban on adoption
by gay parents. |
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McCain's positions on LGBT rights had
considerably moderated in his later years.
In 2013, McCain criticized Russia's
treatment of LGBT people. The Human Rights
Campaign (HRC), which rates politicians'
support for LGBT issues, gave McCain a 0%
during the 114th Congress and a 25% during
the 113th Congress. From 2005 to 2006, the
Human Rights Campaign gave him a rating of
33%. His highest score from the HRC was a
50% from 1997 to 1998. In 2014, McCain
opposed Arizona SB 1062, a proposed bill
which would have amended the state's version
of the federal Religious Freedom Restoration
Act to allow people of faith in the state to
decline services which violate their
religious convictions. The bill, which
elicited considerable backlash from
corporations and LGBT rights activists, was
perceived as a license to discriminate
against LGBT Arizonans. |
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In April 2016, McCain supported the
nomination of openly gay Eric Fanning for
Secretary of the Army and he supported LGBT
protections in defense bills. In July 2017,
after President Donald Trump released a
statement on Twitter announcing that the ban
on military service by transgender
individuals would be reinstated, McCain
released a statement criticizing Trump's
statement as "unclear" and "yet another
example of why major policy announcements
should not be made via Twitter," adding that
"there is no reason to force service members
who are able to fight, train, and deploy to
leave the military—regardless of their
gender identity." McCain also co-sponsored a
"bill in support of transgender people
serving in the military. ..." |
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Source |
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John McCain’s Replacement Even Worse On LGBT Issues |
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Sep. 19, 2018 |
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John McCain Thinks Kim Davis Was Right |
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Sept. 28, 2015 |
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McCain: LGBT Protections For Immigrants Is
Like Taxpayer-Funded 'Free Abortions' |
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Jan. 30, 2013 |
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Center
for
Arizona
Policy |
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2010 Questions for Congressional Candidates |
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Position Sought:
United States Senate |
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Question 5:
Amending the
United States Constitution to
define marriage as between only
one man and one woman. |
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Candidates'
Position:
Support. |
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Question 8:
Protecting healthcare workers
from being required to perform
procedures that violate their
moral or religious beliefs.* |
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Candidates'
Position:
Support. |
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Question 10:
Adding “sexual orientation,”
“gender identity,” or “gender
expression” to the protected
classes of race, religion, age,
sex, and ancestry in
discrimination law.
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Candidates'
Position:
Oppose.
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Question 14:
Repealing the federal Defense of
Marriage Act, which states that
marriage is the union of one man
and one woman and declares
states do not have to recognize
same-sex marriage from other
states. |
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Candidates'
Position:
Oppose. |
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*
Discriminatory
"Religious Freedom" laws. |
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Sen. John McCain Has Tense Exchange With
LGBT Reporters After DADT Vote |
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Sep. 22, 2010 |
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McCain Tells Ellen DeGeneres: You Shouldn’t
Have The Right To Get Married |
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May 22, 2008 |
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