new Human Rights Campaign (HRC) president speaks out . . .

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"(Human Rights Campaign) calls on Joe Solmonese to seek support for gay-rights issues

"By Don Aucoin, (The Boston) Globe Staff | April 7, 2005


"Joe Solmonese, President, Human Rights Campaign

"All morning, Joe Solmonese had been talking about gay-rights issues, including same-sex marriage, in the sober tones of a process-oriented political strategist.

. . . snip . . .

" 'I'm happy to be back (in Boston) and see that life goes on as usual,' he said, looking up and down Tremont Street. 'People are not losing their long-term heterosexual relationships. . . . All appears to be under control.'

"Massachusetts, of course, was the first state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage, a move that became a factor -- how large a factor is still hotly debated -- in President Bush's victory over Senator John F. Kerry. After the election, speculation arose that the Washington-based Human Rights Campaign, which adopted the slogan 'George Bush, You're Fired!' in 2004, would soft-pedal its campaign for gay marriage.

"If that is so, someone neglected to inform the organization's new president.

" 'How could that even be a question?' asked Solmonese. 'Marriage, and the fight for marriage, is going to be a thread that runs through everything we (at HRC) do.'

. . . snip . . .

"Now, as he prepares to take charge of the 600,000-member Human Rights Campaign, Solmonese plans a similar grass-roots effort to elect candidates sympathetic to gay rights to local, state, and federal offices. He is careful to note that he has many issues to focus on, from AIDS funding to hate-crimes legislation to workplace discrimination laws. But same-sex marriage is likely to be a primary battleground of his tenure, and, to judge by what happened last year and what happened in Kansas this week, it will be an uphill fight.

. . . snip . . .

"The bottom line, according to Solmonese, is that the battle over same-sex marriage will not be won or lost overnight. 'This is a long-term struggle,' he said. 'It's going to take a lot of back and forth. We're going to take three steps forward and two steps back. A lot.' "

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. . . read the entire interview at http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2005/04/07/the_persuader?pg=full
(as last visited Friday, April 8, 2005)

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