Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Activists cry foul on Rauner "no social agenda" ad
by Matt Simonette
2014-09-12

This article shared 6646 times since Fri Sep 12, 2014
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


Illinois gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner released a new commercial Sept. 11 wherein he denies having a social agenda, but activists are pointing to past comments on same-sex marriage to rebut that claim.

The television ad is playing in the Chicago market, and was posted to YouTube by the conservative website Illinois Review. It features a woman identified in other Rauner ads as Marjorie Shapiro, "a pro-choice Democrat."

"Bruce doesn't have a social agenda. He's pro-choice and will leave the marriage equality law alone," Shapiro says in the ad.

The commercial comes as Rauner continues to take heat from LGBT activists who maintain that, had Rauner been Illinois' governor in 2013, the state's marriage equality law would not have been signed. Rauner has stated that he believed marriage equality should have been decided by voter referendum, not legislative or judicial action.

Bernard Cherkasov of Equality Illinois PAC, which has been publically highlighting Rauner's statements, said that Rauner's comments are not as benign as he would like voters to believe.

"The commercial is very disturbing, because it shows that Bruce Rauner is again trying to have it both ways," Cherkasov said. "What he has already said publically shows that he is leaving the door open for repealing marriage. It would leave marriage for its LGBT citizens 'on the table,' and he is speaking out of both sides of his mouth."

In a Nov. 2, 2013, talk at the HeatherRidge Golf Course in Gurnee, Rauner spoke about gay marriage, which would be voted on in the Illinois House just a few days later

"If I was governor, if they sent me that bill today, I would veto it," Rauner said at the talk, which was published last November on YouTube. "The voters haven't been given the opportunity to say what they think. … I haven't seen any ability for them to opine."

In a recording of a tea party gathering in Quincy a few days later—the same day the Illinois House approved the Religious Freedom and Marriage Equality Act—Rauner was again asked about the bill.

"Today, they haven't approved it in a referendum so if I were governor I would veto," he said. "I believe that voters, on some new concept like that—that's a totally new concept—in a contractual relationship between two adults, voters should decide in a referendum. Politicians shouldn't be putting that on people if they don't want it, or blocking it if they do."

On June 2, just as the state's marriage equality law was taking effect, Rauner told Chicago Tribune that he had gay friends and wished them luck should they decide to marry, adding, "Now it's passed, it's the law, I don't have any agenda to change it and the only way I'd change it is if it were done in a referendum—[if] the voters said that they'd want to change it," Rauner said.

While a referendum on gay marriage has never been held in Illinois, gay marriage opponents did launch a petition in 2006 that would have authorized asking voters whether the state's constitution should ban gay marriage. They were unable to obtain the required number of signatures, however, and the referendum never came to pass.

Robert Bruhl, assistant professor in the department of Political Science at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said that Rauner is now treading a path familiar to many political candidates—engaging the larger population of voters in a general election after having made comments that can be construed as more extreme during primary election season.

"In the primaries, candidates will have to appeal to discussions taking place between more [ideologically] polarized individuals," Bruhl said. "In the general election, they have to be more judicious because the larger population of voters is more moderate—this happens to both Republicans and Democrats."

But a new aspect of this longstanding political conundrum is that candidates now leave behind a digital paper trail that makes their previous statements accessible to anyone who knows their way around the Internet and social media.

"In the old days, most of the comments during the primaries escaped attention," Bruhl added. "In the digital age, when everyone has a smartphone, you can capture anything on video. If politicians aren't careful, they can get in a lot of trouble."

Social conservatives have meanwhile criticized Rauner for turning his back on their issues with the ad. According to Illinois Review, Illinois Family Action Executive Director David E. Smith said,"The life and marriage issues matter to social conservatives that make up the Illinois Republican Party base. It's like the ILGOP is purposely trying to put a cold, wet blanket on any social conservative enthusiasm leading up to November."

Cherkasov said that Rauner's comments nonetheless point to his lack of commitment to the rights of LGBT Illinoisans who would be his constituents should he be elected.

"The new commercial is only running in Chicago," he added. "If they would play it in Quincy, it might be a different story."

Rauner's campaign did not respond to Windy City Times' request for comment in time for publication.

Rauner's commercial can be viewed here: bit.ly/1pd59xI .

Illinois Review's article is at: bit.ly/ZjxYDx .

Rauner's marriage comments come at the 45-minute mark at this YouTube video published by Round Lake Area News: bit.ly/1sC3uYt .

Windy City Times' article on the Quincy talk is at: bit.ly/1oCXU2M .


This article shared 6646 times since Fri Sep 12, 2014
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

Chicago's LGBTQ+ Advisory Council sets a new course 2024-03-18
- Chicago's LGBTQ+ Advisory Council held its first meeting of the calendar year on Feb. 28 at City Hall in the Loop under the leadership of the recently appointed chair Jin-Soo Huh. The LGBTQ+ Advisory Council is ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Missouri measure, HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, judge, Texas schools 2024-03-15
- In Missouri, a newly proposed law could charge teachers and counselors with a felony and require them to register as sex offenders if they're found guilty of supporting transgender students who are socially transitioning, CNN noted. ...


Gay News

PASSAGES: Former Chicago Commission on Human Relations chair Clarence Wood 2024-03-13
- LGBTQ ally and former Chicago Commission on Human Relations (CCHR) Chair and Commissioner Clarence N. Wood died March 5. He was 83. Wood was born April 14, 1940, in Alabama. While primarily raised in Alabama, Wood ...


Gay News

Longtime LGBTQ+-rights activist David Mixner dies at 77 2024-03-12
- On March 11, longtime LGBTQ+ and HIV/AIDS activist David Mixner—known for working on Bill Clinton's presidential campaign but then splitting from him over "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT)—died at age 77, The Advocate reported. ...


Gay News

LGBTQ+ Victory Fund remembers co-founder David Mixner 2024-03-12
--From a press release - Today, LGBTQ+ Victory Fund President & CEO Mayor Annise Parker released the following statement on the passing of LGBTQ+ civil rights activist and LGBTQ+ Victory Fund co-founder David Mixner: "Today, we lost David Mixner, a founding ...


Gay News

Florida settles 'Don't Say Gay' lawsuit 2024-03-11
- On March 11, the state of Florida settled a multi-year lawsuit against the so-called "Don't Say Gay" law, which limits how LGBTQ+ topics can be discussed and presented in schools, The Hill reported. The settlement agreement ...


Gay News

ELECTIONS 2024 Precious Brady-Davis says climate change is top issue as she runs to finish appointed MWRD term 2024-03-08
- Precious Brady-Davis, commissioner for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD), is one of several candidates running to fill three seats on the board in the March 19 election. Brady-Davis was appointed to the role last summer ...


Gay News

ELECTIONS 2024 MWRD's Marcelino Garcia discusses flooding, land use and LGBTQ+ inclusion 2024-03-08
- Marcelina Garcia, commissioner for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD), is one of several candidates in the running to fill three seats on the board in the March 19 election. Garcia, who chair's the MWRD's Finance ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Altercation, mpox research, Univ. of Fla., George Santos, tech battle 2024-03-08
- Video footage uploaded to Facebook showed an altercation between a state trooper and two prominent Philadelphia LGBTQ+ leaders, the Washington Blade reported, republishing an article from Philadelphia Gay News. Celena ...


Gay News

LPAC celebrates historic wins for LGBTQ+ candidates in Super Tuesday primaries 2024-03-06
- From a press release: Washington, DC—Today, LPAC,the nation's leading organization dedicated to electing LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary candidates to public office, proudly announces the outstanding victories of 67% of endorsed candidates ...


Gay News

Illinois's first openly gay elected official voices support for Cunningham 2024-03-05
- Judge Thomas Chiola, who served in the Illinois Circuit Court of Cook County from 1994-2009, has officially endorsed Justice Joy Cunningham for reelection to the Illinois Supreme Court. Chiola is the first gay man to be ...


Gay News

Sinema retiring from the U.S. Senate 2024-03-05
- Kyrsten Sinema—the bisexual U.S. senator from Arizona who recently switched from being a Democrat to an independent—announced that she will not run for re-election this year, ...


Gay News

WORLD Canadian politics, Australian murders, Finnish study, 'Anatomy' 2024-03-01
- Canadian conservatives are divided over an anti-trans policy that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith handed down in her province, The Guardian reported. The policy includes a ban on hormonal treatment, puberty ...


Gay News

Ghana parliament passes harsh anti-LGBTQ+ bill 2024-02-29
- On Feb. 28, Ghana's parliament unanimously passed a controversial anti-LGBTQ+ bill that has been condemned globally. The so-called Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Act, which was introduced in the parliament in 2021, not only criminalizes ...


Gay News

Anti-LGBTQ+ Republican McConnell to step down from leading U.S. Senate 2024-02-29
- U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) will step down from Senate leadership in November, having served in that capacity longer than any senator in history, The Advocate noted. McConnell has been a senator since 1985 and has ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.