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No, I don't actually involve myself
in those acts themselves, but can't I still be your friend?
Report for August 22, 2003
Republican President George Bush has appointed
over thirty open sodomites to positions in the federal government, but the
head of the National Gay Lesbian Task Force still thinks that he is
"evil." Matt Foreman says that sodomites must be "harsher
and sharper" and will no longer "pull punches." NGLTF is
the group which, at its national conferences, hosts "drag queen"
training for teens, stages sex parties in hotels, and rhapsodizes of the
bliss of "intergenerational sex" from the podium.
NGLTF's head pledges not to 'pull punches'
Foreman to speak out on 'evils' of Bush administration
By Lou Chibbaro, Jr.
Washington Blade, August 15, 2003
He will navigate his organization quietly and methodically on the local,
grassroots level to advance the cause of gay civil rights and will speak
out loudly against anti-gay forces on the national level.
That's the prescription that veteran New York gay activist Matt Forman
says he plans to follow in his role as the new head of the National Gay
& Lesbian Task Force, the nation's oldest national gay political
group.
Foreman, 48, became NGLTF's executive director on May 12, replacing Lorri
L. Jean, who left the post after a two-year stint to return to her former
position as head of the Los Angeles Lesbian & Gay Center.
"The challenges we are facing are so serious that it calls for
harsher and sharper responses from us," Foreman said. "There is
no point in our pulling any punches."
At the time NGLTF announced his appointment in April, Foreman said he
would continue Jean's policies that transformed NGLTF from a multifaceted,
jack-of-all-trades group to one limiting its role to assisting state and
local gay groups and causes. Foreman said he would also continue the
group's role as an advocate for the gay movement's liberal-left wing,
where some non-gay issues - including opposition to the U.S. war in Iraq -
have been addressed alongside gay rights issues.
Some critics, however, were skeptical of Foreman's intentions. For the
past five years, Foreman has headed the Empire State Pride Agenda, a New
York political group credited with shepherding through a state gay civil
rights bill that had been stalled in the state legislature for 20 years.
Foreman insists his personal political beliefs are consistent with the
progressive-left positions that NGLTF has promoted for more than a decade.
But Foreman's and ESPA's decision to endorse the re-election of New York's
Republican governor, George Pataki, who strongly backed the state gay
rights bill, angered many liberal-left gay activists who view Pataki as an
adversary on many non-gay issues. Foreman's supporters say his "real
politic" practices helped bring about gay rights advances in New York
on a number of important fronts.
With that as a backdrop, gay activists are watching closely to see if
Foreman will continue NGLTF's progressive-left slant and Jean's grassroots
emphasis.
In an interview with the Blade, Foreman insists the answer to both
questions is an unequivocal "yes." He also insists that a flurry
of nationally oriented initiatives by the Task Force during the two months
he has headed NGLTF complement, rather than contradict, the group's state
and local efforts.
"So much work is going on at the local level that doesn't hit the
news," Foreman said. "The hard work we do every day doesn't make
headlines."
Focus on improving organization
Foreman notes that NGLTF last month released $500,000 in grants, which
will be divided among 10 state or local gay groups. Among the issues the
groups will tackle, Foreman said, will be the advancement of local and
state gay civil rights bills and opposition to anti-gay ballot measures
that seek to repeal existing gay rights laws.
He said NGLTF continues to expand its field staff, which will coordinate
state and local efforts.
"People who support equal rights for gay people are now in the
majority in America," Foreman said. "But what we have seen time
after time is that the right wing, which is in the minority, out organizes
us. We plan to change that."
At the same time, Foreman said, NGLTF will speak out forcefully on
national issues and will use its New York City-based National Policy
Institute, which it promotes as a gay "think tank," to issue
reports and studies on national issues that benefit the group's local
organizing.
On May 28, the Policy Institute released a report on the Democratic
presidential candidates' positions on gay and AIDS issues. Earlier that
month, it issued a report on anti-gay harassment on the nation's college
campuses.
While NGLTF spoke out loudly in support of the Supreme Court's decision on
June 26 to overturn state sodomy laws, it also issued a statement
supporting the high court's decision the previous week to uphold
affirmative action policies by colleges and universities.
Foreman also signed on to a July 4 statement criticizing Congress for
passing the Patriot Act, a controversial measure aimed at cracking down on
terrorist groups working within the United States. The statement, which
several other gay groups also signed, calls on gays to oppose plans for
additional anti-terrorist legislation, which the groups claim will curtail
civil liberties.
Earlier this month, NGLTF announced it would take a leading role in
organizing gay participation in the 40th anniversary march on Washington
to commemorate the 1963 civil rights march organized by Martin Luther King
Jr.
"You may hear our voice in a louder way on national issues,"
Foreman said.
He said NGLTF's outspoken role would help other groups, including AIDS
groups, which rely on federal funds and must be more cautious about
offending members of Congress and the administration.
"Our role is to push things to make it easier for our supporters on
the Hill to move forward on our issues," he said. "We can and
will speak out on the evils of the Bush administration, as we see them. We
don't have to worry about losing money. We can speak openly and
candidly on issues our allies can't."
Homo-Fascism
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