On 1/27/03 1:17 PM, "Tim Bonham" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> What makes you think that Greens aren't pro-labor? >> Annie Young >> East Phillips > > Well, the vote by Green Natalie Johnson-Lee against requiring > city contractors to provide equal benefits to all their workers for one > thing. As a union member and a gay man, that sure gave me a clue as to > what Greens really think of both workers & gay people. > > I've heard it said that the Green Party Platform supports both labor & > equal rights for gay people; now we see how much (or rather how little) > that means in practice. Apparently Green politicians, once in office, are > just as likely as any old-time political hack to ignore the platform they > espoused when campaigning. > > Tim Bonham, Ward 12, Standish-Ericsson
By Tim's logic, one could say that DFL members are anti-gay because Paul Wellstone voted to support the Defense of Marriage Act some years ago. But that would be wrong, wouldn't it? Because under "Civil, Human, and Constitutional Rights," the DFL platform states: "We oppose: ��Discrimination against any person on the basis of race, creed, sex, sexual or affectional orientation, HIV status, marital or homemaker status, disability or age." [To see the DFL platform, go to: http://www.dfl.org/ and click on DFL Platform from the set of grey boxes on the right side of the screen.] But nobody makes that claim, do they? I'm not going to defend Natalie Johnson-Lee's vote, though I understand the rationale she used was that she didn't feel she could support requiring city contractors to do something that the city does not do for it's own employees. I'll let others discuss the merits of that argument if they're inclined. I simply wanted to point out the dangers of jumping to conclusions such as Tim's from one vote without any knowledge of why that vote might have been cast. I hope it might prevent others from making a similar rush to judgment. By the way, Tim - can you tell where the DFL platform supports equal benefits for same-sex domestic partners since I couldn't find it? Those who would like to read what the Green platform has to say can check out item #4 in the section on Families: http://www.mnGreens.org/platform.html#families Mark Snyder Windom Park TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Send all posts in plain-text format. 2. Cut as much of the post you're responding to as possible. ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
