Wow, the Washington Blade just released TWO amazing stories outing a flurry of gays who work for anti-gay Republicans.
The first story outed two gay advisers to anti-gay Republican Senate candidate Mel Martinez from Florida. Martinez, who recently ran a radio ad comparing gay marriage to life under dictatorship in Cuba, not only has a gay finance chair for his election campaign (Kirk Fordham) but he also had a gay adviser to his campaign WHO WAS THE FORMER HEAD OF THE FLORIDA CHRISTIAN COALITION, John Dowless.
The second story outs the head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (Jay Timmons), the organization under the helm of anti-gay Senator George Allen (R-VA) that regularly uses gays to bash Democratic candidates.
But the more egregious story is clearly the first where it talks about the anti-gay gay who headed the Florida Christian Coalition. Check out what the Blade had to say about this piece of work:
As far back as 1994, Dowless, then the director of the Christian Coalition of Florida, was quoted in the New York Times opposing the popular Gay Days event at Disney World in Orlando because it allegedly was a threat to kids.Still feel sorry that this guy got outed?
“This whole day is focusing on sex,” Dowless was quoted as saying, “and when you put these elements together, there is the greater possibility of illegal activities on children or some harassment.”
In 1997, Dowless, still in his role as director of the state’s Christian Coalition, cheered when the University of Florida rescinded a student spouse ID card that had been given to the partner of a lesbian student. The card gave spouses of students special advantages, such as use of the university’s libraries and recreational facilities.
“Marriage should be reserved for a man and a woman,” Dowless told the Alligator, the student publication.
In 1998, Dowless successfully blocked a move by the state legislature to write the Religious Freedom Restoration Act into the state Constitution. The move would have prohibited discrimination based on a variety of attributes, including gender.
But, according to the St. Petersburg Times, Dowless opposed the gender provision, saying it would be a possible loophole for allowing same-sex marriages.
And in 2002, Dowless created a misleading phone message for Gov. Jeb Bush. The message, sent to 50,000 social conservatives in the state, claimed that voters should cast their lot with Bush over Democratic rival Bill McBride because Bush was “the only candidate who supports traditional marriage.”
But the statement was false. McBride did oppose same-sex marriage, and after a public controversy, the phone message campaign was pulled.
Just last year, Dowless was scheduled as one of 25 guest speakers at a “Reclaiming America for Christ” conference held Oct. 24-25 in Fort Lauderdale. Promotional materials indicate he spoke about grassroots organizing among conservative Christians.
Other speakers included such conservative religious icons as Roy Moore, the ousted chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. Interestingly, of the 25 speakers listed, only the Dowless entry did not include a photo with his bio.
