GAY CIVIL RIGHTS GROUP CONDEMNS ANN COULTER'S REMARKS AS "VILE" AND "DISGUSTING"

The following press release from the Human Rights Campaign details the disgusting public use of the word "faggot" by Conservative Republican pundit Anne Coulter to describe former North Carolina Senator John Edwards. Her remarks are out of place in this day and age and are an insult to former Senator Edwards, to the great State of North Carolina and to all LGBTQ citizens of the United States.

I have called Senators Burr and Dole to ask them to publicly condemn Coulter for her remarks. You can find their contact information at the links provided. Please contact both Senators to ask them to demand a public apology for these remarks by their political ally Anne Coulter.

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[HRC]Demands ’08 Republican Candidates, V.P. Publicly Condemn Remarks at Conference They Attended

WASHINGTON – Today, at the Conservative Political Action Conference sponsored by the American Conservative Union, right-wing pundit Ann Coulter spoke saying, “I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, but it turns out you have to go into rehab if you use the word ‘faggot,’ so I — so kind of an impasse, can’t really talk about Edwards.” The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest gay civil rights organization, strongly condemned Coulter’s remarks and called on those Republican leaders in attendance to follow suit.

“To interject this word into American political discourse is a vile and disgusting way to sink the debate to a new, all-time low,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “Make no doubt about it, these remarks go directly against what our Founding Fathers intended and have no place on the schoolyard, much less our country’s political arena.”

“It is clear that some in the Republican Party plan to run in 2008 the same way they did in 2004, by using discrimination to divide the country and rally their base,” said Solmonese. “But, 2008 is not 2004, and this time the politics of fear and smear will not work. The American people are tired of those who would rather divide than unite.”

The Conservative Political Action Conference was attended by 2008 Republican Presidential candidates: Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO), Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) and former Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA). Vice President Dick Cheney also attended the event.

Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney spoke before Coulter saying, ““I am happy to hear that after you hear from me, you will hear from Ann Coulter. That is a good thing.”

“We demand that every single Presidential candidate in attendance at this conference, along with Vice President Cheney stand up and publicly condemn this type of gutter-style politics,” continued Solmonese. “If not, then their silence will be deafening to the vast majority of Americans who believe this type of language belongs no where near the discussions about the future of our country.”

To see a video of Coulter’s remarks, please visit this site.

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against GLBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

Categories: LGBTQ intolerance Conservative Republican pundit Anne+Coulter North+Carolina John+Edwards shame