DEMOCRATS DISAVOW CLAIM THEY MAY "CAVE" ON FMA: From the Washington Blade

A charge by the director of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force that Senate Democrats were backing away from their commitment to oppose a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage drew sharp criticism this week from gay Democratic leaders. ...

The flap surfaced when NGLTF executive director Matt Foreman stated in a guest editorial in the Washington Blade on May 7 that a pledge last year by Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) that Senate Democrats would vote to kill the Federal Marriage Amendment may no longer be in effect if the wording of the anti-gay amendment changes to clearly preserve civil unions.

"We've since discovered that the Daschle pledge was a classic display of Washington legalese," Foreman wrote in his editorial. "You see, it apparently applied only to 'the' Federal Marriage Amendment as written last year. If the amendment is reworded so it still outlaws same-sex marriage anywhere in the country but leaves the door open to state-based domestic partnerships or civil unions, all bets are off," he wrote.

Foreman said he based his assertion on conversations that Task Force officials and supporters in the field have had in recent weeks with key Democratic senators and Senate staff members.

Rep. Frank and veteran gay Democratic strategist Jeff Trammell, who was named last month as a campaign adviser to Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, called Foreman's assertions inaccurate and unfair. The two insist that Senate Democrats are steadfastly opposed to a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage and would help defeat such an amendment in a Senate vote that could come as early as this summer. ...

Trammell said he spoke in person with Daschle last week.

"He's as solid as a rock," in his opposition to a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, Trammell said. ...

Jacques said HRC has learned that backers of the FMA, including Hatch, were considering introducing wide variations in wording of an FMA in an effort to lure opponents into backing it. ...

Foreman said he became greatly concerned when he asked several Senate Democrats to issue a public statement saying they would vote against any and all versions of an FMA that may emerge on the Senate floor this year.

"We were not able to get such a statement," he said, leading him to believe Senate Democrats were wavering on the issue.

But Trammell, who has worked as a campaign consultant to Senate Democrats in the past, said few senators are willing to issue a blanket statement for or against any legislation. ...

Trammell and Jacques said Daschle has told them flatly that he will vote against any form of an FMA and will work hard to persuade his Democratic colleagues to defeat all forms of a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

"Daschle is from a state where 53 percent of the voters are Republican and only 37 percent are registered Democrats," Trammell said. "Daschle is with us thick or thin," Trammell said, even though Republicans have vowed to work for his defeat on the gay marriage issue. Daschle faces a tight re-election of his own this November.

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