From The Washington Blade:
In 1993, Democrats caved to a promise made to gay voters to allow gay Americans the right to serve their nation in the military without having to hide who they are. Despite being the majority party in both the House and the Senate, and having a Democratic president for the first time in 12 years, they instituted the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy that has led to more discharges than before it was enacted.
In 1996, 32 Democratic Senators joined all the Republicans in voting for the Defense of Marriage Act. Only 14 Senate Democrats opposed it. In the House of Representatives, 118 Democrats voted with most Republicans to pass it. Only 65 Democrats opposed it. It was a Democratic president, Bill Clinton, who signed it into law.
In the 2004 Democratic primary campaign, only three of the 10 candidates for the nomination supported full marriage equality for gay Americans. Those three, Dennis Kucinich, Al Sharpton and Carol Moseley Braun, were not considered contenders for the nomination, but issue candidates. John Kerry, Howard Dean, John Edwards, Dick Gephardt, Wesley Clark, Joe Lieberman and Bob Graham would not go on the record supporting marriage equality for gays.
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Gay Americans are the first to be compromised by Democrats, because they figure we have no place else to go. The Republicans are worse, so we can play the role of the abused spouse who keeps taking the beatings because life might be worse if we were to leave. It's time to send a message to Democrats (and their apologists at the Human Rights Campaign, which LOVED the nuclear option compromise). Don't come knocking on the door of gay Americans seeking dollars or votes until you can show us some accomplishments instead of a long history of disappointing defeats.
http://www.washblade.com/blog/index.cfm?type=blog&start=6/4/05&end=6/11/05#1054