The following article I am posting on Windy City Times today. See here.
Whether Burris gets to hold the post for any length of time will be up to politicians and judges, a fate also awaiting Blagojevich. To provide some background on Burris, who has been more out of the spotlight in recent years, Windy City Times takes a look back at his answers to candidate surveys and interviewer questions.
The following are quotes from an interview with Roland Burris that ran in the December 1997 and January 1998 issues of BLACKlines, a now-defunct sister publication to Outlines newspaper, which in 2000 merged with Windy City Times. The interviewer was Jon Dallas:
JD: Same-sex marriages recognized in other states [none at the time] will not be recognized in Illinois under a law [Senate Bill 1773 sponsored by Sen. Peter Fitzgerald, R-Palatine] signed in May 1996 by Gov. Edgar. If you had been governor, would you have signed that law? Will you work for its repeal?
RB: [This question] touches on a very philosophical point with me, a personal point. I have made sure that there will be no discrimination against gays and lesbians, as a matter of fact I’ve amended statutes, sexual orientation preferences for hate crimes saying that you can’t attack people and I’ve worked to pass laws for the interest of anti-discrimination. I’ve met with all of my gay friends and they know where I stand on this issue. We have discussed it and we have talked about it and they’ve sought to convince me, but guess what? They haven’t quite been able to do it yet. I’m not there. And the reason why I’m not there as I’ve told them [gay friends] is that they don’t have an answer for it either. If you take it [same-sex marriages] to its ultimate conclusion, it will then be the destruction of the species. So therefore, I am not there. The bill that would come to me I could not sign. Not that I don’t support all [lesbian and gay] efforts, but when it comes to the sanctity of marriage, that to me under my culture and my beliefs ... is a philosophical difference. In our structure in society, when we look for the perpetuation of mankind, we look for the opposite sex. There was a reason for the creation of the opposite sex—for procreation. Various things have to happen when you get the opposite sex together some person may not be able to produce. But under the biological existence, the circumstances are that they [gays and lesbians] can’t. But if you get two females together, you know that they cannot reproduce. You put two males together you know that they cannot reproduce. So given that as I see our societal structure, I see it [society] as having been created in this fashion some other societies and cultures are different as for the perpetuation of the species.
JD: Current statistics state that lesbians and gay men consist of about 10% of the population. Given that fact, how do you feel about [same-sex marriage]?
RB: That’s fine. It could be 30% or 40% of the population. But when you’re dealing with my personal, inner beliefs, and my gay friends have respected my views on this because they have parents the same way ... this is something that I’m not new at discussing. They’ve been trying to convince me [to support same-sex marriage] and some of them haven’t been able to do it. Some of the white [lesbian and gays] have been non-supportive but some Black lesbians and gays [have been supportive]. Marc Loveless [from The Committee] and I have been through this and a couple of [my] white staff members knew that some [in the white lesbian and gay community] didn’t support my task because it was racism. It had absolutely nothing to do with my personal belief in the sanctity of the homosexual marital relationship. I did not get that support from them [white lesbians and gays] anyway ... they have not supported my candidacy [while] other candidates didn’t believe in the marital situation either. It was a race question. To my Black gay and lesbian brothers and sisters, they’re dealing with my inner beliefs. And my belief is that I will protect every right that you have and I will go to death with you. But I don’t think that we can take it to that level of marriage. If the two [lesbians or gay men] want to get married, live together that is their decision. But don’t ask the societal structure to sanction that [marriage]. It would be like the common-law arrangement, and a lot of heterosexuals are in common-law arrangements, there’s some protection that [heterosexuals] get under that [arrangement]. Now in the same-sex arrangement, I don’t want to go down that path because it’s a path of no return. If you start down that [road], generations from now, what will happen to our species? If there’s a law [for same-sex marriage] I will not support it.
JD: What will you do to stop violence against lesbian and gay people?
RB: If someone attacks [lesbians and gays] because you are lesbian or gay, they ought to have an enhanced penalty because they have no right to interfere with whatever you want to be ... it your right. I’m not somebody who’s flippant about this [issue]. I’ve been in it, I understand it, I’ve changed and got educated [on lesbian and gay issues] and have become an advocate for violence against lesbians and gays. I will certainly speak out regarding any violence against any citizen anywhere in the state of Illinois.
JD: Do you favor increasing funds to pay for the new AIDS medications?
RB: I will support anything that will deal with the elimination of AIDS. Certainly. I’ve been out on AIDS Walks and I’ve hired an HIV-positive person on my staff. I think I’m on the right side of that issue.
JD: Do you support a bill to make discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation illegal in the state of Illinois?
RB: Absolutely.
For the complete interview see the following links:
http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=20127
And finally, below are Burris' answers to the 2002 Windy City Times/BLACKlines questionnaire for statewide candidates.
1. Would you support a state civil rights bill for gays and lesbians? YES.
Would you lobby for it? YES.
2. Do you favor a statewide registry of names of people who test positive for HIV? NO. That is an unreasonable invasion of privacy.
3. On AIDS services in the state, do you favor:
a. Increasing funding? YES.
b. Reducing funding? NO.
c. Maintaining current funding? NO.
4. What steps, beyond current programs, should the state government take to fight AIDS?
State government can do more in terms of incorporating responsible sexual awareness education into our public school curriculum; supporting community-based needle exchange programs; and providing financial support for community-based safe sex public education campaigns.
5. On Medicaid, do you favor mandatory coverage of persons with HIV/AIDS? YES.
6. Do you favor same-sex marriage? NO. Explain: I favor civil unions, extending employee benefits to include same-sex partners, and the addition of gay, lesbian and trans-gender protections under the human rights act, but I am opposed, on religious grounds, to recognition by marriage of same-sex couples.
7. Do you believe in the right of gays and lesbians to become foster parents in Illinois?
YES.
8. Should gays and lesbians have a right to adopt children? YES.
9. Should gays/lesbians have the right to custody of their own children? YES.
10. Do you favor hate-crimes legislation that increases penalties for crimes committed based on the sexual orientation or gender identity of the person attacked? YES.
11. Do you have rights for transgendered persons in employment, housing and public accomodations? YES.
12. Do you support a woman’s right to choose abortion? YES.
13. Do you favor maintaining current affirmative action programs? YES.
14. Do you favor public funding of the Boy Scouts, given that the private agency has been allowed to discriminate against gays and lesbians? NO.
15. Are any members of your current staff, either campaign staff or legislative staff, openly gay, lesbian, bi or transgendered? YES.
16. Please list any and all experience you have on gay issues, whether on legislation, voting lobbying, personal, etc. As Attorney General, I was responsible for incorporating gay, lesbian issues into the Victim’s Rights, Domestic Abuse and Hate Crimes legislation. I created the first ever Women’s Advocacy Division to protect women from domestic abuse. Those protections extend to gay, lesbian and trans-gender victims.