Bay Windows - October 23, 2003
Laura Kiritsy, lkiritsy@baywindows.com.

Chances are, your first guess was not Rep. Stephen Lynch, the South Boston Democrat who holds the Ninth Congressional District seat. Lynch won the seat in a 2001 special election after the death of the beloved Joe Moakley, who had served the district for nearly 30 years. He ran unopposed and was re-elected in 2002.

Lynch was less than a friend to the gay community during his tenure on Beacon Hill, which began in 1994 and lasted until he went to Washington. In 1996, as the legislature debated a hate crimes statute that included sexual orientation, Lynch was one of seven lawmakers that supported an amendment to the law that would have allowed for a "gay panic" defense for those accused of anti-gay hate crimes, though he did eventually vote for the bill after verbal harassment was excluded from the definition of a hate crime. In 1998, he advocated broadening a domestic partnership bill for the same-sex partners of state employees to include relatives living in the same household, a move gay activists viewed as undermining the bill by making it prohibitively expensive. Overall, Lynch was seen as unapproachable on gay issues by GLBT organizations and constituents.

His record on gay issues became a sticking point in the hotly contested 2001 special congressional election; at the time the Ninth Congressional District included heavily gay neighborhoods like the South End, the Back Bay and Jamaica Plain. Lynch's top challengers, state Sens. Cheryl Jacques and Brian Joyce actively courted the gay vote, casting Lynch as a social conservative who was anti-choice and anti-gay. It was no surprise that Lynch received zero endorsements from GLBT political groups - all of whom backed Jacques, the openly gay candidate - and kept a low profile in the gay community throughout his campaign. In perhaps the most telling sign of the low esteem in which the gay community held Lynch, his campaign promise to support civil unions was met largely with disbelief. "I'm happy to see his position evolve but there wasn't a lot of evidence to back that up at the State House," constituent Peter Flynn told the Herald at the time. "There's no evidence that a Congressman Lynch would be a fighter on behalf of the gay community."

Nevertheless, with strong support from unions and high voter turnout in South Boston, Lynch sailed to victory in both the Democratic primary and the final election, where he was opposed by Republican state Sen. Joann Sprague. And shortly thereafter, he quietly began making good on promises to represent his gay constituents in Congress, beginning with a meeting with the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) to learn more about gay issues.

Lynch is currently a co-sponsor of the Family and Medical Leave Inclusion Act, which would allow gay employees to take unpaid leave to care for an ailing domestic partner; the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act, which would grant same-sex domestic partners of federal employees the benefits currently only available to legal spouses of federal employees; and the Tax Equity for Health Plan Beneficiaries Act, a bill that would end the taxation of health insurance benefits for domestic partners and treat them the same as health benefits for legal spouses and dependents. He also supports federal bills to outlaw hate crimes and workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation, as well as expanding Medicaid coverage to provide treatment for low-income, HIV positive people who have not yet developed symptoms of AIDS.

The only current gay-friendly legislation for which he is not a sponsor is the Permanent Partners Immigration Act, which would provide same-sex partners of U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents the same immigration rights that legal spouses of U.S. residents enjoy. Citing national security concerns, Lynch has asked HRC to provide him with clarification on the bill's finer points before signing on though he makes clear he supports the concept of providing same-sex couples with equal immigration rights.

Despite his impressive record on the issues, Lynch is modest in response to the question of how he feels he has represented his GLBT constituents in Congress. "Well, I've done my best. I've done my best and I think it would be better to ask that question of [HRC], the most active gay advocacy group here in Washington, and I would probably defer to them as to how they think I've represented the gay people in my district here in Washington, D.C.. And I honestly think I'll get a fairly favorable review on their part." Lynch credits the organization for working to educate him and his staff on gay issues and responding to his requests for more information on relevant issues. "So there's been a good relationship and you know, I've received a pretty high rating from [HRC]," he said. Lynch earned a 100 percent rating on HRC's congressional scorecard for the 107th Congress, his first session in Washington.

"He's got a very good record and I think he has in some ways surprised people," said Winnie Stachelberg, HRC's political director. Stachelberg recalled that early in the 2001 congressional campaign, when Lynch sought HRC's endorsement - which it ultimately gave to Jacques - he pointedly told her, "You're going to be surprised by the kind of congressman I am."

He has indeed surprised people, and pleasantly. "I am happy to see that there has been an evolution," said David Breen, an attorney and gay activist from South Boston who supported Joyce's congressional bid. "The fact that he has been supportive of GLBT issues is important and good and should be commended."

Mary Breslauer, a political consultant and member of the local HRC steering committee agreed. "I think that those of us who have been involved with HRC and in the larger GLBT community appreciate Lynch's move toward us," she said. "It's important for someone who represents large parts of Boston to be with us on the key issues and we're delighted."

So what's caused the change? Though he believes he was unfairly painted as a right-winger during the 2001 campaign, Lynch conceded that his congressional record on gay issues is "more favorable" than his record as a state legislator. Lynch attributes the shift to increased opportunities to learn about issues and the development of personal relationships, in particular his friendship with openly gay Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank.

"I think that you have an opportunity to be briefed on issues and information is much easier to come by here. You have a much bigger staff and you're able to develop relationships with people and that's very, very important on how you receive the different points of view from people," he explained. "And I think my relationship with the gay community has evolved in a very positive way.

"And you have a very, very articulate and fine man here in Congress: Barney Frank, who's been extremely helpful to me in becoming a better congressman ... and there's been a real friendship that has developed there," said Lynch. "I think that has also helped me understand more intimately the gay issues that we have before us. He's a wonderful spokesman I think not only for the gay community but also for everybody in his district. And he is someone I go to when there's an issue for my gay constituency and say, 'How do you see this?' And he's very frank, he's very honest and [does] not always [give] the answer I would expect. I think he's very intelligent and he will not jump on an issue just because it's popular. I give him great credit for that."

Breen attributes Lynch's shift in part to the scrutiny given to his record on gay rights during the 2001 campaign. "I wonder if that race was kind of a wake-up call," he said. "I don't know if he had to think of these issues before he ran for Congress."

And Lynch has more to add to his record of support for GLBT issues than just his current voting record. In August, he came out against the Federal Marriage Amendment, a bill to amend the U.S. Constitution to ban gay marriage and exclude same-sex couples from receiving any marriage-like benefits sponsored by Colorado Republican Rep. Marilyn Musgrave. In 2002, he signed on to a letter to state legislators opposing a similar proposal to amend the Massachusetts Constitution. Lynch expressed his opposition to a similar amendment sponsored by state Rep. Phil Travis of Rehoboth that is now pending in the state legislature.

"I would oppose that," he stated. "I don't have that piece in front of me but I think it's just a state version of this Musgrave piece. ... There's no material difference. It would basically preclude the legal protections of marriage or marital status or civil unions from being conferred on gay people, gay couples. So obviously, those are the operative parts of the bill and I obviously oppose those."

Asked his position on gay marriage, Lynch replied, "Well in my opinion, the core right here is to have gay couples and their unions, their relationships, codified under the law and that they be given the rights. I think that in some cases we're allowing ceremony or allowing the religious dimension of marriage, traditional marriage, to become infused into this issue. And I think, first of all, I think it's unnecessary because ... as a lawmaker I have to be dealing with how people are treated under the law. Not by churches, not in the context of tradition, but I need to be concerned with core rights that people enjoy and the protections they are afforded under the law. So for me, to have those unions recognized under the law is the right thing to do."

Such positions, said Arline Isaacson, co-chair of the Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus - an organization that also endorsed Jacques' campaign - send an important message to state legislators. "The fact that Lynch feels this way is very helpful," she said. "And just as important, the fact that he says these things sends a very strong message to his former colleagues in the state legislature that times have changed, that it's no longer acceptable to treat people as second-class citizens. He is sending a message to those former colleagues that it's OK to support full equality for gays and lesbians. That's a very powerful message from a very influential elected leader.

"As a result of the positions Stephen Lynch has taken since he has been in Congress," Isaacson added, "we would happily and easily endorse him for re-election."

031023
BY031003

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 2003. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .