Mychal Judge Law Angers Conservatives

Mychal Judge Law Angers Conservatives Thursday, 27 June 2002 WASHINGTON -- Speculation is rife in Washington as to the origin and trajectory that lay behind the White House's approval Monday of the Mychal Judge Act -- a new law that gives federal death benefits to named beneficiaries, including same-sex partners, of firefighters and police officers killed in the line of duty.

The New York Times reports the only White House acknowledgement of the bill-signing came in a one-sentence e-mail announcement that was sent out the evening President Bush delivered his much anticipated Middle East policy speech, ensuring scant press coverage of his signature on a bill sure to rile conservatives.

"This is a Washington story of intrigue, and nobody knows why anybody did anything," Richard Tafel of the Log Cabin Republicans told The Times. "This is a story of unintended consequences."

There was very little head scratching behind Democratic Rep. Jerrold Nadler's support of the Mychal Judge Act. Nadler is a longtime supporter of gay civil rights laws. But the support of Republican Rep.

Donald Manzullo of Illinois, who has an antigay voting record, surprised and confused many -- including conservative colleagues and supporters.

Until Monday, if a police officer or a firefighter died in the line of duty, only the spouse, parents or children were allowed to collect the federal death benefit of $250,000. The Mychal Judge Act now allows that benefit to be paid to any beneficiaries listed on the victim's life insurance policy including gay partners.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Conservatives see betrayal of core obsession. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Overview of this issue > Marriage and Domestic Partnership > Bush II Presidency Web Sites > Lambda Legal Defense Marriage Project page > GayVote.com Other Data Lounge stories > Washington DC Send this article to a friend

Rep. Manzullo drafted similar legislation more than a decade ago in response to complaints from unmarried officers and firefighters that the wording of the existing law was unfair. "We introduced it in a couple of Congresses, but we couldn't get any interest at all," Manzullo told the Times. A principal obstacle was that the pool of people affected by the bill was so small.

The loss of hundreds of New York City firefighters and police officers on September 11 changed all that. Manzullo called Nadler intending to seize the opportunity the tragedy had presented. "I disagree with Don on just about everything," Nadler said. "But Don and I worked very closely to pass this bill."

Manzulo stressed that he never considered the bill to be especially beneficial to gay couples. "I'm in zero contact with the gay community," The Times quotes him as saying. White House took a similar tack, stressing the president never saw the Mychal Judge law as a gay issue

Conservatives don't see it that way. "I'm very saddened that he signed it, because of the precedent that it sets," said conservative activist Paul Weyrich. "Conservatives are becoming somewhat troubled by some of the things that the administration is doing, and if you have just a percentage or two who stay at home, it'll mean the difference between control or not in the 2002 elections."

Charles Cook Jr., who pens The Cook Political Report told the Times the Bush administration is walking a fine line. "They're trying to soften their party's hard edges without alienating their base," he said.

"There's a healthy percentage of gay people who if the Republican Party stopped poking them in the eye... would vote Republican."