Criticism
Critics of the HRC have accused the organization of favoring the Democratic Party. Andrew Sullivan, a conservative gay political columnist and blogger who endorsed George W. Bush in 2000, has been critical of the HRC, calling it "a patronage wing of the Democratic party". The organization responded by saying, "There’s nobody happier about what Andrew Sullivan is doing than Tony Perkins and James Dobson", two social conservative leaders and outspoken critics of the LGBT community.
HRC's endorsement of New York Republican Al D'Amato in his 1998 campaign for re-election to the U.S. Senate brought more criticism. HRC defended the endorsement because of D’Amato's support for ENDA and repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. However, many liberal LGBT leaders did not welcome D'Amato's many conservative stances, including his opposition to affirmative action and abortion rights.
HRC has also been accused of overstating the number of its actual members in order to appear more influential in politics. Former HRC President Joe Solmonese responded, saying that "embership is about more than contributions...t’s about sending e-mails to elected officials, volunteering time or lobbying members of Congress" and more than half of its members made contributions during the previous two years. Earlier, HRC spokesperson Steven Fisher stated that its membership includes anyone who has donated at least $1.
Some transgender people have criticized the HRC for its stance on the 2007 version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which enumerated sexual orientation as a protected category but not gender identity and expression. Once the legislation was submitted by Rep. Barney Frank, HRC officially neither opposed nor supported it. This followed a speech by former HRC President Joe Solmonese at the transgender Southern Comfort Conference the previous month, where he said that HRC "oppose any legislation that is not absolutely inclusive." HRC later explained it could not actively support a non-inclusive bill, but did not oppose it because the legislation would strategically advance long-term efforts to pass a trans-inclusive ENDA. However, in a letter to U.S. Representatives, HRC did express support for the bill, stating that while HRC is "greatly disappointed that the current version of ENDA is not fully-inclusive...we appreciate the steadfast efforts of our...allies...even when they are forced...to make progress that is measured by inches rather than yards.
LGBT activists were disappointed when HRC leaders announced that it would consider softening demands for equal rights and make political bargains, such as supporting President George W. Bush's plan to privatize Social Security partly in exchange for the right of same-sex partners to receive benefits under the program.
HRC's involvement in the Catholic gay community has been criticized by the Rainbow Sash Movement, according to GLTNEWSNOW. Also, the radical queer collective Against Equality is critical of HRC's mainstream politics.
Public health researchers have been critical of HRC for giving a perfect score on the 2009 Corporate Equality Index to Reynolds American, the parent company of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco. Some of these researchers maintain that the large health disparities in tobacco use caused by targeted marketing, including the company's marketing plan from the 1990s called Project SCUM (for "Subculture Urban Marketing"), undermine the LGBT cause.
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