[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 78 (Tuesday, June 16, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6372-S6373]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            HOMOSEXUALITY AND THE NOMINATION OF JAMES HORMEL

  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, before I give up my time on the floor, 
I just want to take 1 minute also to mention another matter that has 
something to do with fairness. I am going to do this with a tremendous 
amount of sensitivity, but I just want to take a minute to mention 
this.
  There were a number of newspaper articles today which report on the 
majority leader's comments about homosexuality. I ask unanimous consent 
they be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                [From the New York Times, June 16, 1998]

     Lott Says Homosexuality Is a Sin and Compares It to Alcoholism

                          (By Alison Mitchell)

       Washington, June 15--In an interview about his personal 
     beliefs, Senator Trent Lott, the majority leader, told a 
     conservative talk show host today that homosexuality is a sin 
     and then compared it to such personal problems as alcoholism, 
     kleptomania and ``sex addiction.''
       The Mississippi Republican made his remarks in a 40-minute 
     taped interview conducted by Armstrong Williams for the 
     America's Voice network, a cable television network. The 
     interview--part of a series on some of the nation's political 
     leaders--was timed for Father's Day and is scheduled for 
     broadcasting over the weekend or next week.
       Mr. Lott and Mr. Williams explored a range of social topics 
     from Mr. Lott's thoughts on disciplining children (he said 
     that on occasion he used a belt) to his opposition to 
     abortion to his views on the role of men and women in 
     marriage. He described his childhood growing up in 
     Mississippi in the late 1950's and early 1960's as a ``good 
     time for America.''
       Mr. Lott has made his views on homosexuality known in the 
     past, speaking out in 1996 against a bill, narrowly defeated 
     by the Senate, that would have banned discrimination against 
     homosexuals in the work place. At the time he called the 
     legislation ``part of a larger and more audacious effort to 
     make the public accept behavior that most Americans consider 
     dangerous, unhealthy or just plain wrong.''
       Asked today by Mr. Williams whether homosexuality is a sin, 
     Mr. Lott replied, ``Yes, it is.'' He added that ``in America 
     right now there's an element that wants to make that 
     alternative life style acceptable.''
       Mr. Lott said: ``You still love that person and you should 
     not try to mistreat them or treat them as outcasts. You 
     should try to show them a way to deal with that.'' He said 
     his own father had had a problem with alcoholism, adding: 
     ``Others have a sex addiction or are kleptomaniacs. There are 
     all kinds of problems and addictions and difficulties and 
     experiences of this kind that are wrong. But you should try 
     to work with that person to learn to control that problem.''
       With the investigation of President Clinton's connection to 
     a former White House intern as a backdrop, Mr. Lott also 
     spoke about his marriage to his wife, Tricia. He said he had 
     never been unfaithful in their 34 years of marriage ``because 
     I love her and because I believe that's wrong.''
       Asked if he was ever tempted, he allowed: ``Sure I was. I'm 
     a human being.'' But he said he took great care to insure 
     that his behavior was beyond reproach. When he travels in his 
     Mississippi district with a woman who works for him as a 
     field worker, he said, ``I would never get in a situation 
     where it was just the two of us in a car.'' He said he took 
     that precaution ``because just the appearance bothered me.''
       Mr. Lott said his opposition to abortion was taught to him 
     by his mother. He remembered coming home from high school and 
     telling his mother he thought abortion might be acceptable 
     under certain conditions, only to see her drop a dish towel 
     and burst into tears. ``She started crying and said, `If I 
     have raised you to have no moral respect for human life then 
     I have failed,' '' he said.
       Mr. Lott, who is a Southern Baptist, stepped carefully when 
     asked about the Southern Baptist Convention's declaration 
     that a woman should ``submit herself graciously'' to her 
     husband's leadership. He said that he felt ``very strongly'' 
     about his faith, but said he would speak of marriage roles 
     ``in different terms.'' Spouses, he said, should ``serve each 
     other.''
                                  ____


               [From the Washington Post, June 16, 1998]

           Lott: Gays Need Help ``To Deal With That Problem''

       Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) said yesterday 
     that he believes homosexuality is a sin and that gay people 
     should be assisted in dealing with it ``just like 
     alcohol...or sex addiction...or kleptomaniac.''
       While taping an interview for ``The Armstrong Williams 
     Show,'' a cable television program, Williams asked Lott if he 
     believed homosexuality is a sin. The senator replied, ``Yeah, 
     it is.''
       Lott added: ``You should still love that person. You should 
     not try to mistreat them, or treat them as outcasts. You 
     should try to show them a way to deal with that problem, just 
     like alcohol...or sex addiction...or kleptomaniacs.
       ``There are all kinds of problems, addictions, 
     difficulties, experiences of things that are wrong, but you 
     should try to work with that person to learn to control that 
     problem,'' he said.
       Lott's comments show ``how the extreme right wing has a 
     stranglehold on the leadership'' of Congress, said Winnie 
     Stachelberg, political director of the Human Rights Campaign, 
     the nation's biggest gay political organization, Stachelberg 
     also said Lott is ``out of step'' with scientific studies of 
     the causes of homosexuality.
       Some groups believe homosexuality is a chosen lifestyle and 
     have searched for a ``cure'' for being gay. Many in the gay 
     community, however, insist that homosexuality is a matter of 
     biology.
       ``The medical community, the mental health community for 20 
     years now has

[[Page S6373]]

     known homosexuality is not a disorder,'' Stachelberg said.
       Lott spokeswoman Susan Irby declined to comment on 
     Stachelberg's remarks.
       Williams, the television program host, said the interview 
     probably will be aired this week.

  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, the majority leader, when asked whether 
or not homosexuality is a sin, stated, ``Yes, it is.'' He added that 
``in America right now there's an element that wants to make that 
alternative lifestyle acceptable.'' Then he went on to say, ``Others 
have a sex addiction or are kleptomaniacs. There are all kinds of 
problems and addictions and difficulties and experiences of this kind 
that are wrong. But you should try to work with that person to learn to 
control that problem.''
  He also said--to be fair to the majority leader--``You still love 
that person and you should not try to mistreat them or treat them as 
outcasts. You should try to show them a way to deal with that.'' That 
was the beginning of the quote. I do not want to take anything out of 
context.
  Mr. President, I am concerned about calling homosexuality a sin, 
comparing it to the problems of alcoholism or other diseases. I am 
concerned because of the medical evidence. I am concerned because I 
think that in many ways this statement takes us back quite a ways from 
where we are.
  We do not bash each other here; and there is civility here. That is 
what I like best. So let me just simply say, the majority leader is 
entitled to his view and he is entitled to his vote. But I am 
concerned. I have been on the floor of the Senate week after week 
talking about the nomination of James Hormel. I really believe that, 
given this statement by the majority leader, and given other statements 
that have been made, the U.S. Senate would be better off if we bring 
this nomination to the floor.
  It was literally back in November of last year, November 4, 1997, 
that Mr. Hormel was voted out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee 
by a 16-2 vote. There have been holds on the nomination. We ought to 
bring it to the floor so that we can have an honest discussion. The 
majority leader is entitled to his opinion and he is entitled to his 
vote, but the rest of us are also entitled to our opinions and we are 
entitled to our votes.
  I think it is extremely important that this nomination be brought to 
the floor; that we have an honest discussion. No acrimony whatsoever, 
but please let us deal with this issue, and let us give Mr. Hormel the 
fairness that he deserves. I will not talk more about him right now. I 
will not talk about his very distinguished career. But I must say, 
given the majority leader's statements, it makes me stronger in my 
belief that we need to bring this nomination to the floor, and we need 
to have a discussion about this question.
  It will be a civil discussion. It will be an honest discussion. I 
think the vast majority of Senators are ready to vote for Mr. Hormel. I 
will have an amendment that I will put on a bill that will deal with 
this question, probably the first bill after the tobacco bill. But 
where I want to get to is to bring this nomination to the floor. 
Otherwise I worry about a climate that is going to become increasingly 
polarized, increasingly poisonous, and we do not want that to happen. 
We do not want that to happen.
  So I am hopeful that the U.S. Senate, in a spirit of civility and 
honesty with one another, and honesty with Mr. James Hormel, will bring 
this to the floor.
  I thank my colleagues for letting me also mention this matter. I 
yield the floor.
  Mr. SESSIONS addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alabama.

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