Fred Thompson's Background:
Fred Thompson is a conservative republican presidential candidate. He is United States Senator from Tennessee from 1994-2003. He is also an actor who has appeared in 18 movies and played New York District Attorney on TV show Law & Order.
Out of the Race
Fred Thompson withdrew from the presidential race in January 2008 after poor results in the primaries and caucuses.Employment Non-Discrimination:
Fred Thompson opposes a transgender inclusive employment non-discrimination act and voted against ENDA in 1996.Hate Crimes:
Fred Thompson opposes adding sexual orientation and gender identity into Federal Hate Crimes legislation. He voted no on expanding hate crimes laws to include sexual orientation in 2000 and 2002.Same-Sex Marriage/Civil Unions:
Fred Thompson is against gay marriage. He voted to support the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. He said in a Fox News interview, "You know, marriage is between a man and a woman, and I don't believe judges ought to come along and change that." Thompson said although he is personally against civil unions, the decisions should be left up to the states. (See quote below.)Gay and Lesbian Adoption:
Fred Thomson's stance on gay and lesbian adoption is unknown.Don't Ask, Don't Tell:
Fred Thompson's stance on repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military is unknown at this time.More about Fred Thompson:
- When asked about his stance on gay rights on a Fox News program, Fred Thompson said, "Gay rights? I think that we ought to be a tolerant nation. I think we ought to be tolerant people. But we shouldn't set up special categories for anybody. And I'm for the rights of everybody, including gays, but not any special rights."
- When asked his stance on civil unions on Fox News, Fred Thompson said, "I think that that ought to be left up to the states. I personally do not think that that is a good idea, but I believe in many of these cases where there's real dispute in the country, these things are not going to be ever resolved.
People are going to have different ideas. That's why we have states. We ought to give great leeway to states and not have the federal government and not have the Supreme Court of the United States making social policy that's contrary to the traditions of this country and changing that overnight. And that's what's happened in a lot of these areas.
Sources: The Oregonian, The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Fred08.com, Fox News Sunday.
