Gephardt seeks rights

Chrissy Gephardt always called home to talk to her partner, Amy Loder. But one day Amy did not… Chrissy Gephardt always called home to talk to her partner, Amy Loder. But one day Amy did not pick up. After 15 tries, Loder finally picked up the phone and said she had fallen and hit her head, and that there was a lot of blood.

Gephardt, 31, immediately called 911 and had an ambulance dispatched to the house the two share. When Gephardt called the hospital to find out how Loder, 31, was doing, she was denied information, since she wasn’t a recognized part of Loder’s family.

“I don’t know about you, but I think that is wrong. We should get the basic health information about the people we love,” Gephard said to a small gathering of students in Pitt’s Public Health building Saturday.

The Rainbow Alliance, a non-partisan student group, hosted the event.

Chrissy Gephardt, daughter of Rep. Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.) and director of the grassroots campaign for the national Stonewall Democrats, came out during the 2004 Democratic primary and has used her position to encourage grassroots support for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered rights.

“It’s a great way to do grassroots politics. It’s a great way to get involved on campus,” Gephardt said.

Scott Safier, the “Get Out the Vote” chair of the Stonewall Democrats, stressed that there need to be large Democratic turnouts in not only Pittsburgh, but also in places like Washington County and Beaver County.

“If you ask people who they will vote for, and they say ‘Bush,’ just hand them a card and move on. If they say ‘Kerry,’ then take the card back and make sure it goes to the right place,” Safier said.

Gephardt criticized what she considers to be underhanded tactics used by those seeking to reelect President Bush, as well as what she sees as a poor record on health care, hate crime legislation and the economy.

“These people will do anything and stop at nothing to keep their power and win this election. We need to spread the message and spread the truth,” said Gephardt, who dismissed claims that Kerry might not be better than Bush.

“It’s a hell of a lot better to have John Kerry in office than George Bush, who will set us back 50 years,” she said.

Safier, 41, questioned the Bush administration’s focus on GLBT rights, and said they are using the issue to draw the public away from other issues.

Gephardt stressed the importance of the next four years, and that the next president will probably appoint justices to the Supreme Court. Gephardt believes that if Bush is reelected, his justices will set the country back five decades.

“If we lose this election, I am seriously going to move to Canada. I hope you come up and visit me,” Gephardt said.

“I don’t want to be a strawman. I don’t want to be beaten up by the guy in the White House,” Safier added.

Aaron DeBruin, president of the College Republicans, does not believe that gay rights will be the main issue in the upcoming election.

“I really think that the election will be about the war on terrorism. That’s what the Democrats are really weak on, especially with John Kerry running,” DeBruin said, challenging Gephardt’s view that Bush appointees to the Supreme Court will set the country back.

“We need judges right now that don’t legislate from the bench. They will uphold the constitution and the will of the people,” DeBruin said.

The event ended with questions from the audience on issues ranging from how to get involved with the Stonewall Democrats to what makes a good activist.

“You have to have a big mouth and be real pushy,” Safier responded.