Jacques stands by marriage rights goal

Ousted Human Rights Campaign head Cheryl Jacques said yesterday that gay rights activists should not back down from their goal of gaining full marriage rights for same-sex couples, despite the electoral defeats of Nov. 2.

Jacques, breaking her silence five weeks after leaving as head of the nation's largest gay and lesbian advocacy organization, predicted that political opponents to gay marriage will continue to use the issue to portray supporters as out of the mainstream, even if gays stop pushing for marriage rights.

"If we all take a vow of silence and never mention gay marriage again, do you really think George Bush is not going to raise the Federal Marriage Amendment again?" she said in an interview with the Globe. "They're going to use that issue whether we vow never to touch it or not. It's . . . silly . . . to believe that somehow our enemies, those who support discrimination, are going to play by the rules, and not raise the issue if we don't."

Jacques, a former state senator from Needham, was dropped as head of the advocacy group on Nov. 30, after Election Day brought resounding victories for sponsors of same-sex marriage bans in 11 states and the reelection of a Republican incumbent who supports a Federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

As head of the Human Rights Campaign, Jacques had led with more political edge than the group has been known for in the past. Its slogan was, "George Bush, You're Fired!"

The defeats prompted some soul-searching within the gay rights movement, with some suggesting that advocates scale back their ambitions temporarily. After the election, HRC officials said the group should expand its focus, to pursue domestic partnership benefits, civil unions, and other gains they can more easily make until marriage becomes a more attainable goal.

Supporters of Jacques said she parted ways with the organization, after just 11 months on the job, because of her belief that marriage should continue to be the group's focus.

In the interview, Jacques reasserted her support for full marriage rights for gays and lesbians.

"The gay rights movement . . . is at a crossroads, and a crossroads that those who have come before us have been at, with some saying we should retreat, should accept responsibility for our setbacks, trim our sails," she said.

"And I wholeheartedly disagree with that. We plant the flag of full equality, and we march steadily towards it, and that's a long, hard road. You never ever give up the pursuit of full equality."

Suggestions that gays and lesbians should downscale their ambitions alarmed others in the movement, who were worried that the Human Rights Campaign was being cowed by the backlash. Heated discussions ensued in the press. A group of 60 advocates and organizations signed a letter to every member of Congress, saying they were determined not to back down from full marriage rights.

Jacques's departure crystallized that debate. Though official word from the campaign was that she had resigned because of "a difference in management philosophy," some said Jacques was a casualty of the disagreement. Others argued that Jacques was ill-suited to lead the Washington-based lobbying group, saying that her knowledge of Washington was insufficient and that there she did not have enough loyalty to her within the organization.

Jacques would not speak specifically about her tenure at the campaign or about the organization in general, citing an agreement made at the time of her departure.

However, she said that some in the movement "are not thinking confidently and learning the lessons of the nation's history, that when you stumble, you pick yourself up and keep marching on, and you never apologize for or retreat from the goal of full equality."

"There is a minority of voices who somehow think that we should retreat," Jacques said.

Human Rights Campaign officials have strenuously denied that they supported backing down from seeking full marriage rights.

"Marriage is extremely important, because it is equality plain and simple," said Mary Breslauer, a member of the campaign's board. "We've been involved in the marriage battle for years, and no organization has given more resources, whether that's dollars or expertise, than HRC has to marriage equality, and that's going to continue unabated."

She said HRC is unbowed by the election results.

Nov. 2 brought a host of setbacks for gay rights activists. Though he expressed some support for civil unions toward the end of the presidential campaign, President Bush has also signaled that he intends to press ahead with a federal amendment to ban same-sex marriage. Though efforts to move that amendment forward failed in 2004, its supporters say they will try again this year.

"It's a new day in 2005," said Mat Staver, president and general counsel of Liberty Counsel, litigators who bring cases in support of conservative causes. "We're going full steam ahead. I think the momentum has clearly picked up and things will move [further] this year than in 2004. We had a mandate on marriage and morality."

Jacques said that, in the face of such determination, supporters of gay rights gain no political advantage by backing down on marriage rights. She compared the fight for same-sex marriage to the civil rights movement and to the push for women's right to vote.

When women's suffrage campaigner Susan B. Anthony was told, "You're going too fast; you're creating a backlash," she replied that "cautious, careful people worried about their reputations should not be leading reform efforts," Jacques said.

Jacques, who served as a state senator for 12 years before leaving Massachusetts to head the 600,000-member Human Rights Campaign, would not say what her plans are now or whether she would leave Maryland to return to her home state.

She said she is exploring opportunities around the country and that she wants to continue to be involved in the push for same-sex marriage.

"I am interested in exploring any opportunity, public or private, that will allow me to serve the public and continue to maintain a strong voice in the national debate on gay rights," she said.

Jacques, who ran an unsuccessful campaign for Congress in 2001, also said she might consider another run for office.