Kerry's plan for gay America: an estimated 4 million gay and lesbian voters could determine the outcome of perhaps the closest presidential race in U.S. history. In an exclusive interview, John Kerry makes his case for the gay vote

Down a hallway guarded by a handful of Secret Service agents, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry sits in a small conference room at a long table shuffling through paperwork. He has just finished rallying a room full of senior citizens in Des Moines, some of whom tell him their bank accounts are stretched so thin that they must choose between buying groceries or prescription drugs. Now the junior senator from Massachusetts sits across from the news features editor of The Advocate for an exclusive interview. He is well-versed in handling questions about gay Americans and the simple rights they desperately want but have been denied.

"I have a 35-year lifetime record of fighting fur equality," says Kerry, who is endorsed by such national gay advocacy groups as the Human Rights Campaign. "The difference between me and George Bush will be the difference to gay and lesbian couples and individuals across this country--whether rights are afforded them or whether or not they are discriminated against."

Since 1992, every Democratic nominee for president has given The Advocate an interview, but Kerry is the only one with the mettle to do it this close to an election. Bill Clinton and Al Gore spoke with the magazine months before facing voters on Election Day. Kerry speaks to us in an issue that will reach readers mere days before November 2.

Once again, Kerry will go on the record in support of gay equality. He doesn't have to do this. Frankly, a sizable number of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered Americans wouldn't mind if he kept a low profile on this divisive cultural issue, fearing that making it a focus in this election will energize thousands of otherwise nonvoting conservatives to head to the polls, costing Kerry the presidency. No politician--especially a presidential candidate visiting a critical swing state--should want to touch the topic of gay rights. The country is so divided at the moment, if a contender eats sweet corn the wrong way, he risks losing votes from Davenport to Cincinnati.

"I think Kerry gets a bit of a bad rap here," former Vermont governor and Democratic primary candidate Howard Dean tells The Advocate. "I'd like to make a pitch to the gay community to vote for Kerry. When it counted, Kerry was with you. This does not have to be a 'lesser of two evils' election. John Kerry is not appealing to bigotry and homophobia."

The 60-year-old Kerry has a Boston accent that seems more pronounced in person, and he does not come across as long-winded or pompous. He is direct and businesslike, and he understands the nuances of the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act, hate-crimes legislation, federal marriage rights, and why "don't ask, don't tell" doesn't work. He may not make small talk with reporters like former president Bill Clinton or Arizona senator John McCain, but the man has "presidential" down pat.

Since his election to the Senate in 1984, Kerry has been an ardent gay rights supporter. One of the original cosponsors of legislation baulking discrimination based on sexual orientation, he has a nearly unblemished voting record on the issue. He has appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee to testify in favor of revoking the ban on gays and lesbians in the military. In 1996 he was die only senator up for reelection--and one of only 14 total senators--to vote against the antigay Defense of Marriage Act.

In a forceful essay that appeared in this magazine, Kerry described the marriage act this way: "Unconstitutional. Unnecessary. Premature. Presumptuous." He asked, "What is this debate really about? It seems no coincidence that every election year a few politicians gang together for some legislative gay bashing. This behavior panders to the basest instincts of the human condition--scapegoating and ostracizing."

He will not budge from his longs-stated belief that marriage should be reserved for a man and a woman, but he is vehemently opposed to the antigay Federal Marriage Amendment.

As the Bush campaign has gone out of its way to woo conservative Christians, the Kerry campaign has gone out of its way to reach GLBT voters. Even Teresa Heinz Kerry told an audience in February that she believes the country will eventually move toward acceptance of gay marriage.

Courting GLBT voters is becoming increasingly important. According to a Gill Foundation study of the 2000 election, 92% of eligible, self-identified gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered voters were registered, and 52% said they vote in all elections. Voter exit polls from the 2000 race estimated that 4 million voters identified as gay or lesbian, and that George W. Bush received 1 million of those votes. "The gay, lesbian, and bisexual vote is sizable, bipartisan, and can be a swing vote in a close election," the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force concluded in one study.

Kerry's main challenge will be in getting previously nonvoting gays to the polls. He must convince them that the next president is key to determining where GLBT Americans can get married, if they can adopt children, and what kinds of benefits, such as Social Security, they will or won't receive from the federal government.