Campbell: I'd Repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
FrumForum is speaking with all three candidates for the GOP nomination to challenge Sen. Barbara Boxer in California. Here is the second part of our interview with Tom Campbell. Click here for part one.
Tom Campbell fuses fiscal conservatism with social liberalism. This combination of views cost him a Republican senatorial nomination against Barbara Boxer in 1992. He gained a nomination against Dianne Feinstein in 2000 and lost again. I asked him whether he thought his views had become more of an asset since his previous state-wide runs.
Campbell:
The majority of Californians, including the majority of California Republicans, are pro-choice up to the moment of viability. I’ve been consistently pro-choice because I trust the individual. I believe the state should be deferential to the woman, let the woman make the choice.
On gay rights, I would have voted to repeal don’t ask/don’t tell. Goldwater succinctly said: you don’t have to be straight to shoot straight. Other militaries have shown that the military expediency argument does not hold water.
I voted in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act, because I believe that this issue should be decided by the people’s representatives. I don’t believe same-sex marriage is contained in the 14th amendment. I favor the ability of individuals to marry the person of their choice. I voted that way as a citizen of California. But I favored DOMA because I don’t want another state to be telling the citizens of our state what the rules should be. I don’t want an activist telling the state that back in 1937 Congress meant the Social Security Act to apply to same-sex couples. Going forward, it’s a different matter.
Gay marriage not one of the privileges and immunities of federal citizenship. Marriage is a matter reserved to the states under the 10th Amendment. It is a privilege under state law and always has been.