Visible Vote 08

The Visible Vote 08 Presidential Forum starts in a few minutes. The event is sponsored by the pro-gay groups HRC and LOGO.You can watch it at visiblevote08.logoonline.com. I will be liveblogging the event. Pam Spalding will be hosting a chat on her site.

And we are starting. I can't see the candidates.

The candidates are being introduced one at a time. Barack Obama is first.

Obama states he is for a "strong version of civil unions." He does not believe churchs should be forced to recognize civil union. Short version: separation of church and state.

Obama wants civil unions to have the same legal rights has marriage. He mentions Loving v. Virginia.

The moderator Margaret Carlson points out many will view civil unions as less than marriage.

Melissa Etheridge is a panelist. She says she humbled to be there as a privileged rock star. She tells Obama that he is a great orator.

Obama gets a laugh by calling himself a "hopemonger." It is a good pun.

Etheridge tells Obama don't be afraid to make change.

Pam Spalding takes Obama to task.

Margaret Carlson again presses on the fact that marriage is not just a matter of semantics. Obama feels that civil unions can be enforced as equal to marriage (he still cannot define why marriage has to be separate).

Obama addresses the need of the black community needs to get over it's fear of homosexuality. Obama stresses that homophobia keeps the black community from being properly getting educated on HIV. I would say sex education, as a whole, needs to be addressed.

Obama's time is running out. Each candidate gets 15 minutes.

Good! Obama endorses condom distribution.

John Edwards: come on down.

Edwards does a lot of handshaking.

Melissa Etheridge asks Edwards if he understands that gay and lesbian couples can't depend on their spouses health coverage because they are not legal spouses. Edwards goes into a horrifying story about young gay men and women kicked out of their homes because they come out of the closet.

Etheridge asks if public schools should teach LGBT. Edwards answers yes and endorses gay adoption. Both will be a hard sell in the red states. Republican operatives will see red meat.

Jonathan Capehart asks why the gay community should trust him. Edweards was silent in 2004 on the gay marriage amendment.

Edwards talks about Elizabeth taking on Ann Coulter. Edwards compares Coulter to the racism he saw in the South growing up.

Susan Stanton is in the house.

Joe Solmonese ask Edwards about his religious views against gay marriage. Edwards says would not impose his faith on LGBT issues.

Solmonese isn't satified with Edwards answer. Edwards states he hasn't changed on same sex marriage. He is against don't ask don't tell.

Edwards comes out in support of hate crimes in his closing statement.

Good God! Dennis Kucinich is up next.

This is a mutual lovefest between Kucinich and the panelists. Group hug everyone.

Etheridge tells Kucinich tells him she was warned not to fawn over him.

Pam has a more up-to-date post at Americablog.

Kucinich stresses sex education and funding.

Kucinich uses 1 + 1 = 2 as a metaphor. Feel pounding headache coming on.

Jucinich tells the crowd he loves them all. He is being cheered like a rock star.

Mike Gravel, Bill Richardson and Hillary Clinton are up next. All other candidates turned down the event.

Gravel is up. Please don't talk about the flat tax.

Etheridge points out that Gravel is unusual for his generation for supporting same sex marriage.

Gravel teases Joe Solmonese for not wanting him at Visible Vote.

Gravel attacks Clinton, Obama and Edwards for not supporting same sex marriage. He accuses them of playing it safe.

Gravel calls the label civil unions demeaning to gays.

Gravel comes out in favor of legalizing marijuana and hard drugs. I'm against this. America is not New Amsterdam.

Bill Richardson is up.

Richardson comes out couragously for civil unions because it is achievable. Short answer: don't expect Richardson to spend political capital on LGBT issues.

Jonathan Capehart asks Richardson about an Imus Show appearance where Richardson jokingly called an Imus staffer faggot in Hispanic. Richardson admits he made a boo boo.

Richardson is putting the crowd to sleep.

Richard is asked if the New Mexico legislature gave him a same sex marriage bill would he sign it. Richardson is ducking the question. Joe Solmonese repeats the question. Richarson says his heart isn't there yet.

Hillary Clinton is up. She is boring me and I am getting tired.

Hillary says she views being against gay marriage as strongly being for civil unions. She's joking. The crowd laughs.

Hillary uses the states right issue against supporting gay marriage. George Wallace used that same argument.

Etheridge tells Hillary that the Clinton administration threw the LGBT community under the bus.

Susan Stanton is being interviewed post-debate.

Pam sums up Richardson's performance.

Summary: He talks about Melissa's battle against breast cancer and her Oscar for the song for An Inconvenient Truth. [Oh boy, he's really blown this.]