In a 2003 letter
obtained exclusively by The Advocate, the late president Gerald Ford wrote
to his friend and colleague Charles Francis that he
supported the pro-gay side in the Texas case that
ultimately led the U.S. Supreme Court to abolish
sodomy laws nationwide. The letter was in response to a
request by Francis, cochair of the gay-inclusive GOP
group Republican Unity Coalition--which Ford
advised--asking Ford to sign an op-ed piece
calling for an end to sodomy laws.
"Dear Charles,"
Ford wrote, "I thank you for your letter of March 3
with enclosures. I deeply appreciate Senator Alan Simpson's
personal comments on the Supreme Court case and his public
support. I fully concur with Al and you on 'gay
equality before the law.' I sincerely hope that you
prevail in the case of Lawrence v. Texas.
At this point, however, I am not signing the
proposed op-ed piece for The New York Times. Several months ago I did an op-ed piece
for The New York Times in the University of
Michigan cases on student admission policies. Subsequently
I joined with several others publicly supporting the
university's position. I feel that it might be unwise
to dilute my influence on the Michigan case by
authorizing an op-ed piece. The same dilution would be
true if I became active in the Texas lawsuit."
Ford, who died
Tuesday night at the age of 93, joined the Republican
Unity Coalition in 2002 as a member of the organization's
advisory board. The coalition is a fund-raising group
dedicated to making homosexuality a "nonissue" for the
Republican Party.
"I have always
believed in an inclusive policy, in welcoming gays and
others into the party," Ford told The Detroit
News in 2001. "I think the party has to have an umbrella
philosophy if it expects to win elections."
