June 16, 1998
PRESS BRIEFING BY MIKE MCCURRY

 THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary ______________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release June 16, 1998

PRESS BRIEFING BY MIKE MCCURRY

 The Briefing Room

2:00 P.M. EDT

[unrelated material snipped]

 [Q.]: What does President Clinton think when the Senate Majority Leader describes homosexuality the way he did in an interview yesterday?

 MR. MCCURRY: He thinks that the American people understand how difficult it is to get business done in Washington sometimes when you're dealing with people who are so backward in their thinking. For over 25 years, it's been quite clear that sexual orientation is not an affliction. It is not a disease. It isn't something that is part of defining one's sexuality. And the fact that the Majority Leader has such views, apparently, consistent with some who are fairly extreme in his party, is an indicator of how difficult it is to do rational work in Washington.

 Q Well, wait a minute. How does this relate to -- this is stopping what kind of work? Does this relate to the tobacco bill or --

 MR. MCCURRY: It's on a wide variety of matters. The views of Gary Bauer and James Dobson define the approach that many take in the Republican Caucus and that puts, at sometimes, the Republican Caucus and its leadership in the Congress to the extreme point of view in American political life. And it makes it hard to do business with people who want to --

 Q But is there any specific piece of legislation that this kind of view is holding up?

 MR. MCCURRY: One would argue that the whole State Department authorization bill is being held up for exactly, that reason. There are probably other examples, too.

 Q Back on the Uniformed Services --

 Q Can we just finish that gay issue for a second?

 MR. MCCURRY: Yes.

 Q Lott says he'll oppose the nomination of James Hormel to be ambassador to --

 MR. MCCURRY: Yes, exactly. You can see -- why would they oppose someone who is otherwise well-qualified to be a U.S. ambassador other than the prejudice that exists in their minds against people who are gay and lesbian? And that's such a clear example of why. I mean, now you understand why. It's because they have views that are, to put it charitably, quite out of date.

 Q But he says that that's because Hormel has advocated the gay lifestyle.

 MR. MCCURRY: Mr. Hormel has more than adequately addressed that in his confirmation hearings. And that's not the reason. They're refusing to move forward on that nomination because he's gay. That's quite plain and simply the case.

 Q Mike, you've been saying that when you refer to people who are so backward in their thinking, people who can't do rational work, and people who are prejudiced against the gay and lesbians, are you referring to Trent Lott?

 MR. MCCURRY: I'm referring to people who reflect that point of view. And if that is the way in which he defines his approach on these issues, I guess it does apply to him. But he should maybe clarify that and explain how his views on sexual orientation are consistent with what every expert in the field has to say.