Swarthmore College Bulletin (June 1998) - ITS

“A simple matter of discrimination”James Hormel ’55 still waits for a Senate vote on his nomination.President Bill Clinton’s nomination ofJames C. Hormel ’55 to be U.S.ambassador to Luxembourg has languishedin the Senate for more than sixmonths because of opposition by asmall number of lawmakers who arguethat Hormel, who is openly gay, will promotea gay rights agenda in the tinyEuropean country. In March SenateMajority Leader Trent Lott rejectedpleas from 42 senators to lift “holds”that four senators have used to block avote on the nomination.Hormel, who has been a member ofSwarthmore’s Board of Managers since1988, is chairman of Equidex Inc. in SanFrancisco. The firm manages Hormelfamily investments and philanthropy.After graduating from Swarthmore,Hormel received a J.D. from the Universityof Chicago Law School and laterserved as assistant dean of studentsthere. He has been active in Democraticpolitics and was appointed by PresidentClinton as alternate U.S. representativeto the U.N. General Assembly, receivingeasy Senate confirmation in 1997. Hormelhas also been a delegate to the U.N.Human Rights Commission. He was afounding member of the Human RightsCampaign.Hormel is a member of the board ofdirectors of the American Foundationfor AIDS Research and serves on theboard of the San Francisco Symphony.In mid-May an effort was being madeby the administration to force a floorvote on the ambassadorial nomination,which had been reported out of the ForeignRelations Committee in November1997. As he awaited Senate action, weasked Hormel to comment; he told theBulletin that he could not discuss thenomination pending confirmation.But his son, James C. Hormel Jr., hadno such constraints. The younger Hormel,37, argued in the following editorial,which was published in severalnewspapers across the United States,that his father should be confirmed.Jim Hormel ’55 was easily confirmed fora U.N. post, but some senators want toblock his appointment to Luxembourg—because he’s gay.When I was 11 years old, my father,James C. Hormel, told me that hewas gay.I didn’t find this an easy bit of informationto digest, but I heard my father’sgreat concern for how this disclosurewould affect his son. This was not alifestyle choice. Being gay was part ofhis personal makeup, something he hadstruggled with greatly his whole life.Now President Clinton has nominatedmy father to be U.S. ambassador toLuxembourg. This has made us, as afamily, quite proud. When my father satbefore the Senate at his confirmationhearing, the entire family—including mymother and stepfather—attended toshow our unified support. After hearingnothing but high praise from committeemembers and other senators, we feltsure that a vote of approval would follow.A week later we learned that severalsenators had placed “holds” on thenomination. The reason, they said, wasthat they thought my father would usehis position as ambassador to further a“gay agenda.” This delay in the confirmationprocess gave other senatorstime to launch a smear campaign.My father has dedicated a majorityof his work throughout his life to philanthropyand diplomacy. He is committedto helping others. His qualifications as adiplomat have never been disputed.For these reasons I have concludedthat those senators blocking his nominationdo so as a simple matter of discrimination.Those who oppose my father’s nominationon the premise that sexual orientationaffects “family values” are notfamiliar with the strength of our family.While I was growing up, my father nevertried to influence my sexuality in anyway. What he did teach me was kindness,acceptance of others, honesty,self-esteem, and standing up for whatyou believe.I have just returned to Californiafrom Washington, D.C., with my father,three of my sisters, my brother, twobrothers-in-law, my wife, two nieces,one nephew, and my father’s partner.We were in Washington for a meetingabout our family’s foundation, whichmy father established to encourage usto participate in philanthropy.He has taught us through his owngiving, to organizations like SwarthmoreCollege, the Holocaust Museum, VirginiaInstitute of Autism, the Universityof Chicago, the American Foundationfor AIDS Research, the Breast CancerAction Network, and the San FranciscoSymphony, that to give as a family isone more way to strengthen our ties.My father’s agenda for our family isto encourage closeness and integrity.His agenda as ambassador to Luxembourgis to represent our country. It justso happens that he is gay. The Senatedeserves the opportunity to act on theAmerican agenda—to deliberate andvote on my father’s nomination.—James C. Hormel Jr.Reprinted by permission of the PacificNews Service.JUNE 1998 43