Steve Gunderson (politician)

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For other persons named Steve Gunderson, see Steve Gunderson (disambiguation).
Steven Gunderson
Steven Gunderson

Steven Craig (Steve) Gunderson (born May 10, 1951, in Eau Claire, Wisconsin) is the President and CEO of the Council on Foundations [1] and a former Republican congressman from Wisconsin.

Contents

[edit] Early years and Congress

Gunderson grew up in Whitehall, Wisconsin. Having studied at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he went on to train at the Brown School of Broadcasting in Minneapolis. Gunderson served in the Wisconsin State Assembly from 1975 to 1979 before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1980. Representing Wisconsin's 3rd congressional district, he served eight terms in the House and did not seek re-election to the 105th Congress in 1996.

[edit] Opposed and then supported by conservatives

In 1994, Gunderson was outed as gay on the House floor by former California representative Bob Dornan during the debate over the federal Defense of Marriage Act, making him one of the first openly gay members of Congress and the first openly gay Republican representative.[2] In the same year, Gunderson was the only Republican in Congress to vote against the Defense of Marriage Act, and since leaving Congress he has been a vocal supporter of gay-rights causes.

Although Gunderson drew opposition from some conservatives for his support for gay-rights causes, other conservatives later praised him for his advocacy on behalf of expedited immigration rights for the Laotian Hmong, who had been allied with U.S. war efforts during the Vietnam War and later faced persecution under the communist government of Laos.

In an October 1995 National Review article, Michael Johns, the former Republican White House aide and Heritage Foundation policy analyst, praised Gunderson's efforts on behalf of the Hmong, quoting Gunderson as telling a Hmong gathering in Wisconsin: "I do not enjoy standing up and saying to my government that you are not telling the truth, but if that is necessary to defend truth and justice, I will do that."[3] Republicans also called several Congressional hearings on alleged persecution of the Hmong in Laos in an apparent attempt to generate further support for their opposition to the Hmong's repatriation to Laos. Led by Gunderson and other Hmong advocates in Congress, the Clinton administration's policy of forced repatriation of the Hmong was ultimately overturned and thousands were granted U.S. immigration rights.

[edit] Personal

Gunderson lived for a numbers of years with Rob Morris.[4] They co-authored the 1997 book House and Home.

[edit] Published works

  • Gunderson, Steven C., House and Home, 1997

[edit] References

  1. ^ Gunderson: Steven Gunderson, President & CEO
  2. ^ The Advocate: Closeted in the capital: they're powerful, Republican, and gay. Will the marriage battle finally get them to come out to their bosses?
  3. ^ Johns, Michael. "Acts of betrayal - persecution of Hmong", National Review, 1995-10-23. Retrieved on 2008-06-02. 
  4. ^ CNN:Gunderson Leaves 'Increasingly Polarized' House

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Alvin Baldus		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Wisconsin's 3rd congressional district
1981–1997		 Succeeded by
Ron Kind
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