With President Bill Clinton’s extramarital affair having been exposed to the public, some members of the gay community felt angry at what they called the hypocrisy of the situation.

In 1995, President Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), outlawing gay marriage. Some lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members said this is not consistent with the president’s own actions.

“If you want to support a bill that defines marriage as strictly heterosexual and monogamous, you gotta stick to that,” said Tom VanWaardhuizen, junior in English. “And clearly [Clinton] hasn’t done that.”

Angie Chipman, president of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Ally Alliance, said Clinton’s actions have been conflicting, but they do not surprise her.

“In every community, you run into specific people who can’t follow their own set of values that they tend to preach,” Chipman said.

“People who were going for [DOMA], saying [gay marriage] ruins values and morals … A lot of time you find in their lives, they themselves have not led the lives they’re trying to defend,” she said.

Chipman said Clinton is sending mixed messages to the country.

“I think Clinton trying to speak moral values while breaking them sends a good message of the hypocritical nature of our society,” Chipman said.

Jeff Sorensen, system analyst for Iowa State, said no connection exists between Clinton’s infidelity and DOMA.

Sorensen said the signing of DOMA was a concession that Clinton had to make for political reasons.

Sorensen said he sees Clinton’s signing of DOMA as “a weak thing to do,” but he said he still considers him an ally of homosexuals.

“I see President Clinton as willing to take baby steps,” Sorensen said. “That’s more than any other president.”

Sorensen said he believes Clinton’s affairs are private issues.

“This is an issue between [Clinton] and his wife, not an issue as far as the public is concerned,” he said.

VanWaardhuizen said Clinton’s signing of DOMA sent more of a social and political message than a legal one.

“When you see a Democrat agreeing with a more conservative [ideal], it shifts public opinion,” he said.

“The political system determines the focus; party politics are running public opinion,” VanWaardhuizen said.

He also agreed that Clinton’s recent problems undermine the legality of DOMA.

“When [the public] gets conflicting ideals and lifestyles [from policy makers], signals get crossed, and it confuses the public sphere,” VanWaardhuizen said.

“This undermines the legality of [DOMA],” he said.

Alissa Stoehr, senior in liberal studies, said she agrees with VanWaardhuizen and Chipman in that Clinton is sending mixed messages.

“He had the affair, and it’s between him and his wife, not him and the country,” she said.

Stoehr said the trial has turned into a witch hunt.

“I’m a student, and my tax dollars are going to this crap — my tax dollars should be going to education and other social issues,” she said.

Chipman said neither the outcomes of DOMA or Clinton’s trials have had as much of an impact on the heterosexual community as it had on homosexuals.

“Once a heterosexual goes out and does something immoral, [responsibility] is placed on the individual,” Chipman said.

“On the other hand, if a homosexual does something immoral, it stereotypes all homosexuals,” she said.