Mainstream Democrats Should Back Gay Marriage [View All]

[ruggerson]

Ok, bear me out here.

I don't think this is quite the wedge issue Republicans would like us to believe it is. Sure, if a constitutional ban is on a ballot in a Southern or conservative Midwestern state, it will pass by 60% or more.

But that does not mean this is an overriding issue for more than about the 15% of the electorate that is hard core religious rightwing.

Nationally, gay marriage runs about 60-40 against us in the polls. Civil unions, obviously run in our favor about 70-30.

We've had a series of Republican presidents who framed abortion as a moral, "pro life" issue, took the "pro life" side (which is only about 30-40% of the electorate) and STILL won the Presidency, because even nominal pro choice people voted for them.

If a candidate TAKES A MORAL STAND, a courageous, ethical moral stand on same sex marriage, about 85% of voters would still seriously consider voting for him. He/she only loses those 15% for whom same sex marriage is the make or break issue (and none of these people would vote Democratic anyway).

I suggest a candidate model their support for same sex marriage thusly:

I stand for equal rights for all citizens under the law, because I believe that is what the constitution stands for. I know good Americans will disagree with me, and I do not think America, as a whole, is ready yet for same sex marriage, and so I would not seek to actively impose or legislate my private views on this matter, but I do oppose any attempts to write bigotry or second class citizenship into the constitution of the United States. This, for me, is a simple, moral question of equal treatment under the law of the land.

A candidate who takes a strong, moral position defuses the "wedge" issue right away and earns the respect of even those who disagree with him.