“Two years ago, I believed that civil unions were a fair alternative,” he said at a press conference. “Those beliefs, in my case, have since changed. The concept of a ‘separate but equal’ institution is not something that I can support.” […]
“In the end, I could not look any of them in the face and tell them that their relationships – their very lives – were any less meaningful than the marriage that I share with my wife Rana,” Sanders said.
Yes, I really saw that in The Register this morning. San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders (R) has officially changed his position on marriage equality. For the first time since he found out four years ago, Jerry Sanders talked publicly about his lesbian daughter Lisa, and how it isn’t fair for her and for other LGBT residents of San Diego that they be treated differently from straight couples. So even though Mayor Sanders had pledged earlier to veto the resolution in support of the law suit challenging the State of California’s ban on same-sex marriage that the San Diego City Council passed some weeks back, he changed his mind yesterday and signed the resolution.
So what do YOU think about San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders’ changing his position on marriage equality? He is facing reelection next year, after all… Is this part of an effort for the Mayor to align himself with the views of the increasingly left-leaning city that is San Diego? Or is there more to this story? Has Mayor Sanders really woken up to smell the reality of gay and lesbian couples facing the ongoing discrimination of not being able to access the same rights and responsibilities that straight couples can have when they get married?
Go ahead. Make my day. Have your say, and fire away! 🙂
Its pretty simple; he looked his daughter in the eye. He knew in his mind she was gay. He knew in his heart he loved her unconditionally. And his spirit wants her to be happy. And he re-evaluated his beliefs.
There’s an excellent online book, [[http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~altemey/ Robert Altemeyer’s “The Authoritarians”]] which explains the political leanings of an individual based on a person’s authoritarian index. It’s not theory but is a tested idea that may not be predictive on an individual basis does describe how conservatives and liberals think about things.
One of the most encouraging things Altemeyer discovered is that the one thing that allows a transition from authoritarian Republican to non-authoritarian Democrat is experiencing culture and lifestyles and races beyond the confines of their own narrow existence.
Now the Mayor is not going to suddenly switch parties and he may never experience enough to convince him that being Republican doesn’t suit him but at least in this one point he has seen the light. I’m sure it’s real and says a lot about the man.
Contrast this with Cheney who while he may love his daughter would probably rather chew off his tongue than admit that he supports gay marriage.
The cynic in me thinks that in regard to the Mayor, it is tactically better now for a Republican to come clean publicly if he/she is, in fact, pro gay -rights. The old idea of pandering to far right homophobia for votes has been turned on it’s head since so many closeted hypocrites have been outed. Better to be seen as a man of principles than to march a strict party line? Well natch! But now it may pay off with votes as well.
Everyone-
All good points! Personally, I’d like to think that Jerry Sanders changed his position on marriage equality because he knows deep down inside that it’s wrong to not just endorse discrimination against his own daughter, but also against other people like her. But still, Citizen Betty may also have a point about moderate, sane GOPers finally “coming out of the closet” in favor of equal rights for LGBT Americans because they know that’s where most Americans are headed toward in their own personal beliefs. We all know now that the Republican Party has been “outed” for its vapid homophobia pandering while many of its own members live such outright lies of shameless hypocrisy. So how much longer can they continue with the vapid homophobia pandering before they realize they’re not only on the wrong side of history, but they’re also on the wrong side in regards to their own consciences… AND the wrong side in regards to the voters.
Think about it.