Sen. Rob Portman’s (R-OH) son, Will, writes for the Yale Daily News about telling his parents that he was gay.
“In February of freshman year, I decided to write a letter to my
parents. I’d tried to come out to them in person over winter break but
hadn’t been able to. So I found a cubicle in Bass Library one day and
went to work. Once I had something I was satisfied with, I overnighted
it to my parents and awaited a response.”
With California’s Proposition 8’s ban on gay marriage set for a hearing Tuesday before the Supreme Court, “the lawyers and activists who started the case think they may be on the verge of a historic victory,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
A ruling that gays and lesbians have an equal right to marry under the Constitution “would not only strike down the California ban but could make gay marriage legal nationwide.”
“That may go too far for the court’s majority. The conventional wisdom among legal experts is that the court will stop short of declaring that gays and lesbians have a right to marry nationwide. A narrow ruling voiding Proposition 8 would bring gay marriage to California, but it would not force a change in states where strong opposition to the idea remains.”
Washington Post: “A broad constitutional ruling is one possibility, but so is a finding that the cases are not ripe for decision.”
Meanwhile, Politico reports an openly gay cousin of Chief Justice John Roberts who wants to marry
her partner will be in the room during this week’s
hearings.
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) announced her support for same-sex marriage over the weekend.
There are now 42 sitting U.S. Senators who back gay marriage. But BuzzFeed notes a handful of moderate Democrats facing tough re-election fights next year either would not state their position or refused to comment on the issue.
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Karl Rove told ABC News that he can imagine the next Republican presidential nominee supporting same-sex marriage.
Said Rove: “I could.”
“Rove’s comments came days after Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman, whom Mitt Romney considered as a running mate in the 2012 election, announced that he had shifted his position and supported gay marriage. The vast majority of Republicans in Congress do not support same-sex marriage. Portman is the only sitting senator in the GOP to support same-sex marriage.”
A line has begun forming at the Supreme Court for people who want to attend next week’s arguments in two gay marriage cases, the AP reports.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) said that he supports civil unions for same-sex couples but a spokesman later said that the Republican governor “misspoke when he expressed support for the legal partnerships,” the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
“I’m not gay. So I’m not going to marry one.”
— Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), quoted by Politico, when asked if his views on gay marriage were changing.
A new Pew Research survey the rise in support for same-sex marriage over the past decade is among the largest changes in opinion on any policy issue over this time period.
The survey finds that “much of the shift is attributable to the arrival of a large cohort of young adults – the Millennial generation – who are far more open to gay rights than previous generations. Equally important, however, is that 14% of all Americans – and 28% of gay marriage supporters – say they have changed their minds on this issue, often because they have a family member or friend who is gay.”
National Journal:
“Back in 2004, it was a given that a presidential candidate couldn’t
win the Democratic nomination — let alone the general election — while
supporting gay marriage. Less than decade later, Democrats understand
they have no chance at winning without supporting gay marriage.”
A new ABC News/Washington Post poll finds support for gay marriage is now 58%, a new high, “marking a dramatic change in public attitudes on the subject across the past decade.”
“That number has grown sharply… from a low of 32 percent in a 2004 survey of registered voters, advancing to a narrow majority for the first time only two years ago, and now up again to a significant majority for the first time.”
Hillary Clinton endorsed gay marriage in a new video saying “that her views on the issue have evolved as a result of her experiences personally and as secretary of state,” Politico reports.
Said Clinton: “I support it personally and as a matter of policy and law. Marriage is a fundamental building block of our society – a great joy and, yes, a great responsibility … To deny the opportunity to any of our daughters and sons solely on the basis of who they are and who they love is to deny them the chance to live up to their own God-given abilities.”
In a moving video, Minnesota state Rep. Lynne Osterman (R) admits she made a “politically expedient” vote ten years ago. Now she’s trying to fix her mistake.
The Cloakroom: Our political debates might be very different if lawmakers thought of other people’s children too.
Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), “a possible 2016 presidential contender, announced Friday that he now supports gay marriage rights – a ‘change of heart’ he arrived at after his son Will confided that he was gay,” Roll Call reports.
Portman announced his support in a Columbus Dispatch op-ed.
“They’re trying to redefine marriage. It’s a completely disordered relationship and when you have a disordered relationship, you don’t ever get order out of that. So I’m more than happy to take a ‘no’ vote on the issue of homosexual marriage.”
— Illinois state Rep. Jeanne Ives (R), on the Catholic Conference of Illinois Radio Hour.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) told National Review that the federal tax code should be reformed in a way to not exclude same-sex marriage.
Said Paul: “I’m an old-fashioned traditionalist. I believe in the historic and religious definition of marriage. That being said, I’m not for eliminating contracts between adults. I think there are ways to make the tax code more neutral, so it doesn’t mention marriage. Then we don’t have to redefine what marriage is; we just don’t have marriage in the tax code.”
Ahead of a same-sex marriage debate to resume in Minnesota, state Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen (R), a staunch opponent, got a headstart with an awkward use of a “point of personal privilege.”
Said Gruenhagen: “I have a close friend here — the last couple years — his name is Kevin Petersen. Kevin, why don’t you stand up and say hi? The interesting thing about Kevin is he was active in the gay lifestyle for about 10 years, and then he left it, got married, and he now has three children. Thank you.”
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Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.