WASHINGTON — Dozens of prominent Republicans — including top advisers to former President George W. Bush, four former governors and two members of Congress — have signed a legal brief arguing that gay people have a constitutional right to marry -- it was just a matter of time.
On Feb 27, 5:49 am, "majors.bruce" <[email protected]> wrote: > Its funny. I remember when I was a major Democratic donor and went to the > Los Angeles Democratic Party nominating convention of Al Gore in 2000. It > was the beginning of the Democratic Party's milking gays for donations, > while doing very little for them, mainly just talking about the issue > slightly more than the GOP. (Every independent party from Greens to > Libertarians were and remain far ahead of the Democrats on these issues.) > We had our own gay donor sky box, and exclusive parties with Ellen Degeners > and Anne Heche etc. > > But when the cameras rolled party officials came around and told everyone > to out down any rainbow flag or pink triangle banner that voters watching > TV might see. > > Republicans Sign Brief in Support of Gay Marriage > <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/us/politics/prominent-republicans-s...> > > *Right to Marry:* Margaret Hoover, a Republican strategist, speaks about > why she wants her party to support gay marriage. > By SHERYL GAY > STOLBERG<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/sheryl_g...>Published: > February 25, 2013 778 > Comments<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/us/politics/prominent-republicans-s...> > > - FACEBOOK > - TWITTER > - GOOGLE+ > - SAVE > - E-MAIL > - SHARE > - > PRINT<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/us/politics/prominent-republicans-s...> > - REPRINTS > - > <http://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&opzn&page=www...> > > WASHINGTON — Dozens of prominent Republicans — including top advisers to > former President George W. Bush, four former governors and two members of > Congress — have signed a legal brief arguing that gay people have a > constitutional right to marry, a position that amounts to a direct > challenge to Speaker John A. > Boehner<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/john_a_b...> > and > reflects the civil war in the party since the November election. > Related > > - Times Topic: Same-Sex Marriage, Civil Unions, and Domestic > Partnerships<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/s/same_s...> > > Related in Opinion > > - Taking Note: Republicans Against Proposition > 8<http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/republicans-against-pr...> > (February > 26, 2013) > > Enlarge This > Image<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/us/politics/prominent-republicans-s...> > <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/us/politics/prominent-republicans-s...> > Charles Dharapak/Associated Press > > Jon M. Huntsman Jr., who opposed same-sex marriage during his 2012 > presidential bid, signed the brief. > Enlarge This > Image<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/us/politics/prominent-republicans-s...> > <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/us/politics/prominent-republicans-s...> > Stephen Lam/Reuters > > Meg Whitman supported Proposition 8 when she ran for California governor. > Readers’ Comments > > Readers shared their thoughts on this article. > > - Read All Comments (778) > »<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/us/politics/prominent-republicans-s...> > > The document will be submitted this week to theSupreme > Court<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/s/s...> > in > support of a suit seeking to strike down Proposition > 8<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/c/califo...>, > a California ballot initiative barringsame-sex > marriage<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/s/same_s...>, > and all similar bans. The court will hear back-to-back arguments next month > in that case and another pivotal gay rights case that challenges the 1996 > federal Defense of Marriage Act. > > The Proposition 8 case already has a powerful conservative supporter: > Theodore B. Olson, the former solicitor general under Mr. Bush and one of > the suit’s two lead lawyers. The amicus, or friend-of-the-court, brief is > being filed with Mr. Olson’s blessing. It argues, as he does, that same-sex > marriage promotes family values by allowing children of gay couples to grow > up in two-parent homes, and that it advances conservative values of > “limited government and maximizing individual freedom.” > > Legal analysts said the brief had the potential to sway conservative > justices as much for the prominent names attached to it as for its legal > arguments. The list of signers includes a string of Republican officials > and influential thinkers — 75 as of Monday evening — who are not ordinarily > associated with gay rights advocacy, including some who are speaking out > for the first time and others who have changed their previous positions. > > Among them are Meg Whitman, who supported Proposition 8 when she ran for > California governor; Representatives Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida and > Richard Hanna of New York; Stephen J. Hadley, a Bush national security > adviser; Carlos Gutierrez, a commerce secretary to Mr. Bush; James B. > Comey, a top Bush Justice Department official; David A. Stockman, President > Ronald Reagan’s first budget director; and Deborah Pryce, a former member > of the House Republican leadership from Ohio who is retired from Congress. > > Ms. Pryce said Monday: “Like a lot of the country, my views have evolved on > this from the first day I set foot in Congress. I think it’s just the right > thing, and I think it’s on solid legal footing, too.” > > Jon M. Huntsman Jr., the former Utah governor, who favored civil unions but > opposed same-sex marriage during his 2012 presidential bid, also signed. > Last week, Mr. Huntsman announced his new position in an > article<http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/marriage-equality-is-...> > titled > “Marriage Equality Is a Conservative Cause,” a sign that the 2016 > Republican presidential candidates could be divided on the issue for the > first time. > > “The ground on this is obviously changing, but it is changing more rapidly > than people think,” said John Feehery, a Republican strategist and former > House leadership aide who did not sign the brief. “I think that Republicans > in the future are going to be a little bit more careful about focusing on > these issues that tend to divide the party.” > > Some high-profile Republicans who support same-sex marriage — including > Laura Bush, the former first lady; Dick Cheney, the former vice president; > and Colin L. Powell, a former secretary of state — were not on the list as > of Monday. > > But the presence of so many well-known former officials — including > Christine Todd Whitman, former governor of New Jersey, and William Weld and > Jane Swift, both former governors of Massachusetts — suggests that once > Republicans are out of public life they feel freer to speak out against the > party’s official platform, which calls for amending the Constitution to > define marriage as “the union of one man and one woman.” > > By contrast, the brief, shared with The New York Times by its drafters, > cites past Supreme Court rulings dear to conservatives, including the > Citizens United decision lifting restrictions on campaign financing, and a > Washington, D.C., Second Amendment case that overturned a law barring > handgun ownership. > > “We are trying to say to the court that we are judicial and political > conservatives, and it is consistent with our values and philosophy for you > to overturn Proposition 8,” said Ken Mehlman, the former chairman of > the Republican > National > Committee<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/r/r...>, > who came out as gay several years ago. He is on the board of the American > Foundation for Equal Rights <http://www.afer.org/>, which brought the > California suit, and has spent months in quiet conversations with fellow > Republicans to gather signatures for the brief. > > In making an expansive argument that same-sex marriage bans are > discriminatory, the brief’s signatories are at odds with the House > Republican leadership, which has authorized the expenditure of tax dollars > to defend the 1996 marriage law. The law defines marriage in the eyes of > the federal government as the union of a man and a woman. > > Polls show that public attitudes have shifted drastically on same-sex > marriage over the past decade. A majority of Americans now favor same-sex > marriage, up from roughly one third in 2003. > > While Republicans lag behind the general population — the latest New York > Times survey found a third of Republicans favor letting gay people marry — > that, too, is changing quickly as more young people reach voting age. > Several recent polls show that about 70 percent of voters under 30 back > same-sex marriage. > > “The die is cast on this issue when you look at the percentage of younger > voters who support gay marriage,” said Steve Schmidt, who was a senior > adviser to the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, Senator John McCain of > Arizona, and who signed the brief. “As Dick Cheney said years ago, ‘Freedom > means freedom for everybody.’ ” > > Still, it is clear that Republican backers of same-sex marriage have yet to > bring the rest of the party around to their views. Mr. Feehery said there > are regional as well as generational divisions, with opposition especially > strong in the South. Speaking of Mr. Boehner, he said, “I doubt very > seriously that he is going to change his position.” > > Experts say that amicus briefs generally do not change Supreme Court > justices’ minds. But on Monday some said that the Republican brief, written > by Seth P. Waxman, a former solicitor general in the administration of > President Bill Clinton, and Reginald Brown, who served in the Bush White > House Counsel’s Office, might be an exception. > > Tom Goldstein, publisher of Scotusblog <http://www.scotusblog.com/>, a Web > site that analyzes Supreme Court cases, said the amicus filing “has the > potential to break through and make a real difference.” > > He added: “The person who is going to decide this case, if it’s going to be > close, is going to be a conservative justice who respects traditional > marriage but nonetheless is sympathetic to the claims that this is just > another form of hatred. If you’re trying to persuade someone like that, you > can’t persuade them from the perspective of gay rights advocacy.” > > This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: > > *Correction: February 26, 2013* > > An earlier version of this article misstated the year in which Steve > Schmidt was a senior adviser to Senator John McCain. It was 2008, not 2004. -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "PoliticalForum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
