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It was more than two months ago that President Obama said this:
OBAMA: “It is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should
be able to get married.”
And now, The Washington Blade reports, Democratic Party officials took the first step in changing
the party’s platform to include same-sex marriage.
It’s just a first step, and it goes to the entire platform committee for a vote in about
two weeks. Then, it’ll go to the convention in Charlotte in early September. The New York
Times notes that makes Democrats the first major party to embrace same-sex marriage.
Jeremy Peters and Michael Shear suggest, despite opinion polls showing a growing acceptance
toward the issue
“It remains a difficult one for some Democrats, particularly those in the midst
of hard-fought re-election campaigns in conservative-leaning states.”
They point to Virginia’s Tim Kaine, Missouri’s Claire McCaskill and Montana’s Jon Tester.
But activists are applauding the move, with Freedom to Marry National Campaign Director
Marc Solomon releasing a statement saying
“The Democratic Party has a noble history of fighting for the human and civil rights
of all Americans.”
But Politico’s Reid Epstein and Byron Tau point out, while the news broke Monday, neither
party officials nor President Obama’s campaign did much talking about it. And, well, neither
did Republicans.
“Both parties have steered clear of making it into a central issue of the campaign,
with Democrats wary of setting off a damaging culture war and Republicans wary of looking
non inclusive.”
In fact, a senior fellow at the conservative Family Research Council called the move “more
politically correct than it is politically smart.” And on CNN, a conservative panelist
says same-sex marriage just won’t swing the election in either party’s favor.
“If the gay marriage issue wants to take on the traditional marriage folks, then game
on. I think they're in for a tough battle. The fact of the matter is they may galvanize
their base, but this election will be decided by the Independents.”
But it was in May that Gallup reported half of Americans polled support gay marriage.
And ABC reported its poll found strong support for gay marriage exceeding strong opposition.