MyDD :: Civil unions, gay marriage, and the presidential campaign

Civil unions, gay marriage, and the presidential campaign

by Baldrick, Fri Apr 20, 2007 at 02:33:49 PM EST

The new Democratic government in New Hampshire has got its act together and passed a civil unions bill. While I find the whole notion of "civil unions" to be a scam designed in part to quell demands for actual marriage equality, it's still an important step.

I'm curious what effect people think this will have on the presidential campaign. Is gay marriage going to be a wedge issue used against the Democrats? Will any Democratic candidate get a backbone and call out those against civil unions for their bigotry? And how do the various Democratic candidates feel about civil unions? How long will it be before a serious presidential candidate decries the whole enterprise and makes the very simple point that being gay doesn't make you any less a person than someone else, meaning if anyone is allowed to get married, gay people should, too?

I dug around a little and so far have only seen a reaction to the New Hampshire decision from Clinton: "New Hampshire has a long history of protecting its citizens from discrimination...I would like to commend Governor Lynch and the New Hampshire Legislature for their commitment and support for the civil rights of gays and lesbians."

I would imagine the other candidates would say much the same, though I am curious to see whether they initiate the discussion.

How important of an issue is this for people? It's certainly not a litmus test for me, but I have to say that, as a tentative Obama supporter, his tepid stance on gay rights and his inability to quickly respond to "is homosexuality immoral?" with a simple "no, don't be ridiculous" make me a bit leery. Obviously, there is more to politics than equality for gays, but it seems to be an important site for Democrats to change the cultural debate. If they're not willing to respond to deliberate and unambiguous discrimination against a class of people, and do not think America can be persuaded on this point, I think it says problematic things about their whole campaign.

I believe in pragmatic politics, but I also believe that pragmatism does not mean compromising basic ideals. I have a tough time with gay marriage because every major candidate lends a great deal of support to what I consider an offensive position. At the same time, I am not sure that a Democrat could win right now if he or she came out in support of gay marriage - at the very least, it would be a liability for the campaign.

I can say, though, that my version of the "bar fight primary" (as much as I dislike the metaphor in some ways) might very well be whether the candidates are so scared of gayness that they succumb to the conventional wisdom and run from this issue. I do not demand a politically untenable fight, but I don't think it's too much to ask for the candidates to lend some much-needed support (and attention) to the struggle for civil unions. Change takes time, but it has to start somewhere. And if not here, then where?

Tags: 2008, gay marriage, civil unions, Hillary Clinton (all tags)

Permalink :: 4 Comments :: Post a Comment

Re: Civil unions, gay marriage (none / 0)

Hard to say how big of an issue it will be - especially with so many states having already passed gay marriage bans in the previous elections. Might be hard to drum up the anti-gay rhetoric again.

IMHO - a candidate needs to be able to say homosexuality is in no way immoral, and they need to back civil unions (with 100% of the rights associated with marriage). I understand why they can't back gay marriage yet, and I also understand (without ANY doubt in my mind) that gay marriage will be a reality in the not-too-distant future.

www.thingsyoungerthanmccain.com

by LandStander on Fri Apr 20, 2007 at 02:49:04 PM EST

Re: Civil unions, gay marriage (none / 0)

" candidate needs to be able to say homosexuality is in no way immoral" You are assuming they really think that, I have not been raised that way and I do not wish to see a Presidentail Candidate slither on the issue, which I think most are doing, if someone things homosexuality is immoral that should not be a disqualifier for being a Democrat becasue if it is you will see alot of people in my home state NC being disqualified. As for gay marriage a reality it is now in one state, but as long as the DOMA is law, and I do not see this congress or any in the near future touching it, and uless the courts make a dramatic leftward shift another thing I do not see happening, Gay marriage will continue to be banned in most states.

by THE MODERATE on Fri Apr 20, 2007 at 04:09:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Civil unions, gay marriage (none / 0)

It's not a disqualifier for being a Democrat, but (at least for me) it is a disqualifier for being a Democratic presidential candidate.

By which I mean, I would refuse to support a candidate in the primaries if that were the case, and while I would still vote for him or her in the general, you can bet that I wouldn't be happy about it, probably wouldn't donate money, and would be very unlikely to volunteer to help them.

Ban on gay marriage will eventually go the way of anti-miscegenation laws. I can tolerate Democrats who don't want to lead the way on it, but I'm not going to lend my support to those who want to buck the tides of history and common decency.

by Baldrick on Fri Apr 20, 2007 at 05:17:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Civil unions, gay marriage, and the presidenti (none / 0)

I know I'm late on this topic but as someone who's gay, I'm certainly paying attention to this issue. Hillary Clinton has been very supportive of civil unions and has many friends in the gay community. She was the first of the announced candidates to speak to Human Rights Campaign. I really recommend you watch the video if you have a chance. I personally found it very convincing and even a bit touching at the end. It's part of the reason I support her so much.

I think of the other candidates on this issue, John Edwards is the weakest. He's said that he's in favor of civil unions but he has also expressed reservations about gays and gay marriage in general in the past. That might work to his advantage in the South where homosexuality is still controversial.

While I could sit in church and pray all I want, I wouldn't be fulfilling God's will unless I went out and did the Lord's work ~ Barack Obama

by bowiegeek on Sun Jun 03, 2007 at 06:56:51 AM EST

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