The Gay Left: Holding Republicans to a Higher Standard
In a recent post, BoiFromTroy pointed out, while it appears “gay marriage has become the new litmus test for our community,” that “test apparently applies only to Republicans.” As soon as our Republican Governor vetoed the same-sex marriage bill, a great variety of gay activists and “leaders” attacked him, using insults usually reserved for President Bush and Karl Rove. Assemblyman Mark Leno accused that good man of being “on the wrong side of history.” Other gay people have called him “evil” and “hate-filled.”
I don’t think these activists used such harsh language to describe Bill Clinton in 1996 when, in the dead of the night, that Democrat signed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Indeed, the Humans Rights Campaign (HRC) refused to rescind the endorsement it had given Clinton before he signed that bill into law. And unlike California in 2005, the American people in 1996 had not yet voted on the issue.
Indeed, when he vetoed the same-sex marriage bill, the Governor noted the popular vote, saying that he does “not believe the Legislature can reverse an initiative approved by the people of California.” Despite this veto, he has taken, as blogger Matt Szabo put it, five steps forward for gays.
In my mind, the most significant of these “five steps” is the Governor’s unequivocal statement that he “will oppose any effort to strip gays of rights and responsibilities afforded under California’s domestic partnership laws“. As social conservatives ready a ballot initiative to amend the state’s constitution to ban gay marriage and overturn the state’s domestic partnership program, the Governor has made clear where it stands. His opposition should ensure the defeat of this pernicious proposal.
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