Dozens of Republican Leaders Sign Pro-Gay Marriage Legal Brief

Several former governors and a couple of members of Congress among them

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 and reflects the civil war in the party since the November election.

The document will be submitted this week to the Supreme Court in support of a suit seeking to strike down Proposition 8, a California ballot initiative barring same-sex marriage, 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.

Comments

[Charles.H.Anziulewicz@wv.]

The GOP may not "Go Gay" anytime soon ? but eventually they'll have to come to grips with the fact that vilifying Gay Americans is no longer a vote-getter for them. In 2009 a CBS News survey found that while only 18% of Americans over the age of 65 supported marriage equality for Gay couples, 41% of American under the age of 45 supported it. And since then the generational shift in attitudes among young people toward their Gay friends and family members has accelerated.

Even conservative columnist Andrew Stuttaford grudgingly acknowledged this: "I fully understand (even if I do not agree with) the idea that same-sex unions are a threat to conventional marriage and I fully understand those who argue that opposition to gay marriage is a fundamental principle too important to be abandoned for reasons of political expediency, but these findings should, I reckon, at least be some sort of warning to those who assume that the GOP's current position on this issue will continue to be a vote-winner.".

30 years ago most Americans were not aware of any Gay friends, family members, or co-workers. Today most Americans ARE aware, and they have become dramatically more accepting and supportive of the Gay people and Gay couples in their lives. And social networking sites like Facebook have made the proverbial "closet" virtually obsolete. The Republican Party ignores this growing acceptance at their own peril. The economy is important, yes? but your friends are PERSONAL.