The bulk of the same-sex marriage debate has been Democrats vs. Republicans, as prominently seen in the recent 2012 presidential election. But 2013 has brought on a sense of unity through equality that has caused more than a handful of Republicans to come out in support, and with Prop 8 and DOMA in the Supreme Court, as well as several pieces of marriage equality legislation floating through states, we can’t think of a better time to do so.
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 and lesbians have a constitutional right to marry and will be submitting it to the Prop 8 Supreme Court case
As of Monday, the document boasted 75 signees, which was a complete reversal for many previous standings, including Meg Whitman, a well-known Republican who supported Prop 8 during her gubernatorial run in California and Jon Huntsman, a former Utah governor who opposed same-sex marriage during his 2012 GOP presidential nominee campaign.
“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 told the New York Times. “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.”
And though the document didn’t reflect any signatures from Laura Bush, Dick Cheney and Colin Powell, the high-profile trio’s previous pro-equality statements were used in Respect for Marriage Coalition’s million-dollar campaign video (though the former First Lady has since requested hers be cut).
This transition will no doubt have a huge impact on the way our country moves forward, starting with the upcoming Supreme Court decisions. Tom Goldstein, an analyst of Supreme Court cases and publisher of Scotusblog, says that the amicus brief “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.”
Equality seems to be uniting the two parties and, hopefully, we’ll soon see a peaceful end to this civil war.
Photo: Real Wedding Nick and Paul, photography by Long Haul Photo
