Marriage Equality

New York's fight for marriage equality might not turn out to be as dire as talk in the aftermath of the coup made it seem. Rumor is that Thomas Duane (D-Manhattan), sponsor of the same-sex marriage bill, is staying silent on the Republican coup and overall chaos because the Republicans promised him a couple of extra votes (enough to pass the bill) in exchange for his silence. And, as we know, "qui tacet consentire videtur." Wherefore, be of good cheer.

But there is better news yet. Ohio Secretary of State and 2010 Senate Candidate Jennifer Brunner is openly embracing marriage equality. As she writes: "This is a family values issue...Marriage equality is critical for stable families and the welfare of children in changing social environments...We must move toward the simple, human dignity of fairness, equality and respect for all persons in our laws, our policies and our actions...Marriage equality's time is now."

To take that position is pretty gutsy for an elected official from Ohio, a state that only voted in 2004 to add a Constitutional Amendment to promote segregation and ban marriage equality. Considering that 62% of voters approved that Amendment in 2004 it sure shows how far we've come in terms of equality.

Brunner's quite the progressive candidate and it seems like her issues are those of Ohioans. She's certainly not afraid to talk issues. And while an early May Quinnipiac poll had her trailing Fisher (her primary opponent) by 4 points, they had her winning the general against every candidate, and more recent (unscientific) polling has her beating Fisher handily.

Obviously, I don't want to advocate a candidate based on a single issue but if we could get some candidates like Brunner in Federal Office the chances of repealing the "Defense of Marriage Act" (DOMA) and advancing marriage equality might happen at a faster rate. While we've made great progress in the past few months we're rapidly running out of 'easy to turn' states, with New York's likelihood of passage of a bill either this session or next and, undoubted, support in New Jersey.

Meanwhile, Courage Campaign has decided that the push to repeal Prop. 8 should happen in 2010 and they've made this (fantastic) ad to kick off the campaign:

Natch Greyes is a Democrat running for Senate in 2020. His campaign platform may be found at natchgreyes.com Sphere: Related Content