STUNNING ABOUT FACE! REPUBLICAN MAYOR OF SAN DIEGO ABANDONS HOMOPHOBIA AND ENDORSES SAME SEX MARRIAGE
>
Yesterday, by a 5-3 vote, the City Council of San Diego passed a resolution supporting marriage equality. Jerry Sanders, the Republican mayor-- who campaigned opposing marriage equality-- announced this morning that he had changed his mind and would sign the resolution instead of vetoing it. A former Chief of Police, Sanders, tearfully also announced that one of his daughters, Lisa, is gay and that he would lead with his heart. "The concept of a separate but equal institution is something that I cannot support," he explained, tearfully, with his wife standing at his time." Please watch the video; it is very powerful.
The San Diego Union-Tribune covered his press conference. "The mayor's new stance marked a reversal of his pledge Tuesday to use his veto power to block the council's move. At the time, he repeated his preference for civil unions, partnerships between same-sex couples that offer some but not all of the legal protections given to those who marry."
He began by explaining his refusal to veto the council's decision, saying his beliefs had “evolved significantly” since 2005, when he established his stance on civil unions during his first mayoral campaign.
In the time since, he said he realized he could not accept “the concept of a separate-but-equal institution.” Because of that, he continued, he was unwilling to send the message to anyone that “they were less important, less worthy or less deserving of the rights and responsibilities of marriage.”
The mayor, now crying openly, noted that he has close family members and friends in the gay and lesbian community, including staff members and “my daughter Lisa.”
“In the end, I couldn't look any of them in the face and tell them that their relationships, their very lives, were any less meaningful than the marriage I share with my wife, Rana,” said Sanders, who quickly thanked reporters and dashed from the room.
Councilwoman Toni Atkins, a lesbian who pushed the city to take a stand on same-sex marriage, praised Sanders, calling him courageous for telling gay San Diegans that he supports them receiving “equal protection under the law.”
Labels: gay equality
posted by DownWithTyranny @ 10:58 AM
21 comments
|
Reddit
21 Comments:
This is great, it just irks me that Republicans can't have compassion for something unless it punches them in the face. Their utter lack of empathy is astounding. It's only important if it affect them.
Stunning video. Just heartstopping. Finally an authentic human in the body of a Republican. Finally the love of principle leads a Republican to do the right thing. Amazing.
WOW, at last a close-minded republican gets a grip on reality.
Really good to see.hear.watch. Indeed, striking stuff thanks for posting the presser conf.
One of the first things I learned from Al Gore's *The Assault on Reason* was that there are mirror cells in the brain that contribute to the ability to empathize. I wonder if sociopaths and to a lesser extent average run-of-the-mill Republicans simply don't have many of these cells.
Every once in awhile the sun breaks through the clouds, huh?
A republican leading with his heart?
How long until he switches parties?
Similar circumstances, but can you imagine Cheney making a speach like that?
No, because he is a soulless ghoul who was happy to keep quiet when same-sex marriage was being used as a wedge issue.
It's truly remarkable and praiseworthy when a Republican gets it right.
A KUL (Krugman Unit of Love) point for da Mayor. KUL is my official positive response to our negative FUs. KUL to any MSM pundit or pol who says/does something sensible in this crazy bullshit world of American spin-government.
I'd have a lot more admiration for him if he'd made this decision because it was the right thing to do, not because it personally affected a member of his family.
Yeah, kudos to the mayor and all of that, but I must echo the other sentiment on this thread...
There are plenty of people in this country who don't need to be related to someone to know that a person is suffering, or that a correctable injustice is being committed against them.
His wife's name is "frog" in Latin. Hmmm...
Wonder what his daughter's life was like? A community of cops and their kids and all the compassion towards the Outside the Club that entails. Was she subdued and dating acceptable hetro boys or running with a rougher yet still hetro male crowd. Or Goth Girl or "Female Athlete".
Amazing. A Republican demonstrating he has a conscience. I'm impressed that someone in San Diego could do this.
Amazing -- my heart breaks. If you have a family with gay persons and parents who cannot accept them, you can't watch this video without crying. This man is a good man. A man who did the right thing. I don't care if he is Bull Moose party, he did the right thing. How refreshing.
Hey, a Republican thinks the law should be changed because it suddenly affects his family.
Imagine that.
The comments in the San Diego Union-Tribune article show there are still waaaaaay too many disgusting right-wing homophobes around.
Anonymous wrote: "I'd have a lot more admiration for him if he'd made this decision because it was the right thing to do, not because it personally affected a member of his family."
But he DID do it because it was the right thing! It just took thinking about the impact on people he knew to make him understand that. Most of us share that weakness -- let's not throw stones. It it those who want rights for their friends that they deny to others who deserve our anger.
"The comments in the San Diego Union-Tribune article..."
That has always been a far, far right-wing rag. It's a truly disgusting piece of shit, and has been for decades. The San Diego version of the Washington Times.
w00t
The hack simply shows that craven cowardice is a bipartisan trait-on no matter should a prostitician flip nor flop because they suddenly find someone they know affected by or on the opposite side of what they say they believe on a particular issue; whether one agrees or not on a specific issue with an alleged leader, one should expect consistency from them on an issue. As to this issue, relationships grounded in faggotry are simply not as important to the larger culture and nation as ones based in heterosexuality; they should be ignored if pursued in quiet privacy-a status better than 99.9% of all human history-but vigorously rebuked if they assert their alleged equity to heterosexual marriage.
Wow I am so speechless. That was incredible. You can see the love in his when he mentioned his daughter. What a dad...What a mayor..Finally someone with sense among the Republicans! Now if only the rest of our states would get on board. I guess small steps are better than none at all.
Post a Comment
<< Home