With the Supreme Court ruling on the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, President Barack Obama openly supporting gay marriage and public opinion swaying towards gay rights, there’s one group that’s been feeling a little left out of all the commotion – Republicans.
Not to be outdone, a host of Republican politicians have recently come out in support of gay marriage, doing an about-face on an issue that has been a defining characteristic of the conservative party for years. But why the sudden change?
It’d be nice if Republican politicians had a party-wide realization that marriage, in a nation where church and state are supposed to remain separate, should be a human right, not a heterosexual’s right. But I doubt that’s the case, and many people seem to agree.
There’s a consensus that the only reason Republicans are embracing gay marriage is to widen their voter base and appeal to a larger group of people, especially single-issue voters who could decide to vote Democrat instead of Republican solely because of the difference of opinions on gay marriage. It’s no secret that Republican influence is waning as demographics change and American youth become increasingly tolerant. Hence the change.
This seems to upset some people. It’s crooked, they say. If Republicans don’t actually believe in gay marriage, they shouldn’t support it just to win votes. That’s where I disagree.
Republicans’ cold embrace of gay marriage is not a bad thing. It’s not mediocre. It’s great. Amazing even, because it’s an example of the democratic process at work. American citizens have shown their support for gay marriage, and Republicans who want to stay in office can do two things: either change the opinions of their constituency, which would probably be difficult, or go with the flow. We can see which many have chosen.
That, to me, is a good thing. It shows that as battle-hardened and entrenched in ideology as the two-party system is, there is room for internal change when the people let their demands be known.
The only real way to show politicians that people are serious about change is to threaten them with a pink slip.
I don’t care if the reason politicians support gay marriage is because of personal beliefs or because public opinion has backed them into a corner. I don’t care what politicians believe at all. So long as they vote in the best interest of the people and support equal rights for everyone, the motivation behind the vote is largely irrelevant.
Yes, it would be nice if politicians would stop pushing their religious ideologies on others. It would be great if all Republicans earnestly believed in equal rights and those who don’t didn’t openly discriminate against homosexuals by attempting to deny them their right to marriage. But that’s not reality. So in between now and when that happens, I’ll take a pro-same-sex marriage vote or opinion inspired by a fear of losing power any day.
Daniel Serrano is a senior double major in English and journalism and an assistant city editor for the Daily 49er.