VIEW FROM THE BACK OF THE MARRIAGE BUS: Steve Koval replies to James Driscoll

James Driscoll, a former appointee to George W. Bush's Presidential Advisory Council for HIV-AIDS (PACHA), has an op-ed piece in today's Washington Times. ...

Driscoll claims that "the slight drop in George Bush's 2004 percentage of the gay vote, from 26 percent to 23 percent, indicates that for grassroots gay voters, marriage remains a low priority."

But Driscoll's conclusion does not at all follow from the facts. At best, he could claim that gay marriage has not become an overwhelming issue for the one-quarter of gay voters who voted for Bush in 2000. These are hardly representative of gay voters as a whole. ...

What Driscoll fails to appreciate is that any gay issue is a red flag for "religious conservatives." Driscoll forgets how radical the Vermont Supreme Court decision, in response to which the state's legislature adopted civil unions, seemed in 1999.

By demanding full marriage equality, those radical civil unions are so moderate that even President Bush said he saw no problem with states adopting them. And the tactic of pushing for full marriage equality seems to have worked well in moving public opinion: over 60 percent of Americans now favor gay marriage or protections offered by civil unions.

Driscoll is obviously right on one point: In 2004, gay marriage is not an idea that most Americans are ready for. However, if gays don't push for full civil rights, America will never be ready.

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posted by Eve at 9:32 PM | link

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