From trying to steal the soul of President Obama's mother, to murdering love in California, you perhaps won't be surprised to hear that a Mormon is spearheading the effort to legislatively bash gays in Washington, DC.
Yesterday, the D.C. City Council passed legislation that would allow D.C. to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. Only our former Mayor Marion Barry, who has been married four times, voted no.
D.C. is subject to Congressional interference with our laws. And, as expected, a top Republican is already talking about blocking the bill:
At least one GOP member said yesterday that he will try to block the bill from becoming law.What a coincidence that a Mormon Congressman from Utah is taking the lead on this. Rep. Chaffetz should read the latest Washington Post/ABC News Poll, which shows more Americans support same-sex marriage:
"Some things are worth fighting for, and this is one of them," said Rep. Jason Chaffetz (Utah), the ranking Republican on a House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee that oversees the District. "It's not something I can let go softly into the night. . . . I recognize the Democrats are in the majority, but I represent the majority of Americans on this issue."
Most striking is the sharp shift in public opinion on same-sex marriage. Forty-nine percent said it should be legal for gay people to marry, and 46 percent said it should be illegal. About three years ago, a broad majority said such unions should be illegal (58 percent illegal to 36 percent legal).Even better, as some of Chaffetz's fellow Republican ponder rebranding the GOP, he should check out this finding from the New York Times/CBS poll:
More significant is evidence in polls of a widening divide on the issue by age, suggesting to many Republicans that the potency of the gay-marriage question is on the decline. It simply does not appear to have the resonance with younger voters that it does with older ones.We also have to figure out who is funding the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), which has been running radio ads in D.C. That group seem to have easy access to funds. Now, who in the past has provided large sums to prevent same-sex marriage? That would be the Mormons. Maybe Rep. Chaffetz can find out.
Consider this: In the latest New York Times/CBS News poll, released on Monday, 31 percent of respondents over the age of 40 said they supported gay marriage. By contrast, 57 percent under age 40 said they supported it, a 26-point difference. Among the older respondents, 35 percent said they opposed any legal recognition of same-sex couples, be it marriage or civil unions. Among the younger crowd, just 19 percent held that view.
