In a surprising press conference, mayor Jerry Sanders changed his stance on the issue. He also signed a city council resolution, which supports a legal battle to overturn the ban on same sex marriage in California. It adds San Diego to the growing list of California cities wanting marriage equality. One of the reasons for it, his own daughter.
Update: Watch the video of this moving press conference here.
From the AP article:
"Two years ago, I believed that civil unions were a fair alternative," he said at a news conference. "Those beliefs, in my case, have since changed. The concept of a 'separate but equal' institution is not something that I can support."
He fought back tears as he said that he wanted his adult daughter, Lisa, and other gay people he knows to have their relationships protected equally under state laws. His daughter was not at the news conference.
"In the end, I could not look any of them in the face and tell them that their relationships — their very lives — were any less meaningful than the marriage that I share with my wife, Rana," Sanders said.
This looks like big news, at least to me. A Republican mayor, who's up for re-election next year, backing marriage equality. It's easy for the mayor of San Francisco or Los Angeles to back it, but down here in San Diego, where at best we're purple, that takes a lot of guts. Hopefully it's a sign of change for the better, and soon, we can move a little closer to equality for all. If you'd like to show your support of Jerry Sanders, you can email him here.
I think it's important that people let him know he's doing the right thing, as I'm sure he's hearing from plenty on the other side of this issue. We can't expect progress if we ignore those politicians who do stand up for what's right. Don't have much else to add, just thought I'd let everyone know about this.