Greenbelt, Md.: Why is your party so timid on this issue? You have, once again, abdicated leadership on an issue to the worst elements of society, and in so doing allowed them to plow over the rights and liberties of the people you are supposed to represent.
Ignore the polls and LEAD! If the public begins to hear about the reality, they will "get it" and support you. Have faith in people to do what is right when presented with options. It's really simple -- marriage for same-sex couples has zero effect on anyone else, it's a fairness issue, and the US is in the business of increasing freedom for individuals.
But if your party continues to agree with Republicans rather than standing for what is right, you deserve the increasing irrelevance you have.
Rep. Barney Frank: That is not only nonsense but very damaging nonsense. In the first place there are very real differences in the parties. The effort to pass a constitutional amendment to ban any state from implementing same sex marriage is being led by the Republican president and strongly opposed by the two remaining leading Democratic candidates for president. In congress half of the Republican members of the house support that amendment, about 7 percent of the Democrats do.
Second, the notion that the public will always agree with what others or I believe is fair as soon as we articulate it is quite simply ignorant. Public opinion does change, but not instantly and the notion that it is only because some Democrats haven't spoken out to same sex marriage that there is public opinion against it is just foolish.
Anti-gay and lesbian prejudice has deep roots in human history and in our country. Fighting against it is very important - too important to be dealt with in the cavalier manor in this question.
I am working very hard to change public opinion and Democrats are much better than Republicans although not yet perfect. To argue as this question does that if one party is 70 percent on your side and the other is 95 percent against you, you should ignore that difference is very self-defeating.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13156-2004Feb27.html?referrer=email