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San Diego Mayor Reverses Objection to Gay Marriage After Daughter 'Comes
Out'
Thursday, September 20, 2007
SAN DIEGO - Mayor Jerry Sanders abruptly reversed his public opposition to
same-sex marriage Wednesday after revealing his adult daughter is gay.
Sanders also signed a City Council resolution supporting a legal fight to
overturn California's prohibition on same-sex marriages. He previously said
he would veto the resolution.
Sanders, a Republican former police chief, told reporters that he could no
longer back the position he took during his election campaign two years ago,
when he said he favored civil unions but not full marriage rights for
homosexual couples.
"Two years ago, I believed that civil unions were a fair alternative," he
said at a press 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 he wanted his adult daughter, Lisa, and
other gay people he knows to have their relationships protected equally
under state laws.
"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.
The mayor, who is up for re-election next year, acknowledged that many
voters who supported his earlier stance may disagree, but said he had to do
what he believed was right.
Lisa Sanders was unavailable for comment, according to the mayor's
spokesman, Fred Sainz. He said she had told her parents four years ago that
she is a lesbian and is currently in a committed relationship, but her
orientation wasn't public until her father's speech.
The City Council voted Tuesday 5-3 in favor of joining other California
cities in supporting a challenge to the same-sex marriage ban currently
pending before the state Supreme Court.
The court is expected to rule sometime next year on whether to uphold a
lower court decision that found the same-sex marriage ban to be
constitutional.
The lawsuits grew out of the high court's decision to invalidate marriage
licenses issued to gay and lesbian couples who flocked to San Francisco in
2004, after Mayor Gavin Newsom instructed city officials to allow the
couples to wed.
Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Jose and Santa Cruz are among cities that have
already filed friend of the court briefs in favor of same-sex marriages.
Councilwoman Toni Atkins, who raised the motion, argued that state residents
should be treated equally regardless of their sexual orientations.
Opponents argued that San Diego voters had already expressed opposition to
same-sex marriage by voting in favor of Proposition 22, a 2000 measure that
prohibited state agencies from recognizing same-sex marriages performed in
other jurisdictions.
On Monday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he would veto a bill redefining
marriage as a civil contract between two people that was approved by
legislators last week. He said he would not reconsider the position and
vowed to keep vetoing similar measures unless voters overturn an anti-gay
marriage initiative endorsed by 61 percent of voters in 2000.
Schwarzenegger has until Oct. 14 to act on the measure.
San Diego Mayor Reverses Objection to Gay Marriage After Daughter 'Comes
Out'
Thursday, September 20, 2007
SAN DIEGO - Mayor Jerry Sanders abruptly reversed his public opposition to
same-sex marriage Wednesday after revealing his adult daughter is gay.
Sanders also signed a City Council resolution supporting a legal fight to
overturn California's prohibition on same-sex marriages. He previously said
he would veto the resolution.
Sanders, a Republican former police chief, told reporters that he could no
longer back the position he took during his election campaign two years ago,
when he said he favored civil unions but not full marriage rights for
homosexual couples.
"Two years ago, I believed that civil unions were a fair alternative," he
said at a press 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 he wanted his adult daughter, Lisa, and
other gay people he knows to have their relationships protected equally
under state laws.
"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.
The mayor, who is up for re-election next year, acknowledged that many
voters who supported his earlier stance may disagree, but said he had to do
what he believed was right.
Lisa Sanders was unavailable for comment, according to the mayor's
spokesman, Fred Sainz. He said she had told her parents four years ago that
she is a lesbian and is currently in a committed relationship, but her
orientation wasn't public until her father's speech.
The City Council voted Tuesday 5-3 in favor of joining other California
cities in supporting a challenge to the same-sex marriage ban currently
pending before the state Supreme Court.
The court is expected to rule sometime next year on whether to uphold a
lower court decision that found the same-sex marriage ban to be
constitutional.
The lawsuits grew out of the high court's decision to invalidate marriage
licenses issued to gay and lesbian couples who flocked to San Francisco in
2004, after Mayor Gavin Newsom instructed city officials to allow the
couples to wed.
Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Jose and Santa Cruz are among cities that have
already filed friend of the court briefs in favor of same-sex marriages.
Councilwoman Toni Atkins, who raised the motion, argued that state residents
should be treated equally regardless of their sexual orientations.
Opponents argued that San Diego voters had already expressed opposition to
same-sex marriage by voting in favor of Proposition 22, a 2000 measure that
prohibited state agencies from recognizing same-sex marriages performed in
other jurisdictions.
On Monday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he would veto a bill redefining
marriage as a civil contract between two people that was approved by
legislators last week. He said he would not reconsider the position and
vowed to keep vetoing similar measures unless voters overturn an anti-gay
marriage initiative endorsed by 61 percent of voters in 2000.
Schwarzenegger has until Oct. 14 to act on the measure.
