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发帖数: 4174 | 1 NEW YORK — Same-sex marriage might seem like a straightforward issue: You'
re for it or against it. Yet for the field of Republican presidential
hopefuls, it's proving to be an awkward topic as public attitudes change and
more states legalize gay unions, the latest being New York.
Numerous recent polls suggest a slim majority of Americans now back gay
marriage. Support is highest among Democrats, but is growing across the
political spectrum even while religious conservatives – a key part of the
GOP primary electorate – remain largely opposed.
The result, according to political analysts from both major parties, is a
dilemma for the leading GOP candidates, most of whom oppose same-sex
marriage but tend to avoid raising the topic unless asked.
"They see the polling – more and more Republicans are supporting gay
marriage," said David Welch, a former research director for the Republican
National Committee. "It puts them in an awkward position with the younger
members of the party and also with independents whose votes you need to win."
Richard Socarides, a former Clinton White House adviser on gay rights, said
the political climate has changed rapidly and dramatically as leading
Democrats celebrate the advent of gay marriage in New York and the imminent
end of the ban on gays serving openly in the military under President Barack
Obama.
"It's now advantageous for Democrats to support gay rights, and a net
negative for Republicans to oppose them," Socarides said. "It's become
extremely complicated for many of the Republican candidates who are used to
using anti-gay rhetoric as a way to gin up their base."
Obama, though still not ready to endorse gay marriage, says he's "evolving"
on the issue and is supporting a bill that would extend federal recognition
to same-sex couples who marry in the six states that allow it.
New Hampshire is among those six states and also home to the first
Republican primary next winter. According to conservative activists in the
state, none of the major GOP presidential candidates has yet taken a public
position on the ongoing effort by some Republican legislators to repeal the
2009 state law legalizing same-sex marriage.
Andy Smith, director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center,
predicted that most of the GOP contenders would continue trying to dodge the
issue because of lukewarm public support for repeal. | g********d
发帖数: 4174 | 2 今非昔比，2004年反对GAY MARRIAGE还是一张王牌。 |
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