Sanders on his Move towards Equality

Jerry Sanders, mayor of San Diego, appeared this week as a witness for plaintiffs in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, and he's written about the experience and his own conversion to equality.

The pull-quotes:

Then two years later [after his 2005 election as Mayor of San Diego], the City Council passed a resolution supporting a court challenge to California's ban on same-sex marriage. I had 10 days to decide whether to sign or veto the resolution.
[…]
As late as the evening of the ninth day, I believed I would veto it.

That night, my wife and I hosted a gathering of gay and lesbian friends and neighbors in our backyard. I told them I intended to veto the resolution. Then I listened as they explained how disappointed and hurt they were that I would want to deny them a fundamental civil right, the right to marry the person you love and have that marriage recognized by the rest of society.

About 15 people spoke that night. But before the first one was finished, I shared their disappointment. It was then that I realized that all opposition to same-sex marriage, including my own opposition, was grounded in prejudice.
[…]
Sometimes I find it hard to believe that I came so close to making the wrong decision, and to endorsing government-sanctioned discrimination. As it turns out, I was reelected to a second term the next year. My position on marriage equality definitely made it more difficult. But I know I would have regretted vetoing that resolution a lot more than losing that election.

Now, more than two years later, I have testified in federal court about my decision and the rationale behind it. I told the court that, as someone who has spent most of his lifetime in public service, I understand that when government tolerates discrimination against any class of people, it makes it easier for citizens to do the same thing.

[excerpt from Jerry Sanders, "Proud to Testify for Marriage Equality", Huffington Post, 22 January 2010.]

Posted on January 22, 2010 at 20.14 by jns · Permalink
In: All, Common-Place Book, Current Events, Faaabulosity

One Response

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  1. Written by S.W. Anderson
    on Sunday, 24 January 2010 at 22.00
    Permalink

    Jerry Sanders is a man of intelligence and conscience. He set a good example for others, to have and show the courage of their convictions. I'm glad the people of San Diego saw fit to re-elect him.

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