Dodd on Equality
I lived in Connecticut, going to graduate school at Wesleyan University, when Chris Dodd first ran for Congress. I had a favorable impression of him then, perhaps because of the attitude that leads to the types of things he's saying now.
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Democratic presidential hopeful Chris Dodd told Concord High School students Wednesday that people debating gay marriage should ask themselves just one question: What would you do if your child were gay?
Dodd said anyone who would deny a gay child the right to be happy isn't being honest.
"We ought to be able to have these loving relationships," the Connecticut senator said.
Dodd, the father of a 2- and a 5-year-old, said his daughters could grow up to be lesbians and he hopes they would have the opportunity to enjoy marriage-like rights.
"They may grow up as a different sexual orientation than their parents," Dodd said. "How would I want my child to be treated if they were of a different sexual orientation?"
Dodd, who opposed a constitutional amendment to limit marriage to man-woman unions, said he supports civil unions, but not gay marriage. Asked afterward what he sees as the difference, he said: "I don't think probably much in people's minds. If you're allowing that, all the protections you have there, you've covered it."
[from Philip Elliott, "Dodd weighs in on gay marriage", Connecticut Post / AP, 4 April 2007; via Pam's House Blend.]
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on Friday, 6 April 2007 at 14.21
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I like Dodd a lot and always have. He's a stalwart. Like Joe Biden and most senators, he does have his must-support special interest. Biden's is banking and credit-card companies. Dodd's is big insurance companies.
On everything else, they're dedicated to the longterm best insterests of people as a whole and fight hard for decency and fairness. Both are long-experienced legislators who know more about government and how to harness its capabilities for good than people like George W. Bush and Dick Cheney can imagine. Not that Bush and Cheney are likely to ever devote their valuable time to such a thing.
I take it a s sign of progress that Dodd, while running for president, can openly and comfortably make a statement like the one quoted. Not long ago, doing that would've caused an uproar and effectively put an end to the person's presidential aspirations.