Gov. Huntsman: "All Americans should be treated equally under the law"

Wow. This is pretty amazing AND important.


In an article for the American Conservative, former Utah governor and presidential candidate Jon Huntsman writes that "the marketplace of ideas will render us irrelevant, and soon, if we are not honest about our time and place in history." Huntsman underscores the importance of Republicans to embrace marriage equality:

While serving as governor of Utah, I pushed for civil unions and expanded reciprocal benefits for gay citizens. I did so not because of political pressure—indeed, at the time 70 percent of Utahns were opposed—but because as governor my role was to work for everybody, even those who didn’t have access to a powerful lobby. Civil unions, I believed, were a practical step that would bring all citizens more fully into the fabric of a state they already were—and always had been—a part of.

That was four years ago. Today we have an opportunity to do more: conservatives should start to lead again and push their states to join the nine others that allow all their citizens to marry. I’ve been married for 29 years. My marriage has been the greatest joy of my life. There is nothing conservative about denying other Americans the ability to forge that same relationship with the person they love.

All Americans should be treated equally by the law, whether they marry in a church, another religious institution, or a town hall. This does not mean that any religious group would be forced by the state to recognize relationships that run counter to their conscience. Civil equality is compatible with, and indeed promotes, freedom of conscience.

I often write that I'm in many ways a moderate Democrat. I like to see compromise on some issues and see the government come together to solve problems. That's why I can't get behind a GOP candidate that runs far to the right of the political spectrum to get their party's votes and then try to pretend they represent me.

That being said, Gov. Huntsman showed himself to be a fair, smart and moderate Republican in the last campaign cycle that when I watched and listened to him, I thought - "if I had to have a Republican president, I could deal with this guy." Of course, he wasn't nearly "far right" enough for the GOP and he had to drop out of the race. Mittens got the nod, and the rest is history.

I think Gov. Huntsman is being honest with his party about marriage equality. It is the law of the land in many states now, with more to follow. This is the course of history.

Time to get with it, GOP kids. Or soon you could be as outdated as the KKK.