2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Has Sanders really always supported marriage equality [View all]Zorra
(27,670 posts)There is however one prominent politician who did not wait so long to call for full gay equality: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
In a letter he published in the early 1970s, when he was a candidate for governor of Vermont from the Liberty Union Party, Sanders invoked freedom to call for the abolition of all laws related to homosexuality:
http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/bernie-sanders-was-full-gay-equality-40-years-ago
A Major Milestone on Gay Marriage
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
President Obama on Wednesday publicly endorsed gay marriage. "I applaud the president's historic announcement and his commitment to equal rights for all Americans," said Sen. Bernie Sanders. "I am proud to represent the first state in the country to allow civil unions and the first state where the Legislature allowed same-sex marriage without a court order. I am glad that the president is now on board."
http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/recent-business/a-major-milestone-on-gay-marriage
Now that he's officially announced he will seek the Democratic nomination for president and challenge Hillary Clinton, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders will be talking about his positions on major issues on the campaign trail, and one very big issue he has championed for years is gay marriage. Sanders, unlike some of his potential Republican opponents, seems like he would not turn down an invitation to a gay wedding (and he might actually get invited to one).
In 1996, then-Representative Sanders voted against the Defense of Marriage Act, which barred recognition of gay marriage at the federal level (DOMA was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 2013). Sanders' and his home state of Vermont were the first to legalize same-sex unions in 2000, at first recognizing them as civil unions. Gay marriage has been legal in Vermont since 2009, and as The New York Times reported, Vermont was the first state to pass legislation in support of same-sex marriage, rather than in reaction to a court ruling.
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The Human Rights Campaign, which advocates for civil rights issues, gave Sanders its highest possible rating for his stance on marriage equality. He's far to the left of Hillary Clinton on many issues, and while Clinton's position on gay marriage has changed over time (when she ran in 2008, Clinton opposed gay marriage), Sanders has been a supporter for more than 15 years. It appears safe to say that having Bernie Sanders in the White House would be a positive for the gay community and their civil rights.
http://www.bustle.com/articles/79951-bernie-sanders-views-on-gay-marriage-show-hes-been-a-supporter-for-a-long-time