Politico reports that House Republicans are downplaying gay marriage as a social issue in favor of others like religious liberty and defunding Planned Parenthood. They suggest that general shifts in attitudes about same sex relationships, increased awareness of gays and lesbians among them, and electoral opportunity are driving the change. In 2301 we've been discussing elections and the impact they have on changes in policy. We will be doing the same soon enough for public opinion. This story fits both topics:
It’s not like the GOP has become a bastion of progressiveness on gay
rights, but there has been an evolution in the political approach — and
an acknowledgment of a cultural shift in the country. Same-sex
relationships are more prominent and accepted. There are more gay public
figures — including politicians — and it’s likely that many Washington
Republicans have gay friends and coworkers. Just as important — there’s
also a libertarian streak of acceptance on people’s sexuality coursing
through the House Republican Conference.
“In one decade, what’s shocking on TV is accepted as commonplace in the other,” said Rep. Jack Kingston
(R-Ga.), a veteran of the culture wars of the 1990s. “It’s the same
with sexual mores all over that if you look at campuses and
universities, they have a lot of gay pride clubs and so there has been a
deliberate and effective outreach to the younger generation about being
more accepting of same-sex relationships.”
But there’s also a political strategy at work: The economy has
displaced moral issues in today’s politics. Ask most House Republicans
today if they have deep convictions about gay relationships, and it
hardly registers.
