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Making the case from a conservative values perspective is an imperative, not an option.
-- Ken Mehlman
An interview with the conservative marriage equality activist Ken Mehlman on DOMA, the conservative movement, and what's lies ahead.
Out: Did you anticipate yesterdays results? Or were you caught by surprise? Ken Mehlman: I wasnt surprised by the results, based on the conversations Id had with Ted Olsen and David Boies from AFER, which is a board I serve on, and also Id gotten to know Robbie [Roberta] Kaplan [the lawyer for Edie Windsor]. Although no one can predict the court, it was possible to imagine this result based on the hearings earlier this year. If you read Justice Kennedys opinion, and I take him at his word, he looked at that law [DOMA], read the legislative history of the law, and concluded that the law should be overturned. Are we likely to see a Republican backlash? I don't think so. If you look at the history of marriage from the beginning, what you see is that after states pass civil marriage, support invariably grows across party lines. Look at Massachusetts and New Hampshire, both states where marriage equality laws were passed with fewer Republicans, but ultimately Republicans and Democrats came around to embrace gay marriage. As people see what happens when people are treated equally under the law, when there is the opportunity for civil marriage, they see their family values being enhanced, they see their community values getting stronger. When I went up to New Hampshire last year during an attempt to roll back marriage equality, I met with a whole lot of Republican state legislators, and one of the questions I asked, particularly of those who were conceptually skeptical of the issue, was if they could name anyone in the community whose life was worse because of marriage equality. And then I asked if they could name anyone whose lives were better. They recognized that point.
An important role, for sure, but the single most important role is the role of every one of your readers and the role that Harvey Milk outlined the role everyone has in simply coming out and telling their story to their family and their friends and their colleagues. There are so many examples, every day. What was so compelling about these cases was Edies story and Edies example. We all have the power to tell stories, and the media can magnify that. Its also important for kids who are growing upwho want to grow up in a nation where they have equal rights under the law. I do think we need to recognize that this is a pluralistic society, and what we are discussing is civil marriage, and that while a marriage license ought to be available to everyone regardless of sexual orientation, we also respect the fact that different faiths come to different conclusions and were not talking about taking a sacrament here.
You mentioned that in 29 states you can still be fired from your work based on sexual orientation. Thats a pretty powerful disincentive for coming out, let alone getting married. 73% of Republican voters believe someone should not be able to fired based on sexual orientation, so if a majority of Americans who believe there ought to be civil marriage its about 55% nowthat number is a super majority on workplace discrimination. I think there is a good conservative argument, a good progressive argument thats consistent with the most basic American value, which is merit: People ought to be judged on the job that they do. Building out the kind of coalition that we saw around marriage, where business leaders made the case, as well as conservatives and liberals and moderates and libertarians, all can make the case of why people ought to be judged at work on the job that they do and not fired on the basis of sexual orientation.
Whats next?
Theres obviously a lot of clean-up that will happen now that DOMA has been repealed, from tax equity issues to immigration, and those are things that need to be reviewed. Theres been a lot of progress in the past on safe schools and making sure that bullying is addressed. Governor Christie in New Jersey, and in Maine, Governor LePage, have signed very robust laws making sure that every child is safe in school. Those can be a model for other states. Speaking of Christie, were you disappointed in his reaction to Justice Kennedys opinion, calling it incredibly insulting to the 340-plus members of Congress and President Bill Clinton who signed it into law? I disagreed with him. I thought it was the right decision and I think we need to try now, going forward, to look at places where we dont have access to marriage and work on that. Everyone comes from a different ideological perspective, and we should use our way of thinking and our particular relationships to make the case for equality. AFTER DOMA: Ken Mehlman on Whats Next at OUT Online