Bipartisan Group Shift Marriage Messaging to Commitment

[William769]

A group of prominent Democrats and Republicans behind a new campaign wants to move discussion about marriage equality from rights and benefits to commitment in order to win over more Americans.

USA Today reports on the launch Monday of the Commitment Campaign by the centrist Democratic group Third Way. Backers include Maryland governor Martin O’Malley, Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee, former New Jersey governor Christine Todd Whitman, and Ken Mehlman, the former chairman of the Republican National Committee who came out last year.

Polling from Third Way and Grove Insight indicates that by framing same-sex marriage as a matter of equal rights instead of commitment, advocates may have perpetuated a politically harmful idea among moderates that same-sex couples want to marry for different reasons than other couples.

“When asked why ‘couples like you’ might want to marry, 58% said to ‘publicly acknowledge their love and commitment to each other,’” reports USA Today. “When asked why gays and lesbians may want to marry, the respondents split between ‘love and commitment’ and ‘rights and benefits.’”

http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/11/07/Bipartisan_Group_Shifts_Marriage_Messaging_to_Commitment/

One of the few times in my life, I'm speechless.

[Bluenorthwest]

1. As long as our Party is filled with anti gay 'ministers' and our

leadership continues to spout off about God being against us, all the rewording in the world will not matter.