Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, issued some words of advice for fellow GOPers: Get in the 21st century with same-sex-marriage issues.
“We do have a platform, and we adhere to that platform,” Mr. Priebus said in a USA Today video. “But it doesn’t mean that we divide and subtract people from our party” who favor gay marriage.
“I don’t believe we need to act like Old Testament heretics,” he said in the USA Today video. Rather, Republicans “have to strike a balance between principle and grace and respect.”
His statements come as the U.S. Supreme Court is due to hear two cases on gay marriage — one on a California-voted ban on same-sex marriage, and the other on the legalities of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which bans the federal government from giving marriage benefits to same-sex couples.
His statements also come at a time when politicians from both sides of the political aisle are renouncing their past objections to gay marriage. On the Republican side, Sen. Rob Portman – an Ohio conservative with traditional values — just flipped on gay marriage, in part, he said, because of the recent revelations of homosexuality by one of his sons.
On the Democratic side, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton came out in support of gay marriage — some believe as a stepping stone toward a 2016 White House run. And just this week, Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat who once objected to gay marriage but supported civil unions, said she now supports same-sex marriage.
SEE ALSO: Not all arguments will be inside as Supreme Court weighs gay marriage
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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