Politicians who support gay marriage?

[camera obscura]

I know this topic is very last month (heh) and I don't want to start more arguments. I'm just curious about which currently elected politicians support gay marriage. I've tried Google but there doesn't seem to be an official list.

The Senators I know of are:

Russ Feingold
Ted Kennedy
Al Franken (presuming he will be elected)

and some governors... David Paterson, Deval Patrick, Jennifer Granholm, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. I found this picture of Rod Blagojevich but I have no idea if he actually supports equal rights:



As for big-city mayors, there is Gavin Newsom obviously, and Mike Bloomberg.

Any other big names I'm missing?

[AnOhioan]

1. Congressman Kucinich

[Muttocracy]

4. he was the only Dem pres candidate clearly for it, right? nt

[AnOhioan]

12. Possibly...can't remember precisely

[ShadowLiberal]

2. You sure about Arnold Schwarzenegger?

Arnold Schwarzenegger once said "I think gay marriage should be between a man and a woman", a quote that's frequently laughed at from time to time. He may have changed his mind since then of course.

Also I'm sure that there's quite a few democrats in the house who support gay marriage, even if haven't openly said they do. There's a lot of solidly democratic districts out there where those politicians have nothing to fear saying they support gay marriage, as long as they don't intend on running for anything that's elected statewide.

[Fearless]

3. He said that he wouldn't do anything about it either way even though he personally opposed it.

For that I give him credit, I suppose. Otherwise, he's still a fool.

[karynnj]

5. If you count that there are many people you can throw in

In MA, Kerry has said Gay marriage is settled law - and he voted against DOMA. He also quietly lobbied a state official to vote against eliminating the right to marry. That is further than Arnold went -- yet I would not say he was "for" gay marriage, but he is also not against it.

I think the OP was looking for advocates - which is more.

[Muttocracy]

6. Reps Maurice Hinchey, Barney Frank. nt

[camera obscura]

16. Ah yeah, I didn't get into reps because I don't know them as well - but of course Barney Frank

I should have guessed Kucinich too.

[Starry Messenger]

7. Barbara Boxer, I think.

http://www.ontheissues.org/Domestic/Barbara_Boxer_Civil_Rights.htm

I would bet Barbara Lee, too. I'll have to look it up.

This suggests yes, I think:

http://www.ontheissues.org/CA/Barbara_Lee.htm

[Muttocracy]

8. here's a site to look for info

http://www.issues2000.org/Civil_Rights.htm

I can't figure out how to get a list of pro- politicians, but you can get civil rights voting records / statements for each politican by name. Would take a long time to go through them all!

[Muttocracy]

9. My impression of Biden is mixed - he's for equivalent civil unions but not the word "marriage"

because he see "marriage" as a religious term? I remember on Ellen's TV show he was against Prop 8. I wonder if it's like his stance on abortion - he is against it personally due to religious beliefs, but doesn't think he has the right to impose his beliefs on others.


http://www.issues2000.org/2008/Joe_Biden_Civil_Rights.htm
------------------

Voted NO on constitutional ban of same-sex marriage.

--------------------------
Voted YES on prohibiting same-sex marriage.
The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA): Vote to prohibit marriage between members of the same sex in federal law, and provide that no state is required to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. Define 'marriage' as 'between one man and one woman.'
Reference: Bill HR 3396 ; vote number 1996-280 on Sep 10, 1996

------------------

No on gay marriage; yes on equal treatment
Q: Do you support, as they do in Alaska, granting same-sex benefits to couples?

BIDEN: Absolutely positively. Absolutely no distinction from a legal standpoint between a same-sex and a heterosexual couple. Same-sex couples should be able to have visitation rights in the hospitals, joint ownership of property, life insurance policies, etc. That’s only fair.

...

Q: Let’s try to avoid nuance. Do you support gay marriage?

BIDEN: No. Barack Obama nor I support redefining from a civil side what constitutes marriage. We do not support that. That is basically the decision to be left to faiths and people who practice their faiths the determination what you call it.

Source: 2008 Vice Presidential debate against Gov. Sarah Palin Oct 2, 2008
----------------------------
Civil unions ok; gay marriage is probably inevitable
Q: In November 2003, you were asked, “Do you believe gay marriage is inevitable?” And you responded, “I’m not sure. I think probably it is.”

A: Well, I think it probably is because social mores change. But I don’t think the government can dictate the definition of marriage to religious institutions. But government does have an obligation to guarantee that every individual is free of discrimination. And there’s a distinction. I think government should not be able to dictate to religions the definition of marriage, but on a civil side, government has the obligation to strip away every vestige of discrimination as to what individuals are able to do in terms of their personal conduct.

So New Hampshire coming out in favor of civil unions is OK by you?

A: Yes. Yes, it is.
------------------------------------
Voted YES on expanding hate crimes to include sexual orientation.

[yardwork]

14. That's Obama's administration's position, according to change.gov

[Muttocracy]

15. yeah, and that was a mix of quotes from before and after his VP selection. nt

[yardwork]

17. Biden probably agrees, but in any case he will go along with the official stance.

Biden is a team player.

[VADem11]

10. Feinstein

She's come around and supports marriage equality.

[nevergiveup]

11. Mayor Daley in Chicago

[mitchtv]

13. Caroline Kennedy does

[JackBeck]

18. New Jersey Gov. Corzine has publicly stated

that he believes gay marriage will be legislated in NJ after the 2008 election and he would sign the bill.