Chuck Schumer now officially backs gay marriage. Et tut, John?

[beachmom]

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2009/03/schumer-flips-on-gay-marriage.html

At a private risotto dinner last night with gay leaders and elected officials at Gramercy Tavern last night, Sen. Chuck Schumer reversed himself on the issue of same-sex marriage, saying he not only now supports it but also backs a full reversal of the Defense of Marriage Act.

It is indeed official. Here is his statement:

"It’s time. Equality is something that has always been a hallmark of America and no group should be deprived of it. New York, which has always been at the forefront on issues of equality, is appropriately poised to take a lead on this issue."

It's hard to overstate the significance of this in the eyes of gay marriage advocates.

With the ascent of Kirsten Gillibrand to fill Hillary Clinton's vacant US Senate seat, Schumer was the last remaining statewide elected official who backed civil unions over full marriage equality.

Now, John Kerry has a much, much better record on gay issues than Chuck Schumer, most notably the DOMA vote. And that is why seeing Chuck go to the left of Kerry just really stinks. Kerry is doing all kinds of great things, but Chuck will get the headline. Sigh.

Edited for typo