May 16, 2008
Same-sex marriage decision may help Republicans
by Zachary Coile
The San Francisco Chronicle
The California Supreme Court's historic ruling affirming the right of same-sex couples to marry is certain to inject the issue into the 2008 presidential race and could help Republicans by serving up a red-meat issue to rally conservative voters.
The court's 4-3 decision echoes the Massachusetts Supreme Court's ruling legalizing gay marriage before the last presidential election in 2004, which led San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom to begin issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples. President Bush seized on the issue and pledged to support a federal constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, a move analysts say helped his re-election by energizing religious conservatives. Republicans hope the California court's ruling could do the same for the party's presumptive nominee, Arizona Sen. John McCain, who has struggled to win over social conservatives.
"The California Supreme Court has just given Republicans an early Christmas gift," said Matt Barber, policy director for cultural issues for Concerned Women for America. "This will be at the top of the list of issues in the 2008 race, and it comes during a time when Republicans are in desperate need of something that will invigorate the base."
In 2004, 13 states passed ballot measures to ban same-sex marriage, including Ohio, where the measure boosted turnout among evangelical Christians and Catholics, and might have helped Bush beat Democrat John Kerry. Now Florida, a key swing state, has a similar measure on the November ballot, and other states such as Arizona and Indiana could do the same.
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