It appears that presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama have some common ground on the looming question of same-sex marriage (AKA “gay marriage). Neither candidate supports same-sex marriage. Well, at least they say they don’t.
Obama has made his sentiment on same-sex marriage known:
I’m a Christian, and so although I try not to have my religious beliefs dominate or determine my political views on this issue, I do believe that tradition and my religious beliefs say that marriage is something sanctified between a man and a woman.
However, in his book, The Audacity of Hope, he writes:
It is my obligation, not only as an elected official in a pluralistic society but also as a Christian, to remain open to the possibility that my unwillingness to support gay marriage is misguided…and that in years hence I may be seen as someone who was on the wrong side of history.
Obama supports the extension of civil rights, however, to same-sex couples, meaning he supports civil unions of same-sex couples. Rich Lowry from the National Review Online asserts that, while Obama states he is opposed to same-sex marriage, he is “operationally pro-gay marriage.” I think Ramesh Ponnuru is somewhat accurate when he suggests that Obama “opposes same-sex marriage as a religious or moral matter, but supports it as public policy.” Yet, according to lesbian activist Kathy Belge, there are some major differences between marriage and civil union in terms of rights and benefits, such as state recognition, dissolution, immigration policy, and taxation.
McCain opposes same-sex marriage, though he does not support a constitutional amendment that would ban it. In 2004, McCain strongly opposed a federal constitutional amendment to ban gay-marriage, calling such a measure “un-Republican.” He argued that states ought to decide whether same-sex marriage should be legal (which is essential what is happening now). In 1996, McCain supported the Defense of Marriage Act, though it does not constitutionally codify traditional marriage between a man and a woman.
On Hardball in October 2007, McCain stated:
I think that gay marriage should be allowed, if there’s a ceremony kind of thing, if you want to call it that. I don’t have any problem with that.
Later, he clarified:
On the issue of the gay marriage, I believe that if people want to have private ceremonies, that’s fine. I do not believe that gay marriage should be legal.
McCain supports extending certain rights and benefits to same-sex couples. On the Ellen Degeneres Show back in May, McCain stated:
Well, my thoughts are that I think that people should be able to enter into legal agreements and I think that that is something that we should encourage, particularly in the case of insurance and other areas…decisions that have to be made. I just believe in the unique status of marriage between man and woman, and I know that we have a respectful disagreement on that issue.
What compounds the difficulty in understanding McCain’s position on gay marriage is his common ground with Obama. While he states that he is opposed to same-sex “marriage,” he says that he is not opposed to same-sex civil unions. In a 2006 interview, McCain was asked about a measure he supported in Arizona that denied same-sex civil union and gay domestic partnerships government benefits. McCain was asked, “Are you against civil unions for gay couples?” His comment was:
No, I am not…I believe…but the…that…that initiative was, I think, misinterpreted. I think that initiative did allow for people to join into legal agreements such as power of attorney and others.
He was then asked, “So you are for civil unions?” McCain replied:
No, am I for ability of two people–I do not believe gay marriage should be legal. I do not believe gay marriage should be legal. But I do believe that people ought to be able to enter into contracts, exchange powers of attorney, and other ways that people who have relationships can enter into.
One headline summed up McCain’s position nicely: “McCain not for, against civil unions.”
It seems to me that both Obama and McCain do not want the term “marriage” applied in a legal sense to same-sex couples. However, when push comes to shove, it is McCain who actually practices what he preaches in concrete cases (consider his position on recent Arizona and California measures). While Obama explicitly affirms his support for legal civil union, McCain skirts a bit, affirming that many of the benefits of a civil union should be allowed for same-sex couples without explicitly endorsing the term “civil union.” I think that we can safely call McCain “operationally pro-gay civil unions,” given his support for certain legal benefits for same-sex couples.
Like his position on same-sex marriage, John McCain does not support a federal measure that would ban adoption by gay couples. In a clarification sent to Andrew Sullivan yesterday, the McCain campaign responded to McCain’s earlier claim that he did not “believe” in gay adoption:
McCain could have been clearer in the interview in stating that his position on gay adoption is that it is a state issue, just as he made it clear in the interview that marriage is a state issue. He was not endorsing any federal legislation.
The campaign also seemed to imply that McCain feels that gay adoption is better than child abandonment:
McCain’s expressed his personal preference for children to be raised by a mother and a father wherever possible. However, as an adoptive father himself, McCain believes children deserve loving and caring home environments, and he recognizes that there are many abandoned children who have yet to find homes. McCain believes that in those situations that caring parental figures are better for the child than the alternative.
To sum up McCain on gay marriage and adoption, he prefers to have marriage and gay adoption be state issues, which they already are. To sum up Obama on the same issues, Obama likewise leaves marriage and gay adoption to the states, though he vocally supports equal adoption rights.
Similarities:
- Both oppose the legality of same-sex “marriage”
- Both oppose a federal ban on same-sex marriage
- Both assume a difference between “marriage” and “civil union”
- Both support the extension of certain rights and benefits to same-sex couples
- Both want same-sex marriage and adoption to remain state issues
Differences:
- Obama is clear that he supports legally recognizing same-sex civil unions, while McCain neither affirms nor denies whether he supports civil unions, yet he supports extending many privileges of civil unions to same-sex couples
- Obama does not support the Defense of Marriage Act, while McCain does support it
- Obama has vocally opposed state bans on same-sex marriage, while McCain has vocally supported state bans on same-sex marriage
Obama’s overall stance is much clearer than that of McCain, though the two hold much common ground. So while they respect the legislative actions of the states, something over which they are likely to diverge is the appointing of federal judges who would likely have a large effect on both issues.
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