Wow.
Read the entire column by Jonathan Capehart. He just nails what happened to Maryland's marriage bill. Nails it. Capehart names names and doesn't hold back:
Today's Post editorial on the marriage-equality debacle in Maryland wisely takes the long view. “The trend in public opinion continues in favor of equal rights for gays in general and same-sex marriage in particular,” the editorial board points out. “The direction of the debate seems clear enough; the pace is frustrating.”Seriously, read the whole thing. It's excellent.
A pace not helped at all by cowards in the state legislature who talked out of both sides of their mouths to the gay community and who refused to heed the call of leadership. Or by African Americans who can’t or refuse to see that one’s civil rights should not be encumbered by race or sexual orientation.
Y’all saw me open a vein on the treachery of Del. Sam Arora. He’s the first-term Montgomery County Democrat who raised a ton of cash from the gay community and progressives based on his stance on marriage equality. He was a proud co-sponsor of the same-sex marriage bill. But when it came time, Arora disgracefully wavered after getting push-back from some of his constituents. That he voted for it in the Judiciary Committee and would have voted for his marriage-equality bill on the floor was completely undercut by his newfound support for civil unions and for a voter referendum on the bill. A referendum that most everyone agrees would render same-sex marriage illegal in Maryland.
And then there was that other spineless profile in courage, Del. Tiffany T. Alston (D-Prince George’s).
Capehart slashes through all the arguments used by the opponents of marriage, from the call for a public vote to the blatant homophobia of Delegate Emmett Burns. It's great to see the words of Rep. John Lewis used to counter the hate that spewed from Burns.
All in all, a very powerful column.
