MA: Reilly Panders on Gay Marriage
This reminds me so much of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, traditionally a moderate, who moved to the extreme on gay marriage to shore up liberal credentials.
Here we have Tom Reilly, a near-certain candidate for Massachusetts governor, pandering to the same fringe constituency to fire up his base for next year's contest.
No doubt this will boost fundraising in Cambridge and other sticky areas where full conformity will be expected. Obviously Reilly isn't wasting time, he wants to please them now before somebody else moves in and grabs the dough.
(Boston Globe)
After playing a key role in the efforts to fight legalization of gay marriage a year ago, Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly said yesterday that he now favors allowing legalized same-sex marriage in Massachusetts and that he will oppose any efforts to ban them.
In an interview yesterday, Reilly, an unannounced Democratic candidate for governor, struck a tone that is far different from the public posture he held for several years. Reilly said he was ''moved" by the same-sex marriages that took place after gay marriage was legalized May 17, and added that he would vote against a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage if it reaches the 2006 state ballot.
''Once rights are given, they should not be taken away," Reilly said.
Reilly would not take a position on whether a proposed constitutional amendment should go before the ballot, saying he defers to the Legislature to make that decision. He also said he still holds a personal belief that marriage is between a man and a woman.
Some of Reilly's supporters say he has evolved since a year ago, when he supported civil unions but opposed gay marriage. He insisted that his role as attorney general has been to enforce the law and that he has been consistent since March in saying that he would not favor taking away marriage rights once they were granted.
Here we have Tom Reilly, a near-certain candidate for Massachusetts governor, pandering to the same fringe constituency to fire up his base for next year's contest.
No doubt this will boost fundraising in Cambridge and other sticky areas where full conformity will be expected. Obviously Reilly isn't wasting time, he wants to please them now before somebody else moves in and grabs the dough.
(Boston Globe)
After playing a key role in the efforts to fight legalization of gay marriage a year ago, Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly said yesterday that he now favors allowing legalized same-sex marriage in Massachusetts and that he will oppose any efforts to ban them.
In an interview yesterday, Reilly, an unannounced Democratic candidate for governor, struck a tone that is far different from the public posture he held for several years. Reilly said he was ''moved" by the same-sex marriages that took place after gay marriage was legalized May 17, and added that he would vote against a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage if it reaches the 2006 state ballot.
''Once rights are given, they should not be taken away," Reilly said.
Reilly would not take a position on whether a proposed constitutional amendment should go before the ballot, saying he defers to the Legislature to make that decision. He also said he still holds a personal belief that marriage is between a man and a woman.
Some of Reilly's supporters say he has evolved since a year ago, when he supported civil unions but opposed gay marriage. He insisted that his role as attorney general has been to enforce the law and that he has been consistent since March in saying that he would not favor taking away marriage rights once they were granted.
published by Brian Maloney at
15:22
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