Republican San Diego Mayor Fights for Marriage Equality

Are pro-marriage equality Republicans an oxymoron?

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders stressed to EDGE during an interview at a Washington, D.C., hotel on Tuesday that his support for nuptials for same-sex couples is simply the right thing to do. The issue remains deeply personal to him and his family, but the soft-spoken Sanders dismissed the idea that a pro-marriage equality stance is politically risky for GOP lawmakers.

"I just think you do what you think is right and then you live with what you did," said Sanders, who announced his support of marriage for gays and lesbians during an emotional 2007 press conference. He had supported civil unions and domestic partner benefits during his 2005 mayoral campaign. Sanders cited his lesbian daughter Lisa and members of his own staff as he tearfully spoke about his self-described evolution on the issue.

State Republicans and some local religious leaders blasted Sanders over his support for marriage for same-sex couples, but San Diego voters re-elected him in 2008.

"If I didn't get re-elected it didn't really matter to me," said Sanders, referring back to criticism over pro-marriage equality announcement. "At some point you have to stand up for what you think is right."

More than four years after he announced his support of marriage for same-sex couples, Sanders remains among the handful of prominent Republicans who support nuptials for gays and lesbians. He testified against California's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage during a 2010 trial in federal court in San Francisco. Sanders also co-chairs a coalition of more than 140 mayors from across the country who support marriage equality.

Redondo Beach, Calif., Mayor Mike Gin and Key West, Fla., Mayor Craig Cates are among the three other Republicans who have also joined Mayors for the Freedom to Marry. Sanders spoke alongside Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and others at a press conference at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington, D.C., last month where Freedom to Marry officially launched the campaign.

"I thought [Freedom to Marry] were kind of screwing around trying to find a Republican mayor, and I was more than happy to do that," joked Sanders. "It's really important."

Sanders' trip to the nation's capital came only days after a federal appeals court ruled Proposition 8 unconstitutional. Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire signed her state's marriage equality law on Monday-the same day that the New Jersey Senate approved a bill that would allow gays and lesbians to marry in the Garden State. Maryland lawmakers are scheduled to vote on a similar measure on Friday.

"I'm excited by the way this is going and how rapidly it's starting to move," said Sanders, referring to both the number of mayors who have joined Mayors for the Freedom to Marry and the increased momentum behind the movement for marriage equality in recent years. "It's kind of like you know nothing for years and years and years and years and all of a sudden it's picked up some momentum and I think we're starting to change some minds."

GOP Presidential Candidates Highlight Opposition to Marriage Equality
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former House Speaker Rick Santorum and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich were quick to blast the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals judges' Prop 8 decision. Romney sparked further controversy at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference a few days later when he defended his use of an arcane state law to prevent out-of-state couples from marrying in Massachusetts.

"Romney's got to count to whatever the delegate total is," said Sanders. "He is not appealing to [the] 53 percent [of Americans] who support gay marriage. He's going for the others in Middle America who may have a different view on that, and I just think that's unfortunate."

Sanders further stressed that the GOP has "moved backwards" on marriage equality and other social issues.

"The Republican Party for me was always about the fiscal conservancy," he said. "It didn't happen until the Religious Right took it over that all of this stuff started happening, and now it's very different. It's a very different party."

Even though the White House announced last February that it would no longer defend the federal Defense of Marriage Act, Sanders said President Barack Obama needs to publicly support marriage for same-sex couples.

"He needs to evolve much faster," he said. "It doesn't carry any risks for him. He is the leader, and I think he needs to lead more."