Bob Barr, the former Congressman who wrote the “Defense of Marriage Act” in 1996, now writes in the LA Times that it should be repealed. I’m not posting this in Political Irony because of the apparent flip-flop, but because the article — about a subject that can stir up strong emotions and words — is calm, clear, and well reasoned. He explains both what he was trying to do with the original act (and the compromises involved) and why he is now for repealing his own act. We need more Republicans like Barr (who ironically quit the party to become the Libertarian nominee for President in 2008).
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We need more politicians from all parties like this. Being calm, cool and reasonable and presenting your viewpoint helps a lot in negotiating useful compromises. There’s no way any law can fully represent what every citizen wants (too many differing viewpoints), but proper compromises will meet the needs of the most people. Resorting to hateful rhetoric just harms the whole process — including those that support your viewpoint!
Yes we do need more politicians who will admit error and publicly call for redress of the issue. I actually started to like Bob Barr after he was out of power and could not hurt my family (my same sex partner and me) amymore. I happily read and enjoy (and often agree with) all his editorial columns.