Same-sex marriage: From hot-button issue to litmus test

By A.B. Stoddard, columnist, The Hill - 03/22/13 11:23 AM ET

This was an historic week in U.S. political history. No Democrat can now seriously run for president, and survive a primary, without supporting gay marriage. Why? Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, a conservative Republican, came out in favor of same-sex marriage, followed immediately by a video announcement from Hillary Clinton (why wait for an interview?) declaring her support for the same. Then an ABC News/Washington Post poll released Monday showed that an all-time high of 58 percent of the country now supports same-sex marriage, up an astonishing 26 percent in just nine years.

The issue is now a litmus test in Democratic presidential politics, the exact opposite from 2008, the last open election, when no Democrat seeking the Oval Office would dare sanction marriage for anyone but one man and one woman for fear of tainting themselves for the general election. On this issue, most of the general election will now be behind them. Not so for Republicans, who would struggle in a GOP presidential primary among evangelical Christians who have enormous influence in the primary process. Their support may be an insurmountable hurdle. David Brody of the Christian Broadcasting Network questioned this week whether the GOP would lose evangelicals by remaining silent on the issue of gay marriage.

Clinton's announcement was clearly on its way, with her husband less than subtly laying the groundwork two weeks ago with his declaration of regret over signing the Defense of Marriage Act. After all, two gay-marriage cases reach the U.S. Supreme Court next week, and Clinton thought it the perfect time to announce her support in advance. But there's a pretty good chance she rushed out her video as soon as Portman's surprise announcement just days before. No matter what, it means Clinton doesn't want the 2016 presidential speculation to leave her out.

Just sayin'.

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GOP Senator Says Gun Safety Is Not A Major Issue

Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) dismissed President Obama’s push for new gun safety legislation during an interview with CNN’s Candy Crowley on Sunday. “That gets beside the major issues that face American families, which are jobs and the economy and the debt and spending,” he said:

CROWLEY: I spoke with [White House adviser] David Plouffe in the segment before this. He said that he is confident there are enough vote he is in the House and there are the requisite 60 votes in the Senate to pass universal background checks for gun owners and limiting the clips, those high-capacity magazine clips that can fire off so many rounds to 10 and under. Do you think that’s so? Do you think Congress would pass a ban on those clips with ten or over and a universal background check. Is that going to happen?

BARRASSO: No, I don’t think it will. Candy, that gets beside the major issues that face American families, which are jobs and the economy and the debt and spending. That’s where people are focused. That’s the big anxiety of this country.

CROWLEY: Sure, I agree with you, but as you know, you deal with a lot of things up there and at the White House. People and their families deal with a loft things. One of the things that’s been out there is gun control of some sort. Something that addresses Newtown, whether its gun control or better access to mental health. You know the president’s going to push that.

BARRASSO: As a doctor, I can tell you the president’s essentially ignored the major issues of mental health and violence in society in the media and video games and he has focused so much on what may be happening at gun shows or on gun shelves and gun stores that I think he is failing to really try to find a solution to the problem of the tragedy of Newtown.

Watch it:

Just yesterday, five people were shot at three different gun shows on so-called “Gun Appreciation Day.”

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