Ultimately, Florida Sen. Bill Nelson made the right call on same-sex marriage. He just should have called it what it was: a forced hand. By society, by politics.
“I will add my name to the petition of senators asking the Supreme Court to declare the law that prohibits gay marriage unconstitutional,” Nelson has now declared. His reasoning: The traditional model of marriage as the exclusive institutional purview of a man and a woman was, upon further reflection, downright inconsistent with beliefs embedded in the Declaration of Independence as well as his Christian faith. “To discriminate against one class and not another is wrong for me,” he underscored. Left unsaid: He had held out for wrong for a long time.
But epiphany happens. In the case of Nelson, 70, the Declaration and the Bible suddenly seemed less than, well, convincingly declarative on the subject–just hours after he had last voiced long-held, principled opposition to same-sex marriage. Epiphanies can be so unnervingly blindsiding.
If Nelson’s agenda had included credibility as well as gay-marriage equality and political pragmatism, he might have said:
“I have heard from my constituents–indeed, have I ever! And I have seen the polls that show a society increasingly embracing gay marriage. In fact, a majority already do–and the demographics skew young. There’s no going back. The die of marriage equality is cast. Before the Supreme Court renders its opinion, before gay-marriage is a de facto reality, I want to be on the record–while being on the record is still worth something–in support of both gay unions and gay marriages. In fact, this Democrat in good standing will most assuredly be signing that petition asking the Court to declare unconstitutional California’s ban on gay marriage.
“Let me be candid here. Personally, I’m not quite there yet. Yes, I’m evolving but, no, I’ve not actually had my St. Paul moment. But it would be blatantly unfair of me–as one of only 100 senators in Congress–to let my personal beliefs, and maybe they are antediluvian, impede progress toward equality for all Americans. Male and female, gay and straight.
“And, frankly, I like being on the right side of history.”