Iowa U.S. Senator Tom Harkin now supports marriage equality

Certainly an encouraging sign...

I wonder whether he's only doing this for his own political gain? Politicians are still politicians, they are only there to stay elected.

Can we really trust his change of hearts? Hm...

---

by: minienigma @ Fri May 08, 2009 at 19:14:01 PM CDT

I have never seen a pro-equality legislator

go backwards (Obama excepted).  On the contrary, what I see are people like Harkin who were formerly anti-equality moving in our direction.  They're all either moving in our direction or staying stuck in the mud.  But net movement is in our direction.  This is a very excellent occurrence.

Lurleen on Twitter

---

by: Lurleen @ Fri May 08, 2009 at 19:18:33 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Obama excepted

  He is the only person I know to go in the other direction.  I have met many people in my life.  Many have been for equality or they were not.  Many that were not now are as well.  But none have jumped backwards.

 Some people you have to talk to a few times until they understand Marriage Equality and just exactly why banning Gays and Lesbians from marriage is so wrong and discriminatory.  And if they are religious, I take a bit of time to show them how these Hate organizations are lying and giving Christianity a real bad name.

If I make sense? it was quite by accident.

---

by: HappyCat @ Fri May 08, 2009 at 19:59:47 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Harkin

Tom Harkin does not have to do anything for political gain.  He is one of the most well-established (and respected) politicians in America.  On top of that, he is a genuinely good person.  I believe him when he says the world has changed since 1993, so his views have evolved.

---

by: tony @ Fri May 08, 2009 at 19:23:21 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

I agree

Harkin has been a US Senator for 25 years and in the last election won with 63% of the vote.  He isn't going to gain politically by embracing marriage equality.

US culture is changing for the better.  We still have a ways to go, but we are decidedly becoming a more just nation.

If you want allies, you have to be an ally.

---

by: dale @ Fri May 08, 2009 at 19:48:50 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

I think it's...

the fact that he's so well-liked and well-established in his home state which helps show that he probably has nothing to lose by doing this.  In the process, his action here will lend great validity to the Iowa Supreme Court and outspoken equality proponents like Mike Gronstal.  Excellent news.

---

by: Bruno @ Fri May 08, 2009 at 23:01:35 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

It's now politically advantageous to be pro-marriage equality?

Wow.  Things are even better than I thought!

---

by: diablorobotico @ Fri May 08, 2009 at 19:49:20 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Wonderful!

"It goes on one at a time, it starts when you care to act, it starts when you do it again after they said no, it starts when you say We and know who you mean, and each day you mean one more."

---

by: Louise @ Fri May 08, 2009 at 19:35:57 PM CDT

Wonder if David Feherty will change

his little joke about Pelosi, Reid and bin Laden in an elevator to reflect Harkin instead?

GAH.

"It goes on one at a time, it starts when you care to act, it starts when you do it again after they said no, it starts when you say We and know who you mean, and each day you mean one more."

---

by: Louise @ Fri May 08, 2009 at 19:37:51 PM CDT

Thank You Sen. Harkin

That was a well worded statement of support.  It clearly shows that you continue to grow as a person and are a man of depth.

To those who feel the need to battle against our rights, trying to link the GLBT community to those who would molest children, have animals as mates, or even have multiple spouses (read: Mormons - who are spending a ton of money to keep the GLBT community from reaching marriage parity)...GET A REAL LIFE.  Quit watching Faux news.  

America is evolving.  Welcome Sen. Harkin to the new America!

---

by: bkmn @ Fri May 08, 2009 at 19:51:10 PM CDT

They'll Come Out Now That It's Safe

After the wholesale rejection of hate, bigotry and intolerance during the 2008 presidential election and the lack of any significant protests to the spreading of marriage equality in New England, Iowa and DC, politicians are beginning to "come out of the closet" on LGBT rights.

The dam is developing cracks and the flood is coming. Over the next couple of years, I predict, hundreds of politicians, state and federal, will be testing the waters and seeing that the temperature is just right.

The only thing Haggie Maggie got wrong in her 'gathering storm' ad was that it is a flood coming, not a storm. Hey Maggie - go build an ark!!!

To Senator Harkin: Congratulations for becoming an intrepid leader - maybe you could call Obama for us and update him with the status of the world - change is arriving.

John Visser

---

by: JohnV @ Fri May 08, 2009 at 21:25:32 PM CDT

Thanks for nothing, Harkin.

Great, so this guy regrets his earlier vote. I suppose that's good, but that does nothing to ameliorate the effects DOMA has had on GLBT folk, and the effects that it will have long after we have marriage rights.

This strikes me as very much like Lewis Powell's regret over his vote for the majority in Bowers v Hardwicke.

Too little, too late.

---

by: Bachalon @ Fri May 08, 2009 at 23:10:09 PM CDT

I see you point, but I'm still happy for the news.

If we don't let people come up from the dark side, we'll never get anywhere.  And this senator is quite senior by now.  His words and decisions can pull a lot of sway.  It isn't easy for anyone to admit major past mistakes, especially in public.  If he is will to first admit and then make up for those past mistakes, I'm willing to welcome him into our pack of allies.

Lurleen on Twitter

---

by: Lurleen @ Sat May 09, 2009 at 00:09:01 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

I'm with Lurleen on this one

We win when people do change their minds and admit they were limited in their thinking/wrong/scared. Yes, it would have been helpful to have so many voices of support back in 2004 before all those marriage amendments passed, but that is water under the bridge. We can't wind the clock back.

It's never too late to open the door and welcome allies into the fold. No doubt Harkin may have felt this way about marriage equality sooner than he made a public statement about it. I have a good feeling that we have allies still shut in their closets who are meek about coming out. Having someone of the stature of Harkin as an example is a gift. It's time to call out some of the people who have claimed  to be allies(and even rewarded by our orgs) who remain silent.

How many of our purported Dem allies on the Hill came out and said ANYTHING about the heinous remarks of Virginia Foxx, for example? I can't imagine the GOP letting a Dem get off so easy for spouting off stupidity.

---

by: Pam Spaulding @ Sat May 09, 2009 at 07:27:09 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Well, here's the thing.

I'm glad we have him on board, but it took 17 years for the state sodomy statutes to be overturned after Hardwick. DOMA has stood for 13 years. Even if that were overturned today we'd still be fighting 10 years from now.

I'm willing to to believe he's changed, but that doesn't mean he gets off scot-free. He, along with other people hurt us. Whenever a gay person is denied visitation rights, that is his fault. Whenever a deceased partner's disapproving family snatches an inheritance, that is his fault. Saying "sorry" now doesn't cut it for me.

It is good, don't get me wrong, that he's seen the error of his ways, but he's going to have to work very hard to gain my approval beyond the merest nod of my head.

---

by: Bachalon @ Sat May 09, 2009 at 17:05:28 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

He obviously has more courage of his convictions than Obama

Maybe this will show Obama that the people who voted for him would support him changing his mind on equal rights. If we could get him on our side on this, that would only leave torture investigations to make me fully behind him.

---

by: Margaret @ Sat May 09, 2009 at 08:16:15 AM CDT

Read article and see

if you still agree to like the direction Harkin is taking.

http://www.desmoinesregister.c...

One quote is: "I don't want to practice armchair psychology here or anything like that. I guess it's my own feelings on that," Harkin said. "But I'm saying there may be times when that is not the best - because I've known gay couples who have raised children, and they've done great in doing that, and the children did not grow up to necessarily be gay or lesbian."

Wow, the last sentence feeds the wing nuts thoughts.

---

by: Mary in Iowa @ Sat May 09, 2009 at 08:34:32 AM CDT

Would that all Americans in his age demographic felt so positively inclined toward us.

That article does put a different spin on things for me, but I'm more than happy to approve of the "direction Harkin is taking."  Who's to say he won't improve even more in the future? Let's give him an "atta boy" and reserve our scorn for those who truly deserve it.

---

by: Pollyanna @ Sat May 09, 2009 at 15:52:11 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

This was the begining of the Fundie Fall Apart.

This was the big fear that the Fundies spread.  

the children did not grow up to necessarily be gay or lesbian.

They would have to give up that being Teh Gay is a choice to wrap their heads around this.  The Fact that children raised by LGBT parents are turning out to be just fine is driving them nuttier.  All the false claims about LGBT people are becoming known to be false.  That is why they are getting wackier, the old stuff isn't enough to justify their Bigotry, so instead of admitting they are wrong, they come up with more goofy garbage.  This is their demise of their own making, because most people will not buy into their new nutty BS.

The sad thing is there will still be people like Alan Keyes who can throw a child out like yesterday's trash.  The good news is there are more places that child can go for help and support.

If I make sense? it was quite by accident.

---

by: HappyCat @ Sat May 09, 2009 at 16:31:49 PM CDT

[ Parent ]