Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Meg Whitman voices support for gay marriage in Prop. 8 case

Former GOP gubernatorial hopeful Meg Whitman has changed course on California's ban on same-sex marriage, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Proposition 8 as unconstitutional. - Sacramento Bee

"As a candidate for governor three years ago, I supported Proposition 8. At the time, I believed the people of California had weighed in on this question and that overturning the will of the people was the wrong approach," she wrote. "The facts and arguments presented during the legal process since then have had a profound impact on my thinking."

She wrote in the statement that the brief she signed argues there is "no legitimate, fact-based reason for providing different legal treatment of committed relationships between same-sex couples." Allowing same-sex marriage to stand in California, she wrote, will "strengthen our nation as a whole."

"Marriage is the fundamental institution that unites a society. It is the single greatest contributor to the well-being of adults and children because it promotes eternal principles like commitment, fidelity and stability," Whitman wrote. "It makes no difference whether the marriage is between a man and woman or a woman and woman. Marriage makes society better."