Mark McKinnon: The freedom to marry is consistent with GOP values

In an op-ed published this week by the San Antonio Express-News, Mark McKinnon, former adviser to President George W. Bush and Texas chair of Southerners for the Freedom to Marry, makes the Republican case for marriage.

The op-ed is in response to a court brief filed in the Texas marriage case by state Republicans who claim that marriage for same-sex couples could lead to things like incest, pedophilia and polygamy. McKinnon dismisses the fear-mongering court brief, saying that the argument “doesn’t pass the laugh test” and making clear what the Texas marriage case is really about.

The Texas marriage case is all about: freedom and family. It's about whether loving, committed gay couples can marry like my wife and I did and raise stable, loving families…Gay folks are our friends, family members, and co-workers. Most of us want to treat them with the same dignity and respect as anyone else. Discriminating against them does not fit with core Texas values. Nor does it help the tens of thousands of kids being raised by same-sex parents.”

McKinnon goes on to urge the Republican Party to modernize in order to stay relevant, making the case that marriage for same-sex couples is consistent with conservative values of individual liberty, freedom, and family.

Majorities of evangelicals and conservatives younger than 45 support the freedom to marry. They do so because it's consistent with their conservative values of individual liberty and stronger families. Whatever one's views on same-sex marriage, the reality is the politics have changed dramatically. Railing against gay people's dignity and freedom to marry hurts the GOP brand. The U.S. Supreme Court will be the final arbiter on same-sex marriage nationwide, perhaps by next summer. I can only hope the consistent conservative principles of freedom and family win out.”

Southerners for the Freedom to Marry – a partnership of Freedom to Marry and statewide/regional equality organizations – is a one million dollar public education campaign to grow support for marriage in the American South.

To learn more about Southerners for the Freedom to Marry, CLICK HERE.