| Congratulations to the same-sex couples who received marriage licenses in Washington, DC today, the first day same-sex marriage became legal in the capital. The city council had approved same-sex marriage rights last fall, but "because Washington is a federal district, the law had to undergo a congressional review period that expired Tuesday." The weddings will begin on March 9 because of a mandatory waiting period.
One person who wasn't celebrating today was Representative Steve King. He complained yesterday that Republican leaders in Congress didn't push "hard enough" to overturn the D.C. city council's decision on marriage equality.
Republican lawmakers, led by Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), have introduced a resolution in Congress to overturn the city council's ruling, which Congress can do because Washington is a federal district, and not a state.
King took Democrats to task, also, for not allowing a vote on that measure.
"There's a certain level of understanding that this pro-same sex marriage agenda is a Pelosi agenda; it's a leftist, liberal agenda," King said. "There are a lot of items we need to be fighting, and this is a big one."
Look on the bright side, congressman. Maybe Iowa will become less of a gay marriage "Mecca" now that same-sex couples can get married in DC (as well as Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and New Hampshire).
Seriously, I find it encouraging that Democratic leaders in Congress didn't feel political pressure to overturn DC's decision on marriage equality. This issue is losing its potency for the Republicans, and their House and Senate leaders seem to recognize that, even if Steve King doesn't.
Although King has little sympathy for gays and lesbians who want the same civil marriage rights he enjoys, he did find in in his heart last week to stand up for Washington lobbyists:
[Y]es lobbyists do a very effective and useful job on this Hill. [...] Somebody needs to stand up for the lobby, it is a matter of providing a lot of valuable information.
Click over to Think Progress for a more detailed transcript and video of that moment.
This thread is for any comments related to King's messed-up priorities. The scariest thing is that when it comes to gay marriage, he's not even on the super-crazy end of the GOP spectrum.
UPDATE: I know it doesn't pay to go looking for logic in comments by Steve King, but even by his standards, this is bizarre. King argues that since House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank is gay, and Frank doesn't want the federal government interfering in a consensual relationship between two adults, then Frank should oppose prevailing wage requirements for federal contractors. King's idea is that contractors and their employees are "consenting adults" who should be able to agree on a wage of their choice. (By that reasoning, King would want to do away with the minimum wage and other labor laws.)
Media Matters Action has the video clip and transcript here. Other King video "highlights" are here. |
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