Jill Stein Jill Stein (above) is seeking the Green Party's presidential nomination:
According to Stein, “The long overdue statement by President Obama that he endorses same-sex marriage is indeed a milestone. In 2008, President Barack Obama went all over America saying that the civil unions were enough, and he saw nothing wrong in discrimination against same-sex couples. Whether it is called “evolution” or a political calculation, the change in the President’s position is a tribute to all the activists who have worked so hard for marriage equality. The steadily growing public support for marriage equality is convincing increasing numbers of politicians to rethink their positions.”
“I’m proud that I don’t have to change my position to match the polls. I have supported marriage equality since at least 2002, when I ran for governor. And I’m going to continue to work to eliminate this insidious form of discrimination. President Obama is still enforcing the Defense of Marriage Act - and that has to stop. And the President is saying that its acceptable for individual states to discriminate. I believe that when it comes to basic rights, it’s improper for a President to treat them as local options. The federal government is charged with defending the human rights of all people, no matter which state they live in. ”
When Stein was in North Carolina recently, she consistently voiced her opposition to the anti-gay referendum that was on the upcoming ballot. When President Obama visited North Carolina, he left the referendum out of his speeches. “When it comes to human rights, it’s not acceptable to look the other way for political convenience. I’m glad that the Green Party and my campaign are able to speak up when the President is silent,” said Stein.
In 2002, Stein became the first gubernatorial candidate in Massachusetts history to endorse same-sex marriage. She pressed the six Democrats running for Governor to abandon their civil-unions-only stance.
The Democratic nominee, Shannon O’Brien, eventually said she was willing to sign same-sex marriage legislation, but discounted her pledge by saying she was sure such legislation would not be sent to her by the state legislature. She was right about that. It was a lawsuit decided by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court that finally brought same-sex marriage to Massachusetts. The Democratic Party leadership (which held 85% of the seats in the Legislature) promptly began pushing a constitutional amendment to nullify the court ruling. In part, the Democratic attack on same-sex marriage was fueled by a desire to give cover to the Democratic Party presidential nominee, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, who was campaigning on a civil-unions-only platform.
Dr. Stein and the state Green Party joined the groups lobbying against the constitutional amendment. As public support for marriage equality grew, the Massachusetts legislators lost interest in nullifying the court ruling.