way to go jerry!

unbelievable. i had just finished berating mayor sanders for his planned veto of the san diego city council's support of gay marriage (actually, a directive to the city attorney's office to file a brief stating such). then i log on to the union tribune website to see an amazing story - that the mayor had changed his position and was supporting the brief.

there are several astounding things about this story - first, that sanders is potentially sacrificing his political career by not pandering to conservatives on this issue (sample generic wingnut soundbite from the public hearing: gay marriage is an "attack on families"). second, he publicly announced that his daughter is gay. third, the acknowledgement that he has gay staff members. i knew his spokesperson, fred sainz, was gay just by watching him on tv. so it was strange to read sainz explaining why the mayor would be vetoing the measure in the paper this morning.

i just watched sanders' statement on tv, and it is amazing - he is nearly in tears as he explains that he can't treat an entire group of people, including members of his family and staff, as less than others. it is an incredible thing to watch. it really is a positive sign of how things are changing in this country regarding opinions toward gay people. it seems that if you know one, you're less likely to discriminate against them - even if you're a republican.

on a personal note, the mayor was at our friends' civil union ceremony last year; they live next door to jerry here in kensington. before i heard the news this evening, i was cursing our gay friends who had voted for jerry, saying they got what they deserved. well, i apologize for that and am just blown away by what happened today.

finally, jerry announces his re-election campaign tomorrow. after the courage he showed tonight, he definitely has my vote.