The Cheneys and Changing Attitudes Towards Same-Sex Marriage
If you are interested in the same-sex marriage debate as it relates to the actual policy issues underpinning the debate–as opposed to the rhetoric and politics of the debate–I wholeheartedly urge you to listen today’s episode of The Diane Rehm Show. Not only does the show contain a great panel of guests (see below), it also has some fantastic, passionate callers and emails.
Here is a description of the show:
Polls show that about half of Americans approve of allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry. But among Republicans, that percentage drops sharply. This week a public rift in the family of former Vice President Dick Cheney thrust the issue onto the front page again. One of Cheney’s daughters is married to a woman. The other, Liz Cheney, is running for office on the Republican ticket in Wyoming. On national TV over the over the weekend, Liz Cheney said she believes in the traditional definition of marriage. That puts her in line with most other Republicans –- but not most other Americans. Diane and her guests discuss changing perspectives on same-sex marriage.
Guests
Jonathan Rauch: senior fellow at the Brookings Institution; author of “Denial: My 25 Years Without a Soul” and “Gay Marriage: Why It Is Good for Gays, Good for Straights, and Good for America.”
Michael Dimock: director, Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.
Maggie Gallagher: American Principles Project and co-author of “Debating Same-Sex Marriage.”
Special thanks to Matt McKeon, a regular contributor to the SLACE Blog, for bringing this podcast to my attention. Matt writes about LGBTQ issues. His blog posts can be found here.