Should candidates just say "Yes" to Gay Marriage to defuse it as an issue?

[Armstead]

Personally, I think gay marriage is a non-issue. or it should be...and IMO could be.

This may sound unrealistic, but I believe all Democratic candidates should stop trhe gyrations about civil unions and the "I'm in favor of equal rights for all people but..."

Instead they shouldsimply say "I'm in favor of gay marriage because I believe it is a matter of personal freedom. It doesn't affect anyone else, doesn't undermine anyone else's marriage and is a simple matter of equal treatment under the law. Period."

Frankly, supporting gay marriage is a libertarian "live and let live" kind of issue. And most Americans, I believe, are at heart supporters of that idea, regardless of what they may personally approve or disapprove of homosexuality.

There is also, admittedly, a reservoir of bigotry and homophobia in the public. But today, most people no longer think twice about an interracial couple, which in the past was considered shocking.

Politically, Democrats could frame the issue very simply. "Would you rather have an administration and Congress that are fighhting for your rights and your financial interests rather than trying to take away personal freedom of behavior? Or would you rather have a government that wastes its' time worryiong about your neighbors' personal lives while subverting your own freedom and working against your own economic interests?"

Maybe that's simnplistic. But beneath all the convioluted bullshit, it really is a simple issue. And if it were defended on that basis, it could do a lot to take away one of the GOP's bigger weapons.