Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, who six months ago wouldn't offer his thoughts on gay marriage, now can't stop talking about it. Even to a marriage equality group he not too long ago snubbed. Guess that happens after admitting, “I was wrong.”
But Reed's embracing gay marriage now, so much so that the he joined five other mayors on a conference call Wednesday to urge the Supreme Court to dump the Defense of Marriage Act and open marriage to LGBT couples.
“The United States Supreme Court is emblazoned with the words 'equal protection under the law' and that’s exactly what is at stake this month when the Court rules in these two cases,” Reed said during the call. “The City of Atlanta derives great strength in our diversity, and gay and lesbian couples in my city, and cities across the U.S., deserve all of the protections and benefits available to other couples.”
The conference call — which also included Philadelphia Mayor President Michael Nutter, Chapel Hill Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt, San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro, Santa Fe Mayor David Coss and St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman — was organized by the Respect For Marriage Coalition, a partnership of more than 100 groups working to dismantle DOMA. A co-chair of the coalition is Freedom to Marry, the group that brought together scores of mayors in January 2012 to support gay marriage and launch Mayors for the Freedom to Marry. Reed wasn't among them.
It wasn't until months later, in December 2012, that Reed backed gay marriage, took a victory lap, fought an unfair label of marriage flip-flopping and then told gay news anchor Brandon Rudat that he was wrong to have limited his support of gay couples to civil unions. And on Wednesday, he officially came out as a member of Mayors for the Freedom to Marry.
[h/t GA Voice]
