Here's the article I wrote for The George-Anne. It was published in the Thursday, June 8th paper. http://www.stp.georgiasouthern.edu/George-Anne/pdfs/060608.pdf
Miguel
The SoapBox

"Voter finds faith in Cox after mix-up"

Just when you thought we were done with gay marriage. It’s back!
The gloves are off and the blood is about to flow. For round one, hailing from Bainbridge, we have Secretary of State Cathy Cox versus the formidable Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor of Albany. They are both vying for the democratic nomination from voters for the July 18 primary to then go on and face Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue in the Governor’s race.
Before Cathy Cox officially announced that she was running for Governor, she already had my vote. I’ve happily driven around Georgia with my ‘Cathy Cox for Governor’ bumper sticker on the back of car showing my support to all.
Unfortunately, my position changed a few weeks ago.
The gay marriage ban that 76 percent of voters in Georgia went to the polls for in the fall of 2004 was struck down last month by a Fulton County Superior Court judge. The amendment that we all voted on dealt with more than one issue. What we saw on the ballot defined marriage between a man and a woman, but we also were voting on civil unions to same-sex couples and recognition of same-sex marriage from other states. When adding an amendment, it can only address one issue.
After the ruling, Gov. Perdue said he would appeal the ruling to the Georgia Supreme Court, if they don’t reverse the judges ruling, the Gov. will call a special session with the Georgia legislature (which will cost us, the taxpayers up to 40,000 dollars a day) to put the amendment back on the ballot in time for the November elections.
This is where my disappointment with Cathy Cox set in. Taylor, like the faux democrat he is known to be, agreed with Perdue that the amendment to restrict rights was needed and the special session was necessary if the ruling wasn’t overturned by the Georgia Supreme Court. Cox was left in a very tight place.
In Georgia, a politician could not win a state wide race while openly supporting gay marriage. I know this. But when Cox’s camp released the following statement surrounding the controversy, I was still shocked “I am disappointed that Georgia's constitutional amendment defining marriage as a sacred union of one man and one woman has been overturned. I strongly support Attorney General Thurbert Baker's decision to appeal this ruling to the state Supreme Court. Should his efforts fail, I agree that the General Assembly should meet in special session to pass a new resolution that could be voted on in November."
What? This was the same woman who has supported gays in the past and openly courted gay voters in metro Atlanta. It was as if all of my energy I had put into supporting her and telling everyone I knew why they should vote for her was wasted. I wanted to take her bumper sticker off my car and delete my name from her e-mail list.
Luckily, Cox has redeemed herself. After appearing on a radio show in Atlanta, Cox clarified her position on the issue. She felt as if she had two options, either let the gay marriage issue drag on for the next two years or deal with it now so we can get back to the real issues.
I agree. Change does not come overnight. I would rather deal with the issue now, move on to more pressing matters, like education or the economy, instead of wasting tax payers time and money debating the merits of two boys or girls kissing. I think the old adage, “We’ve lost this battle, but we will win the war” is very appropriate for this issue. Sometimes we just have to concede on certain issues to ensure progress for everyone.
My support is back with Cathy Cox and I hope you take the time to consider her for the Democratic nomination and then for the next Governor of Georgia.