Had Kevin Faulconer gotten his way six years ago, then-Mayor Jerry Sanders’ tearful speech explaining his support for same-sex marriage wouldn’t have happened.
Sanders announced he was reversing his position and wouldn’t veto a City Council resolution supporting same-sex marriage. The resolution had passed 5-3. Faulconer was on the losing side.
A year later, Faulconer, a Republican like Sanders, officially changed his position.
He voted for a separate Council resolution to urge citizens to vote against Proposition 8, a statewide ballot measure that banned same-sex marriage (it was recently overturned by the courts). At the time, Faulconer didn’t explain his switch.
These days, Faulconer, a mayoral candidate, isn’t shy about his support for same-sex marriage. Here’s his tweet the day the Supreme Court overturned Prop. 8.
Today is a great day for marriage equality.
— Kevin Faulconer (@kevin_faulconer) June 26, 2013
Faulconer said he initially didn’t realize how significant the issue was until it became a heated discussion around town.
“For me personally, it wasn’t an issue that impacted, wasn’t one that I had focused on a great deal,” Faulconer said Thursday.
“I had people approach me in the gay and lesbian community that wanted to sit down, wanted to get my thoughts, wanted to get my views and shared with me their very personal stories,” he said. “My commitment to them was that I was going to listen. I was going to take a thoughtful approach. My position wasn’t supported by everyone in my political party, but I came to that decision and I think it was the best personal decision for me.”
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