Posted on 04/30/2013 5:33:37 PM PDT by markomalley
Former GOP vice presidential nominee Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., now supports the rights of gay Americans to adopt children, though he still believes marriage “is between a man and a woman.”
In a town hall meeting with constituents in Wisconsin on Monday, the House Budget Committee chairman said he has changed his mind on the adoption issue, even though his opinions on other aspects of gay rights have remained unchanged. To date, two Republican senators — Rob Portman of Ohio, who had been in the mix for Mitt Romney’s No. 2 spot, and Mark S. Kirk of Illinois — have come out in support of gay marriage.
“Adoption, I’d vote differently these days. That was I think a vote I took in my first term, 1999 or 2000. I do believe that if there are children who are orphans who do not have a loving person or couple, I think if a person wants to love and raise a child they ought to be able to do that. Period,” Ryan said in a video posted by the liberal website Think Progress. “I would vote that way. I do believe marriage is between a man and a woman, we just respectfully disagree on that issue.”
Ryan’s move to support gay adoption is a particularly interesting one, given his continued national ambitions and Portman’s reversal on gay marriage. Portman announced in March that his college-aged son, Will, is gay and that he could no longer oppose marriage equality.
In the past, Ryan has opposed almost every equality measure, getting a “0″ on the Human Rights Campaign’s most recent Congressional scorecard. He opposed the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” supported the Defense of Marriage Act and voted against the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Protection Act, which expanded federal hate crime laws to protect the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
In his remarks Monday, Ryan said he has “always supported” civil unions. Though there is no evidence to support that, it’s a clear sign that the politics of the issue have changed and that even the most conservative Republicans need to appear more hospitable to gays and lesbians in order to expand their voting bloc.
“I’ve always supported things like civil unions where you ought to be granted certain legal privileges to be able to have benefits whether it’s estate planning benefits or visitation and things like that,” Ryan said.
But a story published by The Advocate, a gay and lesbian news magazine, when Romney named Ryan to his ticket, noted that Ryan supported a Wisconsin-based ban on gay marriage and civil unions in 2006.
“Reviews of Ryan’s record indicate that he has voted overwhelmingly against LGBT rights. He voted twice for the federal constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage, and supported the ban on same-sex marriage and civil unions approved by Wisconsin voters in 2006. Ryan voted against “don’t ask, don’t tell” repeal and hate crimes legislation, but he voted for the Employment Non-discrimination Act in 2007, when it included protections for sexual orientation but not gender identity,” the report said.
His dad, Ron Ryan, is going to be very displeased with you. :P
Goodness, you sure that’s not Holder’s homies ... just west of Chicago?
FabU???
Now, THAT’S some serious beerage. I shall seek them out, though being in this far outback wasteland, we takes what we can get...
Fab-U-lous!!!
Supposedly coming stateside soon/ Just heard about it yesterday. Looks like I start drinkin again ;)
Well, For what it costs (probably) I’ll get 2 6 packs. One to drink and one to stick on a shelf.
Of course I still have 3 left from the 6 pack of Tecate I bought several years ago ;)
But it used to be fun!
I know. I have three kids “of age.” Gets expensive to do a BBQ.
In another life, I was a bouncer. Got to talk to bar owners, and ask off the wall questions, the vast majority of those involved economics.
The one I didn’t pursue was: why do we serve Corona with a lime wedge?
Um, I’ve never gotten an answer that I found rational.
No.
Really.
Easy. To hide the taste of it. Same for the salt.
No, wait, that’s tequila. At least that’s what I remember the San Diego jailer mentioning. Well, and that’s about all I remember.
Sometimes they’re able to fly under the radar, Mr. Eaker.
But they always overstep eventually.
Thaat wasnt Diego. It was Tijuana. And the jailer? Nope that was the Donkey.
You ah....were pretty drunk. And for a small fee I can assure you all the photos were lost.
I don’t see a bunch of married couples rushing to adopt all these kids, especially ones with special needs. There aren’t enough to adopt? There is a United Methodist Home near where I live with PLENTY of kids to adopt. PA has a whole statewide adoption network called SWAN. There are plenty of kids that need homes. Please direct all your married couple friends here so they can adopt these kids, instead of trying to insult me by calling me a homosexual (you didn’t by the way). Here’s the website for your married friends! Or hey, even for you! http://www.adoptpakids.org/WaitingKids.aspx
OTOH, I haven’t tried a Grolsch with a lime, or mango, or onion for that matter.
No, Corona is a stand-up solid consistent quality watered-down sorta western “I’ll have one of those.” beers.
And it’ll come with a lime wedge, and it’ll get stuck (by the redneck in Burley, Idaho, or the yup in Eureka) in the nose of the bottle, and, well, there you have it.
I still say Genessee is the true king of beers. It’s up there with all the greats. Schaffer, Iron City, Black Label...
No, most folks don’t have the refined palate to truly enjoy a Genny. Or quick access to a warm toilet seat.
And that’s a damn shame.
“You ah....were pretty drunk. And for a small fee I can assure you all the photos were lost.”
Can you retrieve the note from the teller?
Hell no, not only did I not write it, I don’t even know this guy!
Did you find my shoe?
I miss Black Dog ale. The black lab on their label was the spittin image of my sidekick, Bo. I miss them both.
It was...er...in the donkey. And the Mariachi singer was saying something about foot odor but I missed it as we were leaving. I didn’t think you’d want it back.
But Hell man you can dance!
Well, that was the best response I could come up with in seconds after the ZOT of a longtime FReeper.
So the SP’s handoff to the locals was ...
No, wait. I’m certain about the San Diego part.
The paper they gave me said I had nothing to do with the attempted robbery at the credit union ... but honestly, I don’t remember the donkey.
OTOH, I’m still wanted on felony breakfast grits warrents in Kentucky and Tennessee.
*rolling eyes*
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