Leading With His Heart

I wasn't going to blog anymore tonight, but I saw this at Daily Dish, and had to share it:

A Republican stands by his daughter, does the right thing, and backs his daughter's right to marry the woman she loves. If only more Republicans had the humanity and courage of the mayor of San Diego, they could go into the twenty-first century sharing their ideas rather than their phobias.

Andrew is talking about Jerry Sanders, the Republican mayor of San Diego, who just changed his position on gay marriage. Here is Joan Walsh:

This is the way necessary social change happens. It starts out unthinkable, and then one day it's inevitable.

I'm not going to spend much time describing San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders' statement about why he changed his mind and supports gay marriage. Watch the video, below. (Don't watch it if you can't afford to have a good cry this afternoon.) Sanders, a Republican, explains that he planned to veto a City Council resolution supporting efforts to overturn California's ban on gay marriage, but he changed his mind when the resolution reached his desk. Things get dramatic at about 1:55 in the video:

"The arrival of the resolution to sign or veto in my office late last night -- [pauses] please excuse us -- forced me to reflect and search my soul for the right thing to do. I've decided to lead with my heart, which is probably obvious at the moment, to do what I think is right and to take a stand on behalf of equality and social justice."

He tells reporters that his daughter Lisa and members of his staff are gay, and explains: "In the end, I could not look any of them in the face and tell them that their relationships -- their very lives -- were any less meaningful than the marriage that I share with my wife, Rana," Sanders said.

Here is the video. As Joan Walsh says, Grab a Kleenex and press play.