08-04-10 Prop 8 Unconstitutional (Mayor Jerry Sanders)

Speech by San Diego Republican Mayor Jerry Sanders on August 4, 2010 delivered at the San Diego LGBT Community Center. Includes captions.

TRANSCRIPT:
First of all, I'm tremendously honored to be here tonight.

And I'm here tonight because of the courage of each of you.

But as Dolores said, many of you have spent your entire adult lives fighting for this fundamental right -- the right to marriage, but also the right to equality.

And it's been your courage, it's been your displays, it's been your leadership, it's been the leadership of this community that has given me the courage to move forward.

And I want to thank each and every one of you because I know it's not easy to come out and yet you have touched so many lives and changed so many minds that I think that San Diego's a better place and I think certainly California's a better place and the world's a better place because of what all of you have done and the courage that you have shown.

[APPLAUSE]

I've been at the Center on some real bad nights. I can remember the night that I was debating for the first mayor's race and it was not a good night.

[LAUGHTER]

I think a few of you were clearly irritated with me.

[LAUGHTER]

And I don't blame you.

[LAUGHTER]

I was new to politics and I was trying to dance the dance. And I came to the wrong conclusion on that dance. And I want to apologize to each of you.

[APPLAUSE]

I made this change because of family, and I made it because of friends, and I made it because of each of you. But I have to tell you there was someone in this crowd who was fundamental in making me change my mind and that's Toni Atkins.

[APPLAUSE]

And I also want to thank the other person who made me change my mind. And it's not my daughter Lisa -- it's my wife Rana.

[APPLAUSE]

Certainly it's been thrilling for me to see Lisa to be a new leader. And to see Megan ...

And I'm very proud to have Megan as Lisa's wife. It's a great...

[APPLAUSE]

So I just want to close. I just want to thank each of you. I want to applaud Judge Walker.

[APPLAUSE]

... judges are under a tremendous amount of pressure -- a lot of ... from all sides. And I think he made a courageous decision and I think he made the right decision. So I am absolutely thrilled at that.

I just wanted to leave by telling you that each generation has an opportunity to find injustice and takes an opportunity to solve the injustice. And I think all of us can look back when we're older, or as I -- I'm much older already --we can look back and be proud of the way we fought the battle. And when I look out at you and see the way that you fought the battle, and I look at my family and see the way that we fought the battle, and I look at our council members and see the way that they have fought the battle -- then what that means is that we found an opportunity to change history. And history has been changed today.

[APPLAUSE]

For all of you out there who've not been supported by your families because of the fact that you're gay, I hope today's court ruling allows them to see that you're no threat to anybody -- that everybody deserves -- that everybody deserves a fundamental right to find somebody they love, to create a family, and to be married.

[APPLAUSE]

JERRY! JERRY!

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• California
• San Diego
• Proposition 8
• Prop 8
• gay
• marriage
• rally
• LGBT
• unconstitutional
• Jerry Sanders
• mayor
• Day of Decision
• No on 8
• NOH8

[BlakeGoodwell]

JERRY JERRY JERRY! its like jerry springer! xD

[equalmarriage2004]

Wonderful to see a Politician who can suck it up and admit that he was wrong to dance the dance at the beginning of his new career. Good for you Jerry.

Judge Walker and along with Politician like Jerry will certainly make the USA the Country is should be.