Kerry supports law he described as "gay bashing" when he voted against it

Deborah Orin:

"Democratic front-runner John Kerry yesterday came out for a Massachusetts constitutional ban on gay marriage and suggested that a law he once blasted as 'gay-bashing' should remain the law of the land.

"Kerry's shift in tone came as Rosie O'Donnell wed her longtime girlfriend and fueled the debate over same-sex marriages - at a time when a court in Kerry's home state of Massachusetts has ordered that they be legalized this spring.

" 'If the Massachusetts legislature crafts an appropriate amendment [to ban gay marriage] that provides for partnership and civil unions, then I would support it, and it would advance the goal of equal protection,' Kerry told the Boston Globe.

"Then last night, Kerry told a Los Angeles debate that he's against gay marriage and declined to reaffirm his opposition to the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which restricted gay marriage and which he once called 'gay-bashing.'

"When pressed on whether he'd vote to repeal DOMA, Kerry replied: 'DOMA is the law of the land today . . . There are no votes to take it back.'

"DOMA lets one state refuse to recognize a gay marriage performed elsewhere and in 1996, Kerry said it's 'unconstitutional' - because every state is legally required to recognize marriages from all other states.

"Last night Kerry flip-flopped and said, 'No state has to recognize something that is against their public policy,' suggesting the basic principle in DOMA is correct."

It is easy to see why Kerry would like this issue to go away. The logical gymnastics must be making his hair hurt.

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