MA Rep. Stephen Lynch Was Supposted to Be Another D.C. Homophobe. And Then He Let Gay Marriage Arrive

Everyone was screaming at Harold Ford Jr. for flip-flopping on his gay rights record. Well Stephen Lynch, the congressman from Massachusetts, did exactly that. And now everyone’s falling in love.

Sent to Washington in a 2001 special election, Lynch held a record of anti-gay votes as a state lawmaker, opposing hate crimes legislation and partners benefits. But now that he’s chairman of the House committee that oversees the nation’s capital, and thus had the power to introduce a measure to halt D.C.’s gay marriage law from taking effect, he opted to eschew requests for Utah’s Rep. Jason Chaffetz and let Washington’s gays get married. It has gay rights activists, from D.C. to his home state, thrilled.

And it’s all thanks to his “evolving” stance on gay marriage, which he now supports. (Officially, he says he opted not to intervene in D.C. because he wants the city to have more autonomy, and aren’t “state’s rights” always the reason to jump to either side of the debate?)

[Globe]