A Democratic candidate for the U. S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania last week came out in favor of marriage equality.
Matthew Cartwright, who is running for the 17th District seat in Northeastern Pennsylvania, told The Times Leader last week that he changed his position on same-sex marriage.
“I just kept thinking it over in my mind and I didn’t see a good reason to discriminate against a substantial population of American citizens,” he told the publication. Cartwright last month told the Leader that he is “old-fashioned” and didn’t support full marriage rights for same-sex couples but cautioned that he was still thinking about the issue.
Cartwright, an attorney, defeated longtime U.S. Rep. Tim Holden in the spring primary and will face Republican challenger Laureen Cummings, a staunch opponent of LGBT rights, in November.
Cartwright, a first-time candidate, said he had not given marriage equality serious consideration prior to entering the race.
Equality Pennsylvania executive director Ted Martin said Cartwright’s change exemplifies the process that countless other Americans are also undergoing.
“He admits he went through a bit of an evolution; he wasn’t always there,” Martin said. “That’s what so many real people are going through who have never really thought about the issue. And he’s symbolizing the conclusion that Americans are coming to.”
The fact that Cartwright does not hail from Philadelphia or Pittsburgh, considered the state’s two progressive bastions, is even more impressive, Martin said.
“When people really sit down and think about this, they’re coming to the same conclusions, even in places you wouldn’t think are on the cutting edge of LGBT issues.”
Martin added that Cartwright’s public stance can be helpful in garnering support from other lawmakers and political hopefuls who are on the fence.
“Politicians proclaim themselves as leaders but are often followers. Once they’re in office, they look for other people to lead on the hardest, toughest issues. No one wants to be out there hanging alone, so the more we have politicians talking about this publicly, the better. The value of President Obama, of Matt Cartwright, saying, ‘What’s the big deal?’ is that it helps people see this as an easier issue to deal with and to finally address it publicly.”
Thanks to redistricting, the 17th District now includes several new Democratic strongholds, and Cartwright is the favorite heading into November.
Cummings is the founder of the Scranton Tea Party and opposes marriage equality because, she said, the Bible says it’s “wrong.”
While in office, Holden voted in favor of a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage and on a measure to ban adoption by gay couples in Washington, D.C.