Video: David Letterman says opposition to equal marriage is ‘beyond embarrassing’
US television host David Letterman has voiced his annoyance at the equal marriage debate in America, saying it is “beyond embarrassing” that opposition to it remains, and says that it is “absolute stupidity” to oppose it.
Speaking to openly gay television journalist Rachel Maddow on the Late show with David Letterman, the pair discuss the political situation in the US, and say that there shouldn’t be as much opposition to equal marriage as there is.
Letterman says: “I’m just sick and tired, and I think it has come close crossed the line of being nonsense. This ongoing politically nuanced, religiously nuanced discussion of gay marriage, gay right. It is aboslute stupidity. Here’s the light that went on for me. I don’t pay attention to much other than myself.
“Humans have the right to do what humans do. That’s it. End of story. There’s no argument, there’s no exceptions. Humans have rights, and they get to do what humans get to do. Case closed, goodnight.”
Maddow responds citing that a large number of Republicans, and almost all Democrats support equal marriage now in the US.
She says: “That particular take on it is actually, basically the argument that was made by the 131, or whatever it was, former Republican officials, who signed a brief to the court, that was in support of gay marriage, when the Supreme Court was considering it.
“They were essentially saying, from a Conservative perspective, we don’t want government in the middle of this. And if we support family values, more people wanting to have marriages should be a plus, not a minus. That was the conservative argument, saying that the Repblican party above all should support this thing.
“I think that it is becoming sort of a wedge issue for Republicans, and Democrats are almost unanimously in support now.”
To which Letterman says: “It’s beyond embarrassing when you think about it now, because it’s exclusionary based on what? Well, nothing really, other than the fear that people have generated of who knows what.”
Maddow goes on to mention the Defense of Marriage Act, which federally bans equal marriage, and Letterman interjects to say “that was a mistake too.”
He says he is glad that Bill Clinton admitted signing DOMA for political reasons, but goes on to say that he shouldn’t have signed it just because of that.
Last week Democratic Senators Heidi Heitkamp and Joe Donnelly each announced their support for equal marriage via Facebook, and Timothy Kaine also shifted his position on Tuesday.
They followed Democratic Senators Mark Begich and Mark Warner, who both came out in support of same-sex marriage before the Supreme Court’s hearings on the subject, following the precedent set by Claire McCaskill. Senator McCaskill announced her support via a Tumblr post.
Republican Senator Rob Portman announced that he endorsed same-sex marriage on 15 March.
