Pray Again, Senator



Freshman Democratic Senator Kay Hagan of North Carolina has announced on her Facebook page that she now supports same-sex marriage because “we should not tell people who they can love or who they can marry."   Hagan adds  “I know there are strong feelings on both sides, and I have a great deal of respect for their opinions.  But after much thought and prayer on my part, this is where I am today."

CAP's Aviva Shen and Adam Peck had reported earlier this week that in Hagen's state alone, there have been 100 firearm deaths (as of 3/26) since the Newtown, CT. massacre and there are 50 gun shows planned in 2013.   Additionally, 90% support expanding background checks, which would include purchases made at gun shows, currently not required.

The North Carolinian gave a nod- twice- to her Bible Belt constituents.  In the same vein as Mark Begich, who issued a statement this week supporting same-sex marriage while maintaining "religious institutions" ought to be exempt from performing them, Hagen cautioned "Religious institutions should have religious freedom on this issue. No church or minister should ever have to conduct a marriage that is inconsistent with their religious beliefs."   And unlike Begich's Alaskan colleague- Senator Murkowski- who now contends she is "evolving" on the issue, Murkowski thankfully ignored the dodge first popularized by President Obama.  And she added a dig at Republican Senator Rob Portman, the most famous of the recent converts, remarking "This wasn’t a decision I came to overnight, like my Republican colleague Rob Portman expressed recently on his own viewpoint."

Senator Hagan, though,  is quite particular regarding what she prays about. Shen/Peck note

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is struggling to scrape together enough votes to pass the centerpiece of the plan: universal background checks. Republicans are refusing to vote for it, and even several Democrats in red states are wavering on their support. According to Greg Sargent at the Washington Post, these key votes include Senators Kay Hagan (D-NC), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Mark Pryor (D-AR), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND).

God, evidently, has given Senator Hagan a position on same-sex marriage consistent with that held, polls tell us, by a majority of the American people.  Senator Hagan attends Greensboro's First Presbyterian Church, a member of the mainline and relatively liberal Presbyterian Church (USA). Perhaps in this most holy of periods for Christians, the Senator can pray and receive an answer on expanded background checks coinciding with that held by over 85% of Americans.


HAPPY PASSOVER                                                                       HAPPY EASTER



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