AD80: Will Palm Springs be Represented by Yet Another Anti-Gay Republican?

A California Republican running for the Assembly is opposed to marriage equality. Typically I wouldn't waste my energy writing out that sentence, since I know of no exceptions in any race where Republicans have a prayer of winning. But that pattern was confirmed today in Assembly District 80, where Gary Jeandron today announced that he supports the "traditional definition of marriage." If you were wondering, no he didn't mean traditional marriage customs such as prohibiting marriages between two people of different race, religion, or class, arranged marriages, or forced marriages for land title, but rather the new tradition, which we're supposed to pretend has always been traditional, of having any man and any woman who claim to love each other get shacked up and saddled with all sorts of federal tax breaks not available to gay couples.

This bold capitulation to the Republican base is only news because Jeandron wants to represent AD 80, currently occupied by fellow anti-gay Republican Assemblymember Bonnie Garcia, but also home to one of California's most iconic gay meccas. With 35 gay-themed hotels and a permanent LGBT population estimated to reach as high as 40 percent, Palm Springs is widely known as one of California's most popular resort towns for gays and lesbians.

For those who think Palm Springs deserves a gay-friendly representative for once, there's hope. While Jeandron today proudly proclaimed himself a member of the old guard of the Republican right, the Democrat running in this district, Manuel Perez, is forward-thinking and proudly supportive of marriage equality -- and I'm sure his campaign could use a little help.

Image courtesy Camp Palm Springs.

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