Sep 19, 2008  |  By: CHRIS JOHNSON  | COMMENTS     

29 saying that he opposes the amendment. And Protectmarriage.com, the organization leading the campaign for the California amendment, announced June 25 that a McCain staffer had sent an e-mail to the organization expressing support for the measure.

But the limited attention this year is noticeably different from the rhetoric in 2004, when President Bush endorsed the Federal Marriage Amendment and made it a major component of his campaign.
John Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee, often discussed same-sex marriage, but said that he was against it. Although he did not support the federal amendment, Kerry supported initiatives to ban same-sex marriage in Massachusetts and Missouri.

Political observers often cite Kerry’s emphasis of same-sex marriage during the 2004 presidential as one reason why Kerry lost the race.

In response to the Blade’s request for comment on the issue, Obama campaign spokesperson Shin Inouye said the candidate “seeks to build an America that lives up to our founding promise of equality for all — including the LGBT community.”

Inouye noted that Obama voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment in the Senate and has called for the full repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act.

“Throughout his career, he has fought to end discrimination against LGBT Americans,” Inouye said. “When it comes to LGBT issues — both addressing them and providing solutions — Senator Obama offers the change America needs.”

The McCain campaign did not respond to the Blade’s request for comment.

Jeff Trammel, who was Kerry’s gay liaison during the 2004 campaign, said same-sex marriage has been a “non-issue” in 2008, despite the amendment battles in California and Florida.

“I was expecting both in California and Florida there to be greater connections between the McCain campaign and the … pro-initiatives crowd in both those states,” said Trammel, who is gay. “I don’t think it’s gotten the traction that I thought it would by now.”

Trammel, a Democratic consultant, said the minimal campaign rhetoric on Proposition 8 “is reflective of the ongoing change in public attitudes and the complexity of the way that the voters see LGBT issues, and marriage specifically, today.”

Attitudes on gay issues are directly tied to age, and as time passes, younger voters who generally are more sympathetic to gays, are gaining a stronger voice in elections, Trammel