Former Bush adviser: ‘I was wrong about same-sex marriage’

David Frum served as a special assistant to President George W. Bush early in his Presidency, from 2001-2002. A staunch conservative, he has written six books advocating conservative values.

Frum once said that those who support same-sex marriage “are hastening a process of social dissolution that has already brought misery to untold millions of people, with children suffering most grievously of all.”


David Frum

But today, he supports marriage equality, uttering words that rarely ever seem to leave the lips of his fellow conservatives: “I was wrong.”


I was a strong opponent of same-sex marriage. Fourteen years ago, Andrew Sullivan and I forcefully debated the issue at length online (at a time when online debate was a brand new thing).

Yet I find myself strangely untroubled by New York state’s vote to authorize same-sex marriage — a vote that probably signals that most of “blue” states will follow within the next 10 years.

I don’t think I’m alone in my reaction either. Most conservatives have reacted with calm — if not outright approval — to New York’s dramatic decision.

Why?

The short answer is that the case against same-sex marriage has been tested against reality. The case has not passed its test.

Since 1997, same-sex marriage has evolved from talk to fact.

If people like me had been right, we should have seen the American family become radically more unstable over the subsequent decade and a half.