Bill O’Reilly says case for gay marriage is ‘compelling’
The Supreme Court won’t issue its rulings on Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act until this summer, but proponents of gay marriage can take heart knowing they’ve just about won over at least one prominent conservative: Bill O’Reilly.
On Tuesday’s episode of “The O’Reilly Factor,” anchor (former attorney) Megyn Kelly stopped by to discuss Tuesday’s Supreme Court hearings. She claimed that “the country’s views on this issue are changing,” largely because “same-sex marriage advocates have done a credible job of getting out there and making their case.”
The same can’t be said of gay marriage opponents, Kelly argued. While she said “there’s no arguing” that the Bible condemns the practice, Kelly expressed skepticism about the claim, made by Christian conservatives like Tony Perkins, that same-sex unions somehow undermine heterosexual ones.
“I didn’t hear anything articulated that was particularly persuasive,” she said.
“I agree with you 100%. The compelling argument is on the side of homosexuals. That’s where the compelling argument is,” O’Reilly said. “We’re Americans -- we just want to be treated like everyone else. That’s a compelling argument, and to deny that you’ve got to have a very strong argument on the other side. And the other side hasn’t been able to do anything but thump the Bible.”
But don’t worry, “Papa Bear” hasn’t gone totally soft in his old age. He stopped short of completely endorsing gay marriage, saying instead that he “doesn’t feel that strongly one way or the other” and that it’s an issue that should be decided by the states.
He was also scathingly critical of both President Bill Clinton, who signed DOMA into law back in 1996 but has since come out against it, and about President Obama, who famously “evolved” on the issue.
“They don’t care about gays. If they cared about gays they would have been on board in the beginning,” he said.
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