First in a series
[img]1792|right|Jim Clarke||no_popup[/img]When City Councilman Jim Clarke was growing up a few minutes ago in Northern California, he was an altar boy who later attended a military academy.
Today he is a prominent parishioner at St. Augustine Catholic Church.
He was cheered yesterday when the Supreme Court made a decision that endorsed gay marriage in five petitioning states hoping to overrule a covey of federal judges.
The question put to Mr. Clarke this morning was:
Did gay marriage feel right to you from the beginning? Or, like others, have you evolved?
“I evolved,” Mr. Clarke said. “After being an altar boy and attending military academy, I was always rebelling against authority.
“I was persuaded (about gay marriage) when I got involved with the Democratic Party.
“The party was pretty active (in gay causes). I did not even have any exposure to gay people when I was growing up.
“I had a fourth-grade teacher whom the community considered a beatnik. You created terms for people who were a little bit strange.”
Mr. Clarke, who might be labeled a progressive traditionalist, said that questions remain for him.
“I still to this day don’t understand in a gay marriage whether there are traditional roles you have in a heterosexual marriage, male and female. Who is the hunter-protector? Who is the nurturing whatever.”
(To be continued)
