“Acceptance of gay marriage was excruciatingly slow for a long time. Then in the last year and a half, it was like dominos falling. Boom. The pace really accelerated. This is an exciting moment, and I really wanted to be part of that”Meghan Sahli-Wells
Years before last Monday evening’s City Council meeting, Mayor Meghan Sahli-Wells’s colleagues were thoroughly acquainted with her beliefs on gay marriage.
When she asked the other four Council members this week to sign Culver City’s name onto the amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court case about same-sex marriage, three promptly agreed. The exception was Vice Mayor Mehaul O’Leary, who abstained.
Not that she has been undefeated the last 10 months of her mayorship in coaxing members to back her on controversial topics. This matter, however, was a jumbo winner.
“My goal here is not to antagonize anybody or attack their personal or religious beliefs,” Ms. Sahli-Wells said in a lobbying mode on the dais.
“My goal is to make sure that people’s religious beliefs do not take away the fundamental, Constitutional rights of Culver City residents.”
For a moment, the mayor may have sounded like a successful snowball salesperson in Juneau, one who could sell you a produce even though you have a kitchen full of the product.
No matter your stance on gay marriage, Ms. Sahli-Wells’s tenderly diplomatic approach almost could have won over the iciest rival. Almost.
(To be continued)
