In the wake of last week’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges making marriage equality the law of the land in all 50 states, the American public has turned its gaze toward the crop of GOP presidential hopefuls and their reactions to the decision. Most pundits and potential voters did so with an expectation that shrewd Republican primary candidates will respond in one of two ways: Give in to marriage equality, or at the very least get out of the way.
Put differently, there’s an assumption that the GOP will greet the dawn of national marriage equality with apathy at best and resistance, hostility and obstinacy at worst. These expectations fail to consider the fact that there’s a compelling conservative case for marriage equality — and a growing number of common-sense conservatives beginning to understand.
