Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villariagosa, chairman of the Democratic National Convention, said Wednesday on MSNBC that President Obama’s decision to support gay marriage would cost the president votes in November, but was the right thing to do nonetheless.
“I’m here because there was a Civil Rights Act and a Voting Rights Act and he is, as well,” Villaraigosa said of Obama. “And this was the last frontier. The last frontier of civil rights that we needed to finally say, ‘We were going to vindicate as a nation.'”
Politically, Villaraigosa says the move makes Obama look “authentic,” but won’t go over well everywhere. “Whether it will hurt us in the election, the answer is in some places it will, no question. But I think in the end when you stand up for the currently of your convictions, you’re authentic,” he said.
In March, Villaraigosa said he thinks the party should include support for marriage equality in the party platform.
