Eagleionline

White House Domestic Policy Council Director Melody Barnes’s talk, “Law and Domestic Policy in the Obama Administration,” was not about same sex marriage. But despite Barnes’s motivational admonitions and enlightening comments about education, economic, and health policy, the moment that many of the 250 or so students, professors, and alums who crammed into EW 120 and overflowed into the hallways are perhaps most likely to remember from the talk was the first question of the Q&A. That was when 1L Paul Sousa read a several minute long point-by-point critique of President Obama’s opposition to same sex marriage in favor of civil unions. Sousa described civil unions as a Plessy-style separate-but-equal substitute for genuine marriage equality, and concluded his question by asking for Barnes’s personal views. As Sousa’s question/statement went on and many in the audience grew visibly perturbed, Barnes remained a picture of attentive composure, and her answer was, to most in attendance, thoughtful but unremarkable. It was the question that appeared to have made the biggest impression, and it seemed like things would end there.
 
And then within hours of the event being over, two prominent journalists had weighed in, and anonymous sources at the White House were issuing clarifications.
 
Just a week before Barnes’s comments, a slim majority of Maine voters, some number of them no doubt influenced by BC Law Professor Scott Fitzgibbon’s ominous ad about the dangers of “homosexual marriage,” chose to repeal legislation legalizing same sex marriage in their state. Next week the BC Law Federalist Society is slated to host Maggie Gallagher, president of the National Organization for Marriage, who has been one of the most outspoken voices in opposition to marriage equality. And as Barnes walked to the room where she delivered her remarks, she undoubtedly passed scores of flyers ubiquitous at BC picturing the faces of students and professors proclaiming their support for marriage equality and the GLBT community. This is a school in the midst of sorting out its identity as a Jesuit institution - where traditional Catholic doctrine on marriage and the family run up against the progressive legacy of the beloved and famously Pro-Choice former Dean - Father Drinan - and a student body who came to BC largely for reasons unrelated to religious affiliation.  So perhaps it should be unsurprising that in the current climate at BC Law, the issue of same sex marriage managed to make a splash far out of proportion to the time it occupied in Barnes’s remarks.
 
First, there was a tweet from Matthew Cooper, of Plame-gate fame: “Melody Barnes, top Obama advisor, voiced support for marriage equality at Boston College Law School today.” This was followed by a story from the Huffington Post’s Sam Stein, who had been tipped off by Sousa and quoted him and event organizer Britt Mosman.  Stein proclaimed that this could make Barnes “perhaps the highest-ranking White House official to signal support for same sex marriage.” Stein’s story was then updated several times to reflect sequential statements from an anonymous White House source who first denied that Barnes had said anything about “her personal views on marriage equality or other issues,” and then, perhaps an hour later, added that in any case, Barnes’s “personal views on issues are irrelevant to her work of advancing the administration’s agenda.” Comments from BC Law Professor Kent Greenfield were added shortly thereafter, downplaying the significance of anything Barnes had said about marriage.
 
So, what exactly did Barnes say that was newsworthy? The school has yet to post a video, but from detailed notes of her remarks, Barnes said essentially the following: “I appreciate your disappointment .  The President has articulated a number of ways that he wants to move the ball forward for GLBT Americans … I accept that this is different than what you’re talking about. What you’re talking about is something that’s fundamental. With regard to my own views … I come to them based on relationships I’ve had with friends and their relationships that I respect and the children they’re raising. And that is something that I support. But when I walk into the White House, I work to put all the arguments in front of the President and as you say, I also work for the President… His plans are to move the ball forward in the ways I described. He hasn’t stated a shift in his position there.”
 
There’s no explicit “I believe same sex couples should have the right to marry,” but Barnes’s view is clear. She supports marriage equality. Good for her for saying so. Understandably, any administration wants to present a unified public face, and administration officials lobbying the President in public is a no-no. But Barnes kept on the right side of a fine line for a trusted advisor - while she conveyed her personal views, she also conveyed the President’s position and her commitment to advancing the President’s agenda while “working to put all the arguments in front of him.” Obama has gone out of his way to choose members of his administration who disagree with him on issues ranging from the Iraq war to abortion rights, and he’s a better president for it. What’s surprising is not that Melody Barnes indicated her support for marriage equality - a natural view for anyone committed to civil rights and a position wholly within the Democratic mainstream - but that many other high ranking officials in an ideologically diverse administration have not.

[Slightly revised from the original]