John Kerry backs gay marriage; this time Boston notices

John Kerry reportedly supports gay marriage, a reversal on the issue that has gone unreported since the Massachusetts Democrat and 2004 Democratic presidential nominee first told the Boston Globe in March.

During the presidential election campaign, Sen. Kerry had expressed support for gay rights in his home state while not supporting gay marriage himself, the Globe wrote Friday.

But Kerry first told his hometown newspaper that he supported same-sex marriage as part of a survey the Globe did of the state’s congressional delegation, an admission that was overlooked at the time as the paper accidentally left Kerry’s title and first name out of the story.

It read:

"A Globe survey of the Massachusetts congressional delegation shows support for gay marriage and for repealing the Defense of Marriage Act by Kerry and each of the Bay State’s House members, all Democrats."

There was a second seemingly missed opportunity to register Kerry's extraction from what Politico described as "a tricky political spot: a liberal senator representing the first state to legalize gay marriage without being for them himself."

Kerry, in a Globe op-ed published July 10, "cited his own journey to gay marriage backer and defending President Barack Obama’s 'right to evolve' on the issue."

Then, as though to leave no one in doubt, the Globe on Friday published an interview with Kerry under the headline, "Kerry acknowledges gay marriage change."

The report follows New York’s high-profile legalization of gay weddings from Sunday, with Mayor Michael Bloomberg to officiate at one of the first ceremonies — that his top policy adviser John Feinblatt, 60, to city commissioner for consumer affairs, Jonathan Mintz, 47.

(GlobalPost reports: NY mayor Bloomberg pops the question to gay couple — marry… with me)

Kerry, meantime, told the Globe that he is now for gay marriage, though he "denied he is trying to squelch publicity surrounding the change," Politico reports.

"What was the question? ‘Do you support gay marriage?’ What was the answer? ‘Yes,’” he said. “I mean, I can’t – I’m sorry the Globe didn’t write more about it or say something about it, but that’s not my doing. I said ‘Yes.’ And then I voluntarily, spontaneously wrote an op-ed, because I thought it was important for people to understand the value of the journey that I took."