Does it matter if Barbara Bush endorses gay marriage?

Barbara Bush, the daughter of former President George W. Bush, has taped a message seeking public support for same-sex marriage.

(Image credit: YouTube)

last updated 8 January 2015

The video: Barbara Bush, one of former President George W. Bush's twin daughters, has made a public break with her father over the issue of gay marriage. Though Bush had pushed for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, his daughter has taped a message asking New Yorkers to support state efforts to legalize gay marriage. "New York is about fairness and equality. And everyone should have the right to marry the person that they love," she says in the video, sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign.

The reaction: The GOP's bulwark against gay marriage is crumbling, says Lisa Flam at AOL News. Barbara Bush is the latest in a parade of people related to "prominent Republicans" who have gone public with their support of gay marriage. Which makes her opinion not exactly "newsworthy," says Allahpundit at Hot Air. Her mother, Laura Bush, adopted the same stance — as have Dick Cheney, and 60 percent of Ms. Bush's fellow Americans under age 30. Actually, that's why Barbara Bush's position is significant, says David Schraub in The Moderate Voice. It underlines that "marriage discrimination is nearly solely the province of older Americans," so the wait for equality is "only a matter of time." Watch her message: