Fun. on Same-Sex Marriage Votes: ‘It Feels Like a Lot of Progress’
Fun. enjoyed plenty of successes in 2012, but maybe none more important than this past November. Having spent Halloween in Maine playing a benefit for same-sex marriage, the trio were thrilled when the measures to allow same-sex marriage passed on the ballot in all four states that voted on the issue – Maine, Washington, Maryland and Minnesota.
“Maine specifically meant a great deal,” the trio’s Jack Antonoff told Rolling Stone when we met up with them this past weekend at KROQ’s annual Almost Acoustic Xmas show. “We went up there and donated all the proceeds from that show to Mainers United, which is the group you can argue is responsible for getting the vote pushed through for marriage equality. So it was a promising election on many fronts.”
Antonoff was also buoyed by the recent news that the Supreme Court would address the issue by hearing two separate cases. That development “is obviously huge,” he said. “So it just feels like a lot of progress, like everyone is starting to come around.”
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But the band also caution that the fight is far from over. They witnessed it themselves while in Maine for the benefit show. “When you were driving down the street you would see Vote Yes on 1 and Vote No on 1 [signs], literally one after another,” said Antonoff. “‘Don’t redefine families’ or ‘Human rights for all.’ And you could see firsthand the battle and how serious it is, and it gave us the feeling that yes, we’re grateful it passed, but it wasn’t like this is done. Obviously, still 70 percent of the States don’t have same-sex marriage, so there’s still so much further up ahead.”
They’ve also seen the battle unfold among their fans, by following conversations on their social media channels. Although most support the band in their battle for marriage equality, there have been some negative reactions, said Andrew Dost.
On Facebook, he’s seen “a lot of very heated, very inflammatory comments, and then a bunch of other people piling on them,” he said. “And it gets a little aggressive and a little heated.”
To Dost the debate, no matter which side fans are on, is a positive sign. “It’s nice to start a conversation among your fans,” he said. “Even if not everybody agrees with you – even if you lose some fans in the process – I think getting the conversation going is important.”