Rachel Maddow Highlights U.S. 'Confusion' on LGBT Issues

Two news stories last week provided an opportunity for Rachel Maddow (No. 3 on Out's Power List) to highlight the divide in U.S. attitudes on LGBT equality on her top-rated MSNBC TV show. First, the Louisiana House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to retain its state's antisodomy law, a move that is strictly symbolic, as the law is unconstitutional under 2003's Supreme Court decision Lawrence v. Texas, which invalidated sodomy laws across the U.S. But as Maddow noted Friday night, legislators "voted to keep their sodomy law, and they did so in emphatic fashion."

Then, shifting her focus to another major news story from last week, the MSNBC host acknowledged Charles J. Cooper, a conservative attorney who famously argued before the Supreme Court last year in favor of upholding California's antigay Proposition 8, for his recent proclamation of support for marriage equality. Maddow told viewers that Cooper's about-face on the issue will be explored in a forthcoming book, where he states that his "views evolve on issues of this kind the same way as other people's do." Indeed, Cooper is currently planning his daughter's marriage to her female partner.

Juxtaposing the two contradictory news events, Maddow asserted: "Sometimes the arc of the moral universe bends towards justice, but you know what? Sometimes the arc of the moral universe runs around like a chicken with its head cut off."

But she didn't stop there. She continued: "What a country. One big, lovely, confused country."

Check out the video below: