Mairwidge is wot bwings us togethuh...

So I was watching Hardball on MSNBC last night, and one segment in the show featured a "debate" on the recent victories for marriage equality in Iowa (where the state supreme court ruled that barring same-sex couples from marrying violates the state constitution) and Vermont (which became the first state to legalize same-sex marriage through the legislature and not the courts--in fact, state lawmakers voted to override Governor Jim Douglas' veto). Iowa and Vermont now join Massachussetts and Connecticut as the only states that allow same-sex marriage. Incidentally, the District of Columbia city council voted this week to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. (California's supreme court is currently reviewing the legality of Proposition 8 which voters instated last fall to amend that state's constitution to restrict marriage to heterosexual couples. Additionally, New Hampshire and New Jersey are working on establishing marriage equality through legislative means.)



What struck me about this exchange is that Maggie Gallagher, president of the National Organization for Marriage (I know), makes the first ever attempt--that I've heard anyway--at backing up the claim that same-sex marriage somehow threatens "traditional" marriages and will change society for the worse. (Because obviously the sky has completely fallen in Massachusetts in the last five years.) Yes, the anti-equality movement has wised up to the fact that the tired old argument that same-sex relations are just "unnatural" or "icky" won't do, so they are actually trying to give credence to the view that allowing same-sex couples to marry will adversely affect straight couples. What's particularly sad and ironic is that Ms. Gallagher nails it when she predicts that people will one day be told that this "traditional" view of marriage (i.e. only between a man and a woman) will be regarded as a "disgarded relic of ancient bigotry." So she's essentially saying that if LGBT Americans are given their rights, children will be taught that those who seek to deny them these civil rights are in fact bigots. No shit!

For obvious reasons, this line of thinking has absolutely no grounding in logic or reason. Ray and Tommy upstairs will have no more impact on my life than Richard and Linda next door do now. I'll admit her argument regarding religious organizations being compelled to change their practices has slightly more merit on the facts, but that doesn't make her correct--not by a longshot. The simple fact of the matter is that religious groups that seek special status in the form of tax exemptions or government funding should be required to adhere to the protection of individual rights as defined by the government. If not, they forfeit their claims to special treatment. Why is that so bad? I might add that throughout our history, churches have preached several doctrines that have since been viewed as archaic and even immoral. In antebellum America, for example, there were some religious sects that condoned slavery, citing the Bible as their defense. That didn't give them a pass to continue this practice once the Civil War ended and emancipation was enshrined in the Constitution.

I could go on and on with this, but suffice it to say I am pleased with the trends we're starting to see in this country. Slowly but surely, state by state, thoughtful judges who take seriously their responsibility to uphold equal protection clauses--and now legislatures--are granting equal rights to LGBT couples. We obviously have quite a way to go before this happens on the federal level, but I'm confident that eventually a case will make it to the United States Supreme Court and we'll see a Loving-esque ruling that strikes down all existing state bans on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional. How do I know that the United States will one day ensure marriage equality? Just look at today's polls on the subject. There is nearly a (reverse) linear correlation between age and support for marriage rights, so it is only a matter of time (read: once the baby boom generation dies off) until the vast majority of Americans see their LGBT fellow citizens as just that: fellow citizens deserving of the same rights and responsibilities as everyone else.