Elation abounds among gays and lesbians, civil rights advocates and liberals after the California supreme court affirmed yesterday the right of marriage to same-sex couples. Sadly, there was a more tempered response from the presidential candidates, wh0 may want to join in the celebration but don't want to alienate independents with more socially conservative views. This is from the LA Times:
"Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton had sketched out a more centrist path than the court's. The decision could encourage Democratic interest groups to press candidates to extend their support for civil unions to same-sex marriage itself.
All three offered finessed responses Thursday, saying that defining marriage is best left to individual states."
Of course, the issue isn't resolved just yet, as opponents of same-sex marriage will try to ban gay marriage by amending their state constitution, which Gov. Schwarzenegger has promised he will oppose.
"I respect the court's decision and as governor, I will uphold its ruling," Schwarzenegger said. "Also, as I have said in the past, I will not support an amendment to the Constitution that would overturn this state Supreme Court ruling."
My friend Lori has a story that illustrates the stupidity of restricting marriage to anyone because of their gender. Lori works as an on-call banquet bartender. She was working a wedding at the History Center, I believe. After the cocktail hour, the wedding party settled into their seats for dinner and the toasts began. The usual jokes and stories were shared, then the groom stood up and thanked the bride's family for being so loving and accepting of him after all they had gone through since his sex-change operation.
What is ridiculous is that when he was a she, this couple wasn't allowed to marry, according the the state of Minnesota. But now that he was a man, the marriage could be legal. Same person, different hormones and genitalia. Defies logic.
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