Well, gay marriage is certainly on the agenda recently, isn't it?
Part of me is trying to be happy, because it means they're scared. The Supreme Court decision rocked. Canada may very well allow same-sex marriages nationwide in the near future. And it's quite possible that the Massachusetts Supreme Court may rule this summer that same-sex marriages must be allowed in the state. The backlash is coming because they feel threatened. That's a good thing, right?
But god, is it ever infuriating to listen to! Damn Dubya: "I believe in the sanctity of marriage. I believe a marriage is between a man and a woman, and I think we ought to codify that one way or the other . . . I think it's very important for our society to respect each individual . . . that does not mean that somebody like me needs to compromise on an issue such as marriage."
Umm? Great, you believe marriage is between a man and a woman, you don't want to compromise. Fine. You can marry a woman. But how the hell do you get off suggesting that it's
your business who other people marry? Sorry, buddy, but it's not your place to talk about compromise, because compromise involves sacrificing something that is
yours. And the fact that it makes you feel uncomfortable to think about gay couples getting married doesn't cut it.
But as if that wasn't bad enough, "the Vatican urged Catholics and non-Catholics alike Thursday to unite in campaigning against gay marriages and gay adoptions." Not only does the document they issued set out a "battle-plan" against recognition of same-sex unions, saying, "There are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God's plan for marriage and family. To vote in favor of a law so harmful to the common good is gravely immoral," which is lousy enough... but they went further.
"Allowing children to be adopted by persons living in such unions would actually mean doing violence to these children, in the sense that their condition of dependency would be used to place them in an environment that is not conducive to their full human development." That is one of the most odious things I've read in a long time. I cannot
believe that such a significant institution as the Vatican would come out and say that. There's at least some theoretical justification for a religion to have an interest in how marriage is defined (although something like this where they make governments' decisions their business is going too far). But then to go ahead and make the blanket (and scientifically disproven, or at the very least unproven) statement that it's harmful to children to have gay parents, that it's
violent? What an incredibly low blow.
I have to remind myself to take deep breaths. It's not like we don't already have DOMA. I
think it would be too hard to get a constitutional amendment passed. And anything short of that can be overturned. Only 55 percent of Americans oppose gay marriage, and I can't imagine it'll be
too long until the scale tips the other way. (And surely, not
all of that 55 percent would support amending the Constitution to agree with them, right?) The tide is turning, it's got to be.
In the meantime-- damn you, fucking homophobes who dare to assert that it's
your business who
other people marry.
