Back in 2004, California's Supreme Court did something completely disgraceful when it annulled the marriages of 4000 gay couples on procedural grounds without considering the larger question of whether denying homosexuals the right to marry is even constitutional. In 2008, though, they corrected themselves ruling that homosexuals did, in fact, have a constitutionally protected right to marry.
Predictably, this has thrown California's conservatives into a tizzy. Faced with the prospect of 10's of thousands gay marriages before they get their chance to officially write discrimination into our constitution, they've asked the court to stay its ruling until after the November election. Moreover, they've been joined by the Attroneys' General of ten states that aren't prepared to consider the question of whether or not to recognize gay marriages performed in California.
But, like death penalty advocates who'll never be required to 'throw the switch', these cowards want to keep gay marriage hidden from public view until they can make it a non-issue. After all, it's a lot easier to convince the electorate that gay marriage is the downfall of society when there aren't any happily married gay couples around to put the lie in your stance—when you never have to face the people whose rights you'll be taking away.
The court, however, should not give in and conservatives who support this nonsense should be exposed as the intellectually dishonest throwbacks they are. They should have to explain and, whether they succeed or fail, have their noses rubbed in their folly. Not a hundred, nor a thousand, nor even ten thousand gay marriages are enough. We should have one marriage for each and every conservative that would deny homosexuals equal protection under the law, and on election day those conservatives should be forced to personally confront the couples whom they would make into second-class citizens.
TAGS: Marriage, Rights, California, Homosexuality
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