To the surprise of, I would hope, almost no one, the California Supreme Court has voided the nearly 4,000 same sex marriages that were sanctioned by the mayor of San Francisco back in February and March of this year. The wedding certificates that Rosie O'Donnell and her spouse and all of the other couples got are now interesting and provocative historical souvenirs but they hold absolutely no legal standing.
It was a noble gesture on the part of Mayor Gavin Newsom (not sure if he's savvy politician playing to the progressive hometown crowd or a true son of Don Quixote tilting against windmills despite the odds, but I guess it really doesn't matter)...but it was a gesture that was, of course, fated to come to this conclusion given the laws of the state...and the prevailing mood of much of the country.
I'm still failing to see how allowing same sex couples to marry will do irrevocable harm to the "institution of marriage"...we should be celebrating committed love between consenting adults not putting arbitrary roadblocks in its path...but this is an issue that reaches into the sanctimonious hearts of so many clutching their Bibles to their (sometimes truly pious and well-meaning, sometimes just plain intolerant) breasts and as such it will touch off vehement protest whenever it's even broached.
In the words of one of my heroines, Linda Ellerbee, and so it goes.
1 comment:
I did see this. I was hoping, maybe naively, that San Francisco's gay marriages would be left alone.
Did not the Oregon State Supreme Court recently say that gay marriage is legal? Or did I hallucinate that?
I lived in Oregon for a year and loved that state. Portland's a wonderful city. I would make me happy to see them leading the movement toward equality for anyone who wants to get married.
It would also make me happy to see the Expos relocated to Portland, instead of northern Virginia!
I'm not a violent man, but anybody who tells me that my brother shouldn't be allowed to marry needs a pop in the teeth.
Michael C Lorah
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