A Final Status For Gay Marriage?
Posted on April 2, 2007
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It’s amazing to think, given the state of Israeli-Palestinian relations these days, that back when Bill Clinton was president and Arafat was alive, people were talking about the end-game in a Palestine-Israel peace process. Jerusalem was the non-negotiable item that somehow, sometime would have to be negotiated. Ideas were floated. There was an atmosphere of hope.
I’m wondering if gay marriage is going that way. We are in this strange place, at least in the more moderate parts of the country, where everything EXCEPT marriage is negotiable, and perhaps winnable. It pisses me off in a huge way that the majority of society would withhold that official label.
In my mind, marriage should not be a government issue at all. It is a spiritual idea and for many a religious thing. All of us, gay and straight can find a religious community that will sanctify our relationships. Still while government is in the business of marriage, it must be available to all.
Setting marriage aside, as seems to be the way of the moment, it is striking how the more reasonable officials are willing allies in the effort to dissect the legal benefits of marriage and provide equal protection under the law. I know, it’s still the “separate but equal” thing, but stay with be a bit longer.
It takes a lot of legislation to provide equal protection — for the government-given benefits of marriage are many — and taken for granted by most of those allowed to enjoy them. New Jersey wanted marriage and is not giving up, but for now has passed a broad civil unions law. This broad brush approach will need many details worked out. The District of Columbia is taking a piecemeal approach, but a very thorough one. They seem to be working on two bills and two government protections equal to marriage at a time. There are two gay men on the city council, they have support on the council and from the mayor. We’ll want to keep an eye on their progress.
The striking thing today, reading in the Washington Blade, was realizing how many bills are before Congress, or are planned this year, to reduce discrimination against glbt folks. They don’t all have to do with marriage, but they clearly do have to do with guaranteeing equal protection under the law.
The Blade lists these ten:
- Employment Non-Discrimination Act
- Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007
- Military Readiness Enhancement Act — repeals “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
- Uniting American Families Act — imigration equality for domestic partners
- Domestic Partner Health Benefits Equity Act — provides marriage parity on taxation of health benefits
- Domestic Partners Benefits & Obligations Act — equal health benefits for federal emplyees
- Clarification of Federal Employment Protections Act — says “we really mean it” to Bushies on federal employment discrimination
- Family Medical Leave Inclusion Act — amends Family & Medical Leave Act of 1993 for marriage equality
- Responsible Education About Life Act — actual sex-ed instead of abstinence dogma
- Early Treatment for HIV Act — provides medicaid for needy hiv-positive folks before AIDS develops
For any ‘wingers reading this, there’s no need to get excited. In a way you’ve won. No marriage for people like me. If you think this is too much legislation, you might want to cool your jets. Given the direction the wind is blowing, if we don’t achieve something that looks like equal protection, the pressure will continue to build until one day we’ll win on constitutional grounds — and we’ll win it all.
For disappointed folks like me who know when a moral victory has been stolen from us, there is the consolation prize of creeping toward equal protection. The up side is that it really is just a matter of time. Even without the added protections of law, we would still have a long wait. Most folks younger than me are pretty cool with equal marriage. Most folks older than me are not. Whether I see nation-wide equal marriage is likely a matter of whether my body outperforms actuarial tables. A moral victory in old age will taste just as sweet.
There is going to come a time — not too far off — where the confusion of laws, in marriage-permissive states, marriage-prohibitive states, and federal laws will create more problems than anyone hoped to resolve — in any direction. It seems very likely that very soon that there will be protections in federal law for glbt domestic partners that are not recognized in Virginia, a state that just passed the most restrictive laws on legal recognition of gay relationships anywhere. The momentum will be in favor of equal protection for all.
States fall all over themselves to attract new businesses. Most like high-tech businesses best. High-tech businesses are ahead of the curve on non-discrimination policies and domestic partner benefits. If these businesses want to attract the best and the brightest, they’ll choose to locate in states that best match their internal corporate cultures. Let’s see what happens when states pit so-called “morals” issues against pocketbook issues.
Unlike the final status of Jerusalem, which seems like a conflict the parties will never resolve, I suspect the question of equal marriage will be resolved sooner than anticipated. Things have a way of gaining momentum exponentially. Even with the setback of the last 6-plus years, change is in the air.
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2 Responses to “A Final Status For Gay Marriage?”
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I like your article however I disagree over the idea of same-gender marriage being a government thing.
As an athiest I think all religious hoopla should be left OUT of a civil law such as marriage.
Licenses are issued by the state FIRST and no religious certification is EVER required to complete a marriage.
The right of marriage is first a civil right guarranted by the state (or should be for all gender combinations) and never a religious rite that has to be blessed by clergy.
Why should catholic dogma supress my right of marriage when the United Church of Christ (UCC) and Unitarians support my right to marry?
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EXCERPT: In my mind, marriage should not be a government issue at all. It is a spiritual idea and for many a religious thing. All of us, gay and straight can find a religious community that will sanctify our relationships. Still while government is in the business of marriage, it must be available to all.
Here in the Netherlands, a gay marriage is permitted by law and why not? It do not harm anything or anybody i suppose. But i have to admit, our country is very liberal in this.