This shouldn’t be news, and the fact that it is news reflects poorly on the state of our society. It shouldn’t take a shocking (and probably illegal) decision of one mayor to give official sanction to two people who want to spend their lives together in the same way that other people can. Gavin Newsom deserves a ton of credit for this move. Sure it will help his credibility with San Franciscans and no doubt allow him to tack to the center on upcoming issues, but he is taking a risk in defying state law, and an even bigger risk with his own future aspirations.
“It just goes to show you what we have to go through, and then you have Britney Spears who just did it in a few minutes,” said Garret Villalba, 42, who drove to San Francisco on Friday from Santa Barbara with his partner of 18 years, Robert Kratzke, also 42.
What a great point. Can someone point me to the law that protects marriage from drunk and stoned jackasses in Las Vegas or anywhere else?
The response in increasingly liberal San Francisco has been very positive, but not surprisingly the ill-named Campaign for California Families (more like Campaign for California Straight Families) has filed suit to stop the weddings and will be in court on Tuesday. Someone let these religious groups know that Jebus would rather they spend their money on helping poor people instead if paying the dreaded trial lawyers to block other people’s liberty and pursuit of happiness.
Gay marriage is yet another in a long line of wedge issues that Republicans are using/have used to pick off voters who (based on economic interests) should be voting Democratic. This deception is magnified this election year by comparison to issues that actually matter to people’s lives.
I think the right has miscalculated on this issue. I’ve seen the polls, and while a majority is against same-sex marriage, a majority also exists against a Constitutional amendment. I’d like to see some polling data on intensity and priority on this issue.
Isn’t it time we moved past this?
Hopefully when Newsom runs for President in 20 years this is seen as a positive rather than something that holds him back.