Thursday, November 06, 2008
Opinion: Same-sex marriage goes off the radar
In the far-off future of two days from writing this, the United States will be drastically different. It’s not the president I am so worried about. What I wish to get off of my chest is Proposition 8.
It’s a proposed amendment to the state constitution of California.
Earlier this year the Supreme Court of California declared a law barring same-sex couples from marrying unconstitutional. Shortly thereafter California became the third state to allow same-sex couples to
marry. The first was Massachusetts. The second was Iowa, although they suspended the marriage rights for judicial review.
If Proposition 8 passed on Tuesday, then when you read this the California constitution will have been amended to prohibit same-sex couples from marrying, superceding the court’s ruling. This renders all
same-sex marriages performed in the state null and void.
What I find perplexing about the California marriage issue is that no one outside of California is talking about it.
In 2004 one of the prime campaign issues was that of same-sex marriage. That year 11 states amended their constitutions to prohibit same-sex marriage.
One of the precedents cited in the court’s ruling was that of Perez v. Sharp. The 1948 case declared California’s laws barring interracial marriage unconstitutional. The case was cited earlier in 1967 in
Loving v. Virginia which eliminated such laws nationally.
In 2008 these cases are heralded as landmarks for civil rights. In 1948 and 1967 they were the product of activist judges going against the will of the people and even against the law of nature. Now those
who supported keeping interracial marriage illegal are viewed as caricatures of a backward time.
I wonder if a generation from now those who opposed same-sex marriage will be viewed in the same manner.
This assumes that in such a future it is legal and accepted. Will it be? Or will the tradition of separate and unequal continue. I don’t know. I can’t see a generation into the future. I can’t even see past my
deadline.