Meanwhile, in Washington...

[illusionofjoy]

Making a move in the opposite direction of that in Missouri, a Seattle judge ruled that same-sex couples cannot be deprived of the right to legally marry in the state of Washington. A move in the right direction, no doubt, but I fear that this issue, while important, is going to completely distract from others in this year's election. While most Americans don't particularly care what goes on in the bedrooms of other adults, when something is shoved in their faces like this, most tend to decide based on their gut reactions, rather than any interest in true justice. Let's face it: as a whole, this nation still has a long way to go before it can be considered tolerant of homosexuality, if not accepting. That is why this remains "the controversial issue" that shouldn't be and why I'm worried that ignorance may tip the scales towards Bush in November. Frankly, I don't blame Kerry for tip-toeing around this.

Comments

[oneirophrenia.livejournal.com]

When I think about the way that the federal and state governments are handling the same-sex marriage issue, I cannot help but think of a similar situation that our country faced many a year agone: the right of blacks and women to vote. Now, women were granted suffrage by...I believe it's the 19th Amendment--a federally-enacted amendment that applies to ALL state, everywhere. But social engineering of that scale is very impractical in the US, what with so many people in completely different areas of the country sharing many different views--it's almost impossible to get a quorum anymore. The situation with gay marriage is a lot more like the black vote: officially, after the Civil War, ALL male citizens of the US were able to vote...but the southern states enacted all manner of crazy-ass, incomprehensible laws to get around this. Nonetheless, these laws did not last: eventually, pressure from sources outside these states (including from the federal government itself) eventually forced them to repeal the grandfather clauses and other moronic codes so that blacks could vote.

That same kind of action is going to happen now with same-sex marriage. States such as Washington and Massachusetts are enacting laws to safeguard the practice--but, just the same, there are states enacting laws to restrict it. I seriously doubt there will ever be an amendment made to the constitution effectively sanctioning or banning same-sex marriage in a national sense. Instead, you will have states where it's legal and states where it's not. Societal pressure and the changing views of succeeding generations will gradually wittle down these "forbidden" states until the entire country allows it.

Oops

[mr-sunyata.livejournal.com]

You had me, right up to the last line you wrote.
In the course of human history, people have been dragged - kicking and screaming - onto higher ethical ground by the efforts of individuals. People like the Reverand Dr. Martin Luther King, Ghandi, Mother Theresa. It's all been done by individuals. Look what Kennedy did for space exploration.
Leaders of every movement don't "tip-toe" they move with absolute committment.
If Kerry doesn't do this, he's not the leader we need in this apathetic country. He's just another contestant in the national popularity contest.
And YES - I will blame him.