... And Now, for the Good News

[The Gays, Again] Yes, I know the regressives are salivating at yet another opportunity to grind their bootheels into the faces of gays and lesbians.

And The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is so eager to shift the subject away from those awful, fake-Mormon plygs in Texas, it wasted no time in casting its jaundiced eye on the "unfortunate" state of judicial affairs in California (right after releasing its fun David Archuleta tie-in feature about all those famous Mormons).

And some readers are all too eager to rain on my little personal Pride parade since, apparently, no faggot deserves to be that happy about a court decision in another state.

How depressing.

Still, after skimming the Cal Supremes' in re Marriage Cases decision [PDF], I've found that hope springs eternal. In fact, the most momentous and groundbreaking part of this decision doesn't have anything to do with whether gay and lesbian Californians are allowed to be "married" or must instead make do with "domestic partnerships."

It has to do with the court's breathtaking proclamation that the state has an interest in prohibiting anti-gay discrimination not simply on the basis of sex-discrimination laws, but because gays and lesbians are themselves worthy of full inclusion in society.

The naysayers who have kept themselves so busy organizing their anti-marriage referendum--likely to appear on California's November ballot--can only hope to block marriage equity temporarily since homophobes are dying off and, in less than a generation, they'll constitute a dwindling minority.

But, even if the anti-marriage referendum were to succeed--far from a done deal in this year of such strong anti-Republican sentiment, "the decision banning discrimination based on sexual orientation would remain in place."

This means that, even though the Gay Cabal should have fought for antidiscrimination before seeking equal marriage rights, we have irrevocably won the real prize, and may even still take the jackpot. Now that's cause for celebration.

(Brandon Burt)

OK, my last several posts have been about this one subject. And, OK, I've been kind of an asshole to some of the people who comment. Many people have heartfelt reasons for opposing gay marriage, and I'm glad that they, like me, are free to speak their minds.

And I am also glad that they are free to not marry anybody they choose. Unfortunately, in 48 states, gay and lesbian Americans do not have that same freedom. I really do think the California decision is a momentous event in the history of the American gay equal-rights movement.

Also on the plus side, I got a lot of reader reaction and more participation in Salt Blog, which is always my goal. Turns out assholism works!