Gay Marriage Opponents Salivating in California

Once again, right wing Republicans are putting political gain and divisive election trickery ahead of the good of the country. And today's California Supreme Court ruling in support of gay marriage has them practically foaming at the mouth in anticipation of a divisive November election. While Gov. Schwarzenneger plans to mortgage the state lottery to close an estimated $20 Billion budget gap, the most pressing issue on these folks' minds is the fight to keep same sex couples from joining in sacred matrimony. "The Supreme Court essentially gave the strategy," said Mathew Staver, the attorney who represented Campaign for California Families before the court in unsuccessfully arguing to uphold the state ban on same-sex marriage. "When you have four people in the state undermining the will of the people, that's the strategy in itself," said Staver, dean of the law school at Liberty University, a fundamentalist Baptist college in Lynchburg, Va. These folks have never understood the balance of power in this country, how the juducual system was created as a check on the powers of the legislature, executive branch, and the people. They've spent eight years trying to move all the power into the Executive Branch, and yet they themselves run to the courts when they don't get their own way. It's duplicitous, hypocritical, and would be laughable if the real-world results of their actions weren't so painful. In Oregon, they ran to the courts to request a stay on a domestic partnership registry that wasn't to their liking. And yet, whenever a ruling goes against them, they claim judges are "legislating from the bench" and "overturning the will of the people." "People are tired of their voices not being heard," Karen England, a conservative activist, said in an SF Chronicle article today. Excuse me? You're tired of not being heard? You who have run the bloody country for eight years, who basically controlled all three branches of the federal government for six? You're tired of not being heard? What about gay and lesbian families? What about children whose parents couldn't get married in this state because of your own selfish prejudices? What about couples who are separated in the hospital by families who don't approve of their relationships? Here's an idea - take all that righteous anger and use it to tackle things that really matter - things that can unite us, not divide us. Like global warming. Or the state budget. Or soaring health care costs. Or ending the war in Iraq. Or helping people save their homes. The list is endless. As if all this weren't enough, these right wingers can't stand the idea that one of us might marry our partner before they can shut off the civil rights spigot. The group pushing the constitutional amendment plan to file a motion to block the implementation of the ruling within the next 15 days, and it doesn't take effect until 6/14. "We think it's in the best interest of the court and the people of California to not have a bunch of marriages in limbo," Lavy said. "It can cause a lot of chaos. People who get marriage licenses between now and November, what does that mean? Does it have any legal significance? We'd have to have a whole other round of litigation." It's like the arguments we heard from these Luddites when Newsom was marrying same sex couples in 2004 - they wanted to stop the weddings so the poor gay people getting married wouldn't have to deal with disappointment when they were annuled. Somehow we doubt the sincerity of their concern for us. Staver said "I think you still have 50-plus percent of Californians who would vote for (opposite-sex) marriage." Let's hope this idiot is wrong, and that Californians reject these out-of-state carpetbaggers and find the better part of their own natures. And, just for one day, Mister Staver, please go away, and let us enjoy the moment. --Scott