Digby has some comments on the New Jersey civil unions event (I don't know what else to call it -- it's not over yet) that pretty much reflect what I've been thinking, and what seems to be now the open strategy of marriage advocates. This quote from Blue Jersey sums it up nicely:
Speaking at the signing of the civil unions act in Trenton this morning, Senator Loretta Weinberg told the audience she looks forward to revisiting this issue. Weinberg also said she believes the state will achieve marriage equality by the end of her next term (January 2012).
It's a good strategy on several levels. It gives the vast middle time to get used to the idea, and to realize that same-sex marriage does not, indeed, mark the end of Western civilization. It also pushes the rabid right farther and farther into the fringe (from WaPo):
Social conservative groups and some lawmakers opposed the measure, saying it brings gay relationships too close to marriage, but it easily passed the Legislature.
"It's same-sex marriage without the title," said John Tomicki, president of the New Jersey Coalition to Preserve and Protect Marriage. "It uproots the cardinal values of our culture."
He said opponents would push for a constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex unions in New Jersey, no matter what they're called.
He's calling for exactly the kind of thing that was defeated in Arizona. It's the same stance that will, before too much longer, be repealed in Wisconsin and Virginia. (Wisconsin first, I'm sure.) The anti-marriage forces start to sound like exactly what they are: shrill, angry nutcases totally out of touch with the mainstream.
(Y'know, I'd still like to hear from someone just exactly what those "cardinal values" are. Spousal abuse? A 50% divorce rate? Torture? SUVs?)
No comments:
Post a Comment