Wednesday, May 31, 2006
In a discussion yesterday about gay marriage on another blog I got the feeling that the other participants misunderstood my point about not insisting that Democrats in the Congress and Senate, not to mention state legislatures fall on their sword over the issue. I am and have always been in favor of full and equal rights for all of us. Including the rights of two adults to have their marriage receive the full protection of the law. It's the people who make the agreement and commitment that are the marriage, it's the protections of the law that are missing.
The question is one of what we can get and how soon we can get it. I reject the idea that being realistic and pragmatic about the issue is a lesser commitment to full equal rights. Marriage is a right, it isn't the only right. It isn't a right that everyone intends to use. We can't get it right away. There are other rights we can get sooner. If we insist that the Democratic Party try to do the impossible, deliver a right immediately, a right that doesn't YET have the support of the majority of voters they will lose even more elections. They will lose them to Republicans who not only won't deliver marriage rights any more quickly, Republicans are using anti-gay bigotry as the cornor stone of their campaign. The Republican Party is the party of gay bashing.
Insisting on Democrats committing political suicide over one right that it is clear we will have to wait for is a position that will put off the day when we have our full rights. I don't see how anyone could think that being realistic about that is a betrayal of gay rights. It's the exact opposite of a betrayal.
The question is one of what we can get and how soon we can get it. I reject the idea that being realistic and pragmatic about the issue is a lesser commitment to full equal rights. Marriage is a right, it isn't the only right. It isn't a right that everyone intends to use. We can't get it right away. There are other rights we can get sooner. If we insist that the Democratic Party try to do the impossible, deliver a right immediately, a right that doesn't YET have the support of the majority of voters they will lose even more elections. They will lose them to Republicans who not only won't deliver marriage rights any more quickly, Republicans are using anti-gay bigotry as the cornor stone of their campaign. The Republican Party is the party of gay bashing.
Insisting on Democrats committing political suicide over one right that it is clear we will have to wait for is a position that will put off the day when we have our full rights. I don't see how anyone could think that being realistic about that is a betrayal of gay rights. It's the exact opposite of a betrayal.
