Think that all conservatives are against gay marriage - and all liberals for it?
Guess again.
We know that the Democrat front runners, John Kerry and John Edwards have both reiterated their support for a ban on gay marriage. (Kerry could approve a constitutional amendment against gay marriage in Massachusetts.)
Now The Economist comes out in favor of what they refer to as, "Equality and Liberty" - that is, the right of everyone to marry the adult that they love.
The case for allowing gays to marry begins with equality, pure and simple. Why should one set of loving, consenting adults be denied a right that other such adults have and which, if exercised, will do no damage to anyone else?
I'm hoping that eventually my friends who are not on the same page as I am on this issue will be convinced of the rightness of it. It's not just a matter of having the same rights as those who can enjoy marriage. It's a matter of being accepted in the greater society.
Gays want to marry precisely because they see marriage as important: they want the symbolism that marriage brings, the extra sense of obligation and commitment, as well as the social recognition. Allowing gays to marry would, if anything, add to social stability, for it would increase the number of couples that take on real, rather than simply passing, commitments. The weakening of marriage has been heterosexuals' doing, not gays', for it is their infidelity, divorce rates and single-parent families that have wrought social damage.
I hope that - eventually - most of us will be able to welcome our gay neighbors and family.
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