I’m hoping the same will happen here.

However, this IS California. It’s not Oklahoma. So I can see the possibility of this decision having far-reaching effects:

1) Borderline states (moderate states that can go either republican or democrat) may swing to the republican side in the general election and create a potential win for McCain

2) Religious right/ultra conservative states will start passing laws or initiatives to ban gay marriage, with voter referenda, to show that gay marriage “goes against the ‘will’ of the people.”

Of course, half the country is thrilled about what happened in California, and the other half is crying out that the judges are legislating from the bench.

I chatted with my father about this — he grew up in a segregated town in Texas and is now an attorney. (And yes, he’s a democrat.)

He thinks this is the worst timing in the world for this kind of ruling, because this means the gay marriage issue will become a major one during the rest of this election cycle. And that voters will be thinking about this when they select their candidate for President, and not issues like the Iraq crisis, economic/housing market, etc…

In short, he doesn’t think the time is right for this to happen. Obviously, it needs to happen, but during a Presidential election year?

I’m hoping that the voters have common sense and will stick to the country’s economic and international political issues. And that more people realize that the judges’ ruling is correct.

Legalizing same-sex marriage IS the right way to adhere to the constitutional rights we all have. Just as blacks and whites fought for interracial marriage 40 years ago, so are we all fighting for same-sex marriage.

But the difference between the two is pretty significant:

Unlike with interracial marriage, same-sex marriages comes with the connotation/idea that the “act” of intercourse between the two partners is “morally wrong” (anal sex, etc.), as well as the long-held beliefs that being gay is a choice, that it is immoral, etc., blah blah. It’s a different level of inferiority than was placed upon blacks.

Once same-sex marriages are legalized in the midwestern/flyover/conservative/red states, then I’ll believe we’re really on track for achieving civil rights for GLBT folks. In the meantime, it’s going to be a battle in each state.

At least until it goes to the Supreme Court.

Josh: Your blog entry evidently has prompted California to join Massachusetts. Do you think you could keep writing blog entries on this issue and successively knock some sense into each of the remaining 48 states?

And health insurance — perhaps you’re thinking of health insurance coverage for people who work for the State government? As far as I know, the state of Maryland doesn’t offer domestic partnership benefits, If you work for Montgomery County or even the District of Columbia, then health care would also cover domestic partners. I work for the Federal government, however, and the Fed gov’t absolutely won’t cover my partner. So, I gotta pay for separate health insurance (and everything else) for my partner …

and Josh, your daughters have your name and you can rpove you the parent. May single parents go through the same thing in case the cops stopped. I thought a lot of gays people moved from VA to MD because MD has a better health insurance coverage for gays people?

If you want to get married and have the legal protections that come with it, you have my blessings. I am quite certain that you will be a better parent with your partner of your children than a lot of heterosexual couples out there.

There is no ritual that gives me as much joy as the one which unites two lives, two souls, and two hearts together.

I was once asked (by a fundamentalist preacher, naturally) why I would engage in marrying same-sex couples, when such acts are clearly “an abomination to God.”

My response was simply to shrug my shoulders and say “because they love one another.”

Thanks for sharing this piece with us, Josh. It is indeed a very “loving” post… in more ways than one.

I do hope that some day you and your partner will be able to engage in that legal ceremony.