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Here's The Bad News

5 Thoughts For Today

5. Two men (or two women) are not "married," no matter how much they want to be.

4. Before we start rejoicing in the supposed wisdom of our august Supreme Court, I have a few words: Plessy v. Ferguson.

3. The State could declare me a toaster tomorrow; it doesn't mean I am.

2. Ironically, gay marriage advocates are in the same boat as the people who opposed the Civil Rights Movement. Wasn't Dr. King basically arguing that a higher Law trumped the civil laws that were in place at the time?

1. "Let's leave our morality and rights subject to the whims of a majoritarian consensus!" said no clear-thinking person ever.

Comments

Nathan Hall said…
I agree with all of this, but still also agree with the ruling, since the ruling isn't really about gay marriage at all. It is about federal vs. state authority. The Constitution grants the federal government no jurisdiction over marriage, so the DOMA is unconstitutional. That's all the ruling really needs to say. It is obvious this is no affair for the federal government.

The more challenging question is what the states should do about it. I tend to think it is best not to intervene in people's private lives when they are not hurting anyone else. Evangelical caterwauling notwithstanding, the gay couple down the street does nothing to harm me or my marriage, so I'd say we ought to just leave them alone legally and focus on preaching the gospel to them.
11:47 PM
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