christophe thinks out loud

The arguments against gay marriage have no intellectual merit, part 3.

So, we're all a-twitter over here in California because Arnie vetoed a bill which would have created same-sex marriage in California. (And thanks to Miss Atilla for linking to a post that got me riled up enough to write about it. Isn't the blogosphere great?)

First, sadly, Arnie kind of has a point here (and I'm no fan of Arnie). The bill as written flatly contradicts a voter initiative (Proposition 22) defining marriage as only between a man and a woman (of course, it doesn't define those terms, so TGs may have an interesting court case to bring). The argument that the initiative only applied to out-of-state marriages is, in the precise legal term, silly.

Second, yes, of course this was done (in part) to put Arnie between a rock and a hard place: veto it, and look like a bigot, or sign it, and enrage the Neanderthals in the California Republican Party (motto: "Death before election victory!"). That's realpolitik. Boo-hoo, Arnie, that's what being a politician in this state is all about. Cope.

Third, there are no good arguments against allowing same-sex couples to marry. None. We've been over this before.

Fourth, we're well into the blaming-the-victim stage of this particular part of the civil rights evolution. "If those darn activists would just shut up and accept the second-class rights we've given them, none of this would have happened." I must admit that I do not find that particular patronization a compelling argument.

Lastly, what is so great about these voter initiatives prohibiting gay marriage is that they allow the (quite bigoted, let's not mince words) anti-gay-marriage types to sidestep the issue. Rather than actually talk about why gay marriage isn't a good idea, and actually display their bigotry live on stage, they get to defer to the vast wisdom of the electorate.

"My opinion on gay marriage doesn't matter! It's the voters! They've spoken, and we all must completely obey their view in all things! No matter what! In the entire history of the United States, the voters have never once ever done anything with which I disagree. Please, let's not talk about it anymore."

Proposition 22 was a bad law, and I don't care if every straight person in California voted for it. It's still a bad law. Gay activists have every right to try to find a way around it. Whether Leno was clever or craven in introducing the bill from a realpolitik perspective, he was utterly and completely right to do so from a moral perspective, and hats off to him for doing so.

posted 21:10