There are protests all over California and throughout the country because of the passing of Proposition 8, a bill that defines marriage as between a man and woman. I voted against this bill because it wants to add a religious definition of marriage into the state law. I believe religious institutions have a right to this definition but in a secular nation it has no place being written into state law.
Still I think gay activists need to get real and fight a winning battle for same-sex domestic partnerships instead of a losing battle for gay marriage. You all partied in the streets when Obama was elected, right? Well guess what? He is for domestic partnerships and against gay marriage. His position on the issue is the same as all mainstream democrats who want to appeal to their liberal base and still be centrist enough to get re-elected. Our country took a swing to the left in this past election but it still has a huge population of voters who are religious and will consistently oppose gay marriage in every election. That is a major reason Bush was re-elected in 2004. In dozens of states that year there were bills to outlaw gay marriage and the high turnout of religious voters who came out for those bills voted for Bush while they were at it.
It is possible that in the next election a bill with an opposite definition could be passed. Or perhaps the California Supreme Court will decide that the bill is not legal. Then marriage will be legal in California, Connecticut and Massachusetts. So what about the other 47 states that have all passed laws banning gay marriage? Gay rights activists will fight many, many legal and electoral defeats. Maybe four years from now a liberal state with a high gay population like New York will allow it. Perhaps, if gays are lucky, 30 years from now it will be legal in the blue states (2004 blue states, not 2008). But it will never be allowed in all 50 states because Christianity is never going away. Let me repeat, Christianity is never going away.
Now as I said before Obama and other democrats who have gained control of Congress are willing to make the compromise to allow same-sex civil unions. It may even be possible to get them to pass a federal law allowing these unions, just as long as the word "marriage" is not attached. That means the rights of all gay couples in all 50 states would have a legal way to protect their rights and property just like straight "married" couples. And legal rights are what are important here. Why should gay couples in California be married while gay couples in Kansas and Georgia have no legal alternatives? Insistence on calling these unions "marriage" is not about civil rights, it is about stubbornness. Besides, if a same-sex union couple wants to have a marriage ceremony and refer to themselves as being married no one will challenge them.
So please gay activists, be sensible, forget semantics and ensure equal rights today.