California dream could unite the right

The California Supreme Court ruling on May 15, which entitles gay men and lesbians to legally marry in the Golden State, ignited passions on both sides of the political divide. California now joins the commonwealth of Massachusetts in allowing gays and lesbians to tie the knot, and an impending ruling by the Connecticut Supreme Court expected at any time could really make matters interesting if they side with marriage equality.

To date, two states now have legalized so called “gay marriage” and a handful of others offer some sort of compromise in way of Civil Unions or Domestic Partnerships. Indeed, things are looking up for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) community, and I’m growing ever more confident that my partner and I will see full marriage equality throughout the country in our lifetimes.

Still, for all of the jubilation on our side, opponents of gay marriage are equally emboldened and with the Republican brand at an all time low and social conservatives in a funk, this is just the sort of wedge issue they were hoping for during a presidential election year.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in essence legalized same sex marriage in late 2003 and a flood of anti-gay marriage amendments pervaded state houses and polling places across the country. Missouri was one of the first 11 states where proponents of marriage equality took a beating at the polls as marriage amendments passed enshrining discrimination into their respective state constitutions.

But four years is an eternity in politics and a lot has changed. First, it’s important to point out that it won’t be as easy for critics to hang the “activist judges” label on the California ruling because the California General Assembly has twice now passed a bill allowing gay men and lesbians to marry and sent it to Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s desk. Schwarzenegger ultimately vetoed both bills but in a surprise move came out in support of the California high court ruling and said he opposes an amendment to the state constitution. This leads me to believe he would probably have signed the gay marriage law toward the end of his term had the court decision not come down.

What’s more, gays and lesbians have been legally marrying in Massachusetts for four years now and the institution of marriage hasn’t suffered a bit. Queer nuptials haven’t had a single impact on the success or failure of heterosexual marriage, so the old argument that allowing gays to marry is somehow a threat is empty rhetoric.

Add all of this to the fact that Americans are wholly unsatisfied with the state of the union; the seemingly endless war in Iraq, soaring gas prices, high unemployment and an economy falling into recession and the prospect of a wedge issue swaying voters en masse seems pretty slim.

Still California will see an anti-gay marriage amendment at the polls this November, which would nullify marriage equality. Opponents of gay marriage have collected nearly enough signatures to set it in motion and GLBT equality groups such as Equality for All campaign, aimed at defeating a likely ballot initiative, are scrambling to raise the estimated $20 million it will take to defeat the measure this fall.

The most recent polls, conducted in 2006 and 2007, found that 51 percent and 49 percent of survey respondents opposed making gay marriage legal, while 43 percent and 45 percent endorsed the idea. But California is a royal blue state and if the ground of a state were already prepared for the defeat of an anti-gay marriage amendment it would be there.

The defeat of the marriage amendment in California should be paramount for the GLBT community across the nation. While most of us are wildly engaged in the historic presidential campaign, and rightly so, we should focus equal amounts of energy and support in keeping gay marriage legal in California. For we have taken another step down the road to full equality and cannot afford a constitutional defeat.

Accordingly, GLBT and allied community members nationwide should send a donation to the Equality for All campaign. The presidential campaigns will continue to be flush with cash given the high level of interest, so we can afford to give to the California cause in its place.

Indeed, four years is an eternity in politics, and this isn’t 2004 anymore. Using gay rights as a wedge issue doesn’t have the teeth it once did but the gay community can ill afford not to fight as if our very lives depended on it. We are nearing the top of the mountain where the path to full equality under the law will be within sight. But we are also vulnerable to being yanked back down into the ravine.

You can e-mail Colin Murphy at colin_murphy@sbcglobal.net