After much debate and delay, the adult day-care center up in Albany that's also known as the New York State Senate, voted against gay marriage last week. Shocker. Much like the Democrats on Capitol Hill, these legislators can't even agree who their leader is so it's no surprise they couldn't somehow get it together take a stand on the major civil rights issue of our era. After defeats in California last year and Maine this year, the quest for marriage equality seems troubled lately. So the New York TIMES this weekend decided the movement needed a little pick me up. The TIMES, which has been running gay wedding annoucements for 7 years now, did a lovely feature in the Style section about a couple of guys who'd been together nearly 20 years and finally tied the knot, with their 7 year old son in attendance. The story is touching and sweet and, most strikingly, kinda ordinary. They are just a couple of nice Jewish guys trying to raise their son in a place that doesn't legislate hate (i.e. Connecticut). What's not to like?
What this article shows simply and beautifully is the truth about gay marriage....which is that there's nothing that shocking about it at all. What's shocking are the claims by right wingnuts that this will somehow lead to people marrying their pets or kids being taught gay sex in the first grade. Huh? Of course, these are the only arguments they can make because there's nothing to terrible or scary or immoral about two professional guys, living with their mother even, who love each other so much they decided they wanted to raise a kid.
This week, New Jersey's state legislators may consider a marriage bill. Politicans can speechify all they want about their "personal moral dilemnas" but really, when it comes down to it, I would honestly like to know how they can vote against something as beautiful as this? The picture above says it all.
