My dear friend and esteemed colleague Sean McCauley wrote that the government should not be involving itself in matters regarding marriage. He was referring to the recent discussion sparked by the Supreme Court's hearing on the gay marriage debate.
To him, "Marriage in a political context is nothing more than a sheet of paper that allows for fiscal benefits provided by the state," and he asks, "Why should the federal government define marriage in any context, and where in the Constitution do the Founding Fathers give the federal government this inherent responsibility?"
Well, surely my pal Sean, a self-declared Calvinist, is aware that it was in fact John Calvin who created the Marriage Ordinance of Geneva in the 16th Century, which as even a quick Wikipedia search will tell you imposed "the dual requirements of state registration and church consecration to constitute marriage."
Now, I am but a simpleminded buffoon, but even I see something funny about the fact that after years of conservatives re-branding their opposition to federally-protected gay civil rights, the only constant is that the people who oppose gay marriage overwhelmingly believe homosexuality to be immoral.
To say government shouldn't be involved in marriage at all is quite obviously disingenuous.
Anti-gay civil rights groups have unsuccessfully tried to hide their own bigotry by claiming their opposition to gay rights arises from some good-natured concern for some issue only tangentially related to gay rights.
In the recent past, we have told the following about gay marriage: It will turn our kids gay, destroy the family unit and redefine a supposedly ancient definition of marriage.
The Defense of Marriage Act was merely to set federal standards for marriage licenses. Gay adoption hurts children. It's a states issue!
Never in my life have I ever met a single person who was against gay marriage that wasn't also convinced homosexuality is immoral. It's about time we as a society stop pretending that the reason conservatives are overwhelmingly against gay marriage is anything other than some form of bigotry.
The times, they are a-changin'. In the '90s when the DOMA was being put into law, the majority of Americans were against gay marriage. Back then, conservatives had no reason to fear being open with their bigotry.
Congressional Republicans had felt no shame openly stating that their opposition to gay marriage stemmed from their belief that homosexuality is immoral, as Jon Stewart recently pointed out.
I find it very hard to believe that in the short 17 years since DOMA was passed, conservatives have suddenly abandoned the bigotry that fueled their efforts to hurt gay civil rights while continuing to support efforts to hurt gay civil rights.
Reach the columnist at jacob.evans@asu.edu or follow him at @JacobEvansSP
