In defiance of California law, hundreds of gay couples have been issued marriage licenses by the city of San Francisco in the last few days. Though some conservative groups are up in arms, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the rest of the political establishment aren’t commenting.
Is it possible to read that silence as anything other than support for and acquiescence to the idea of same-sex marriage? It’s hard to imagine the same staid reaction if the papers being handed out were, say….gun or driver’s licenses. Essentially, the San Francisco action is a civil rights protest, but one supported instead of opposed by the powers that be.
It is frankly astonishing, as if Governor Barnett and the rest of that state’s politicians had supported the entry of James Meredith into University of Mississippi in 1962.
Not that Arnold really equates with Ross Robert Barnett. Schwarzenegger has supported gay rights, whereas Barnett came to office vowing to go to jail before he would allow integration in the Mississippi public schools.
But imagine, if you will, how truncated and less painful the civil rights struggle would have been if even one or two deep south administrations had ignored/supported it in the manner that the California governor is ignoring/supporting same sex marriage.
At this point, it’s hard to imagine at least a plurality of states in 2010 either getting out of the marriage business entirely, or willingly handing out licenses to any two people who wish to marry.
Update: Just for grins, my predictions as to which states they’ll be.
Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin
Also the District of Columbia.
