What a Day
I’m not gonna say too much about the fact that same-sex marriage became legal in Massachusetts today for a few reasons: 1) The fight ain’t over yet. There are 49 other states in which the right to marry is still denied to gay couples. And November 2006 isn’t so very far away. 2) Important as this issue has been for me (for reasons that will become clear presently if they’re not already), I’m straight. This is a day for others to celebrate and a good day for me to just let them. 3) I’m not real good at being positive and upbeat. I’m just much more comfortable being pissed off about stuff.
All that said, I do feel moved to give voice to what I’m thinking this afternoon. And given that I’ve been posting on this issue semi-regularly since November, maybe I have an obligation to say something. I only know how to say what I’m thinking, though. So I’ll say this: This is a momentous day, one of the greatest in my memory. Today, in one little corner of the world, in at least one regard, there is freedom and there is equality where there was neither yesterday. In case I never made it clear, this issue was never about homosexuality or marriage from my perspective. It was always about liberty. It was/is (as are all gay rights issues) about the fact that I cannot bear to be a part of a society that uses civil law to grant privilege to some and deny basic rights and protections to others. And today we’ve managed, in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, to take a step toward putting yet another expression of bigotry behind us. It’s not enough, of course, except for how it is.