After a bitchslap to gays in Maine, disappointment shifts to New York

The state of New York has been battling to legalize gay marriage for a while now, and until recently all signs were positive that LGBT people in that state people would finally be allowed to wed regardless of gender or sexual identity. Sadly, however, the gay marriage bill was rejected.

Naturally, you can count on the usual cranks to be cumming in their pants at the news:

"This is an enormous victory," said Maggie Gallagher, the leader of the anti-gay marriage group, National Organization for Marriage. "What you saw was the will of the people. ... The culture really hasn't shifted on gay marriage."

And, also naturally, she is wrong on every count. Three throws, three strikes. First, it’s not an “enormous” event; it’s merely delaying the inevitable by a year or a few, as far as I’m concerned (not to minimize how disappointing it is that it was rejected just now, though). Second, considering this little bit …

New York is one of the most politically liberal states in the country. Recent polls showed a majority of New York voters favor allowing same-sex couples to marry, but one poll showed the public evenly split.

… it’s therefore obvious that this was definitely not the “will of the people”, either, if every poll but one (therefore minimizing, if not eliminating, the possibility of poll bias and other incongruity) showed that the majority of “people” were all for legalizing same-sex marriage. And thirdly, considering how four out of five states that currently support gay marriage legalized it within a single year, I’m pretty sure that constitutes rather clear evidence to indicate that the “will of the people” and “culture” really has shifted on gay marriage.

And, for all those fools who proclaim that civil unions (which are legal in New York, thankfully) are “good enough” and that there is no discrimination being done in refusing gays the right to wed:

Gay rights lobby group the Empire State Pride Agenda said marriage would have entitled gay couples to 1,324 rights — from tax to adoption benefits — that otherwise would be denied.

But, of course, anti-gay marriage bigots will continue to press on about how there’s no difference between marriage and civil unions. Which, of course, raises two obvious questions: why ignore all the evidence that says otherwise? And, if there truly is “no difference”, then: A) why not use civil unions for heterosexual couples?, B) why not allow marriage for same-sex couples, and C) why keep the two as separate notions when they’re so very similar, eh? Just goes to show how bigot logic never really works.

The fight isn’t over (of course); the new focus is now New Jersey, where the Democratic-controlled state legislature, headed by Gov. Jon Corzine (who, defeated in a recent election, is set to leave office in January), is planning to take on the issue. People had better hurry, though, seeing as while Corzine himself stated he would happily sign a same-sex marriage bill, the newly elected Republican Governor Chris Christie will just as happily veto it. Huh, I almost didn’t see that coming. From a thousand miles away. Through a cement wall.

Technorati tags: gay marriage · same-sex marriage · New York