The Gay Marriage Debate

Originally I had written one long-winded post about all kinds of GLBT-related things that are really grinding my gears right now, but it was really too long, so I've decided to split it up into shorter segments, so as not to discourage your attention spans. My first thoughts/opinions come from some recent happenings concerning the gay marriage debate and DOMA.

At the national level, it seems to me that we are damn close to being at a tipping point with gay marriage. While Obama has had a lot on his plate lately and did successfully get DADT repealed, he has been suspiciously noncommittal, if not outwardly two-faced when it comes to gay marriage and the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). He has urged legislators to repeal the law banning federal recognition of all marriage-like unions between same-sex couples, yet at the same time he has sent Justice Department lawyers into court to defend it, citing his "executive duty" to defend acts of Congress. However, I don't think he will be able to walk this proverbial tightrope (as the New York Times calls it in this excellent article from which I have sourced most of my info) for much longer. As the NYT article also points out, there are two new lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of DOMA, and unlike in previous challenges, these suits were filed in districts of the appeals court of New York, one of the very few courts in the country that has not yet established a precedent for how it will treat claims of discrimination against gay people. What this essentially means is that it is decision time for the US government. These cases are going to force the government, and therefore the Obama administration, to decide once and for all whether or not gays and lesbians are a minority group that has been discriminated against, and whether or not membership in said minority group is a choice. I think we know the answers to both of these questions, however it would not surprise me in the least to see some absurd justification cause the ruling to go in the opposite direction. But, hoping and maybe even daring to assume that the rulings will be favorable in these cases, I think that will be the true tipping point for gay marriage. It seems to me that once you have decided that a group of people is legitimate in their worth and being and has been unfairly stigmatized and discriminated against, you can't very well continue to deny them their rights, can you? Like I said, nothing that happens in the way of crazy political shenanigans in the US really surprises me anymore... still, I remain hopeful.

But as hopeful as I am about the national debate on gay marriage, my own home state is breaking my heart. Yesterday the Indiana House of Representatives passed a bill to amend the state constitution to ban gay marriage. I'm not surprised that it passed with an overwhelming majority, but I am surprised by some of the Dems who voted for it, including Pat Bauer (D-South Bend), and especially Peggy Welch (D-Bloomington). In fact, I was so surprised by Peggy Welch's vote that I took the time to email her about it. For those who may not know, Bloomington is a sort of gay mecca of the Midwest, a small blue enclave in the midst of a sea of red. It has one of the largest gay populations per capita in the US, and earns regular mentions as one of America's gayest cities in GLBT publications like The Advocate. So one would think a Democrat representing that area would vote against a bill such as this one, no? Apparently not. I tried to keep my email politely feisty, seeking only to respectfully remind Ms. Welch that her job as a Representative is to represent the interests of her constituency, not her own personal beliefs/agenda, and that by voting as she did on this bill, she has done her constituency, and likely her own prospects for re-election, a grave disservice. If you're interested in reading the full text of my email and/or obtaining Ms. Welch's contact info for yourself, they can be found on my Facebook page in my Notes.

My next rant: Lady Gaga