The major civil rights issue of our generation ““ gay
rights ““ took two steps forward last week, with the courts
ruling to legalize gay marriage in Massachusetts and the
distribution of marriage licenses to gay couples in San
Francisco.
Unfortunately, it also took one step back, as the two victories
for gay rights were mostly symbolic since the marriages
aren’t recognized outside of those areas.
In the meantime, the forces of the religious right and the
Republican Party have mobilized, filing suit in San Francisco to
overturn gay marriages. A San Francisco judge delayed the hearing
on the case until today, allowing thousands of gay couples to get
married over the weekend and receive official licenses. And
although the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that gay marriages
are legal, that ruling won’t go into effect until
mid-May.
Nationally, gay marriage is strongly opposed. A bi-partisan poll
found that 56 percent of respondents oppose gay marriage while only
30 percent support it. Every time President Bush says he believes
that “marriage is between a man and a woman,” you can
bet he is counting those votes. This type of statement is both
pathetic and prejudiced. Instead of basing his campaign around
making the United States a better, more inclusive society, the
president’s campaign is centered around how to exclude
Americans from having equal rights.
Bush can enjoy those votes now, but history will see him as the
prejudiced bigot he is. Forty years from now, Americans will regard
the politicians currently preventing gays from marrying as similar
to those politicians who supported segregation 40 years ago. This
example is a national issue where the United States needs its
leaders to stand up for what is right and not just for what is
popular.
Some politicians have started the ball rolling with the passage
of civil unions bills in places such as Vermont. These civil unions
grant gay couples the same rights married couples have under the
law. Civil unions are a start, but they are not good enough because
they imply that gays aren’t good enough for marriage.
It’s amazing how this simple change of words, from
“marriage” to “civil unions,” changes
people’s perceptions. That same bi-partisan poll found that
Americans were evenly split on the idea of civil unions at 45
percent. The bottom line is that until gays are given the full
rights of marriage, they will continue to be second-class citizens
in our country.
The people and groups who oppose gay marriage like to say that
they are defending the “sanctity of marriage.” The
truth is it is a code word for discriminating against gay people.
The truth is the real people who are hurting the sanctity of
marriage are these anti-gay marriage groups that are preventing
loving individuals from becoming husbands and wives.
If these bigots were truly interested in defending the sanctity
of marriage, then they would be attacking heterosexual couples
instead of gays. Britney Spears recently married and divorced one
of her male friends within the period of a day in Las Vegas because
she apparently thought it would be a funny thing to do. And 50
percent of heterosexual marriages end in divorce according to the
Census Bureau (for 2002).
Legalizing gay marriages would do wonders for changing
people’s prejudiced attitudes toward gay couples and would
help foster a more understanding society. In Denmark, surveys have
shown that the country’s clergy, who were opposed to the
marriages when first legalized in 1989, are now supportive of them.
The fact is, many people are simply not comfortable with the idea
of gay marriage. Legalizing it would help make society more open
and accepting of gay people and gay rights.
I, for one, hope more steps forward will be taken for gay
marriage rights in the years to come. But if Bush succeeds in
winning the 2004 election, I fear the United States will continue
its errant and prejudicial ways. If “Who Wants to Marry a
Millionaire” does not defy the sanctity of marriage, how can
two people of the same sex who love each other deeply be accused of
that?
Bitondo is a third-year political science and history
student. E-mail him at mbitondo@media.ucla.edu. Send general
comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.