Pulse/Impulse

In 2003, I sat in a suburban kitchen with my fellow Dean for America volunteers discussing the gay marriage issue. As a Dean supporter during the lead up to the 2004 Democratic primaries, I was often asked about the issue of civil unions in Vermont. The truth is Dean, as governor, simply signed a bill after his supreme court held that the state constitution guaranteed the same benefits as marriage to gay couples. Yet at that time, his support for civil unions seemed progressive to some (and frightening to others). Even though he opposed gay marriage, Dean’s identification with gay rights would likely have caused him problems in the general election. Fast forward four years and civil unions are the coward’s response to the gay marriage question, the safe response of Dems during the next set of primary debates. I guess that’s some form of progress.

In 2003, after the Massachusetts Supreme Court had just recognized gay marriage, we wondered what would happen next; whether a string of states would follow Massachusetts’ lead (this has not happened) or whether the inevitable backlash would prevent further expansion of the right (it’s looking like this is the case after the surprising success of Prop 8 in California). We talked about how just a couple years prior, some of us thought we would never be having this debate so soon. I think, like many on both sides of the debate, that equal marriage rights for same-sex couples are inevitable. What I worry about is how long and how ugly the battle will be.

Following the most anticipated oral arguments in recent history, the California Supreme Court will decide the fate of Proposition 8 and provide some answers. Oral arguments are on Thursday. More to come . . .