Gay marriages have begun in California and the world hasn’t ended. A headline in The New York Times, written hours after the first marriage certificates to same-sex couples were distributed, read “Sense of Calm as Gay Couples Wed in California.”
Here in Canada, same-sex marriage has been the law since June 20, 2005, having been recognized by court rulings in three provinces before, starting with Halpern et. al. v. Canada in Ontario on June 10, 2003. In the United States, the ruling in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health on May 17, 2004. The Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and South Africa all recognize the right of same sex partners to marry.
In all of these examples, no societies have crumbled. Civilization hasn’t ended and brothers aren’t marrying each other, women aren’t marrying goats, and all of the other suggested results promised by opponents have not come true.
So why does the fight continue? The example of these jurisdictions, most recently represented by California, show that no harm befalls the state or the citizens that permit equal rights for all citizens.
This weekend, many gays, lesbians – as well as their friends and allies – will mark the anniversary ofthe Stonewall Riots – the start of the gay-rights revolutions. They will note with PRIDE how far society has come, but wonder too why some have not joined this progression.
