Marriage Equality Debate Continues

by Brian Leubitz [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Now that AB 43, Mark Leno's Gender Neutral Marriage Bill, has been passed by the Legislature, the debate has really begun in earnest.  I think that because the bill was widely expected to sail through the legislature on its second go-'round, people have been quiet. While the governor continues to say that he will veto the bill, that has not stopped people from telling him that the bill is just good policy in addition to being the right thing to do.

Here in San Francisco, a group of several hundred marched to Harvey Milk Plaza after being inspired the words of Assemblyman Leno, several marriage activists and representatives of Mayor Newsom's office. Of course, the stories of Mayor Newsom's move to allow San Francisco's marriages were repeated with much gusto. Down in LA, supporters of AB 43 marched to Arnold's Star on the Walk of Fame.  In Sacramento, Supporters and bigots lined up at the capitol to explain their respective positions.

And in San Diego, the City Council approved a measure to sign on to the "friend of the court" brief being filed by the cities of Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Jose, and Santa Cruz in favor of marriage equality as a state constitutional right. Mayor Jerry Sanders is expected to veto, but given that a veto is easily overridden by another majority vote, that won't be much of an impediment.

I think one thing that those opposed to marriage equality have truly failed to grasp is that the more you talk about it, the more it becomes acceptable. That is, if people are forced to confront their own opinions, they begin to see how marriage equality harms no one and helps many. So marriage equality is your ultimate Pareto efficiency move. Sure, there are bigots out there, but those who don't really consider the issue in the course of their daily lives will soon realize that this is all a big waste of time, and we should move on with equality already.