Could Court Ruling Boost Marriage Amendment? genre: Gaylingual & Polispeak & Six Degrees of Speculation

The Associated Press has a good article on the thinking of those opposed to gay marriage and in favor of an amendment to define marriage as only between a man and a woman now that the Senate failed to pass the initiative. Find the full article here.

After being rebuffed in the U.S. Senate, some opponents of gay marriage think losing a court case might help their argument to ban same-sex unions across the country.

"If any of those courts mandate genderless marriage, you're going to have folks on the other side saying, 'This makes the marriage issue serious business,"' said Monte Stewart, president of the Marriage Law Foundation, an Orem, Utah-based group that opposes gay marriage.

If more judges rule the way the Massachusetts court did, there could be a wider backlash against judges defining marriage, say some conservative activists.

The Marriage Law Foundation's Stewart said seeing a second state allow same-sex unions would be more significant than Massachusetts - and a bigger unifying force for conservatives.

National gay-rights groups also are bracing for backlashes that may come if they succeed in state courts.

"We have to fight to hold the victories we secure," said Kate Kendell, director of the San Francisco-based National Center for Lesbian Rights. "That is the history of every civil rights struggle."

While the issue is before several courts, the Washington State Supreme Court case looks like it may be the next ruling and likely one of the most significant. Yesterday's Seattle Times ran a story discussing the fact that the case was heard some fifteen months ago and still remains undecided.

From gay-rights supporters to religious conservatives and family-rights groups across the country, many have been watching Olympia for an outcome in the case. It represents one of the most important social questions to confront the state's high court in a decade and is one of the most controversial.

Rampant speculation about why 15 months have passed without a ruling have ranged from the slightly absurd (the justices don't want Washington to be only the second state with gay marriage) to the more political (they're waiting until after the November elections).

From my own perspective, I would prefer that the ruling is not issued until after the November election. Given the recent attempt by Republicans to rekindle the issue, a ruling might galvanize another significant turnout by the religious right and short circuit what appears to be an excellent opportunity for Democrats to take control of the House or the Senate.

The more I view the 2006 midterm election, the more convinced I become that it is perhaps the most critical election in years and one that may impact the direction of the country for the next generation. While a ruling in favor of gay marriage would be a welcome victory, if it were to happen at such a time that it set in motion sufficient momentum to disrupt what appears to be an excellent opportunity for a Democratic victory in November, it could well turn out to be an untimely disaster.

Daniel DiRito | June 9, 2006 | 5:21 PM
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