Growing up, we as Americans are taught that the pinnacle of success can be measured by our education, career, house and car, but most of all by getting married, having children and passing wealth along to the next generation. By most accounts many of us want to exist in that ideal scenario; however the degree to which it’s achieved differs from person to person. Americans are focused on their future and family, but ordinary citizens are being denied that right.
Gays, Lesbians, Bi-sexual, and Transgendered people (LGBT) are denied the fundamental right to marry in most states. Whether one believes that marriage is the institution defined as “The legal union between a man and a woman as husband and wife” (The American Heritage, Third Edition. 1992) or Wikipedia’s definition - “A social, religious, spiritual and legal union between individuals”, the language used and time in history largely define how the institution of marriage is viewed by the population at large. Strangely, in the American Heritage definition the words religious and spiritual are missing; un-shockingly in the Wikipedia version, the words man and woman are absent. The debate over gay marriage is far from over, but opinion is shifting from a rigged conservative ideology to a more progressive, tolerant stance.
In America, social Conservatives and to a larger extent the Republican Party hold strong beliefs that homosexuality is morally wrong. But there are signs that a more moderate view on the issue is emerging among the younger generation of conservatives. At a recent conference of Log Cabin Republicans, the official gay Republican organization, speeches from Meghan McCain, daughter of Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain and conservative strategist Steve Schmidt talked about how to broaden the Republican brand among the nations electorate; including gays and lesbians. In his speech Schmidt said, “The institution of marriage is the foundation of society […] but it is a tradition, not a creed, we (the Republican Party) should understand that traditions do change over time in every society (Schmidt). Megan McCain spoke about shifting opinion and challenging the status quo. To a packed crowd she said “People are listening and they’re more open minded [on the gay marriage issue] than ever before (McCain); referring to members of the main stream Republican Party. And “I am proud to join you in challenging the mold and the notions of what being a Republican means” (McCain).
A trend of moderation on the issue of gay marriage is on the rise among young evangelical Christians. The trend has shown up consistently in polling for the 2008 elections. Increasingly younger white evangelical Christians do not identify with the Republican Party; a demographic which has been traditionally opposed to gay rights among other social issues. According to a 2007 Pew research poll only 15 percent of white 18 – 20 year old Christians considered themselves Republican (Edwards). In a more recent 2008 Pew poll, only 40 percent of evangelicals under 30 considered themselves Republican (Harris). These statistics are concerning to the Republican Party because they are in stark contrast to the party platform principle of defending traditional marriage. However, the change in position among major blocks of voters like evangelical Christians is evident in the current news.
In recent weeks the U.S has witnessed marriage equality gain support around the country in meaningful ways. According to the Human Rights Campaign, currently Connecticut, Mass, Vermont and now Iowa, all allow gay couples to marry (HRC. 2009). In early April 2009, Vermont state legislators over rode a veto by Governor Douglas making it the first state the in Union to allow gays to marry through legislation and not through a court ruling (Richburg). Also in April, the Iowa state Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the states’ Defense of Marriage Act violated the equal protection clause of its LGBT citizens; making it the first mid-western “heartland” state to allow gays to marry (Eckhoff and Schulte). Furthermore, in April the District of Columbia city council voted unanimously to extend marriage recognition and rights to gay couples who have been married in other states (Craig and Stewart). However, in California voters in the 2008 Presidential election passed Proposition 8 with 52 percent of the vote – a ballot measure that changed the state constitution prohibiting same-sex marriage (Dolan, Maura pg 1). Prior, in May 2008 the California Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage equality allowing gays to marry with around 18,000 same-sex marriages having been preformed between June and November (Roosevelt, Kermit). Even with the set back in California, social conservatives admit the marriage equality movement is gaining momentum. In an oppositional piece for the New York Times, conservative columnist Adam Liptak writes “New York and New Jersey may be next to debate the question” of gay marriage (Vows).
If one chooses to use the term same-sex marriage, gay marriage or marriage equality it doesn’t change how difficult it is to find respectful consensus with one another. Many people have reasons to oppose gay marriage which they hold tight too because they are devoutly religious, or afraid and uneducated. For whatever reason there are no easy answers. But time will pass and the younger generation will be in positions of power. If views on social issues like gay marriage stay steady among the Generation X and Y population, perhaps soon LGBT citizens will be able to have legal civil marriage; and will probably credit young Christian conservatives for helping make it happen.
Richburg, Keith B. “Vermont Legislature Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage”. Washingtonpost.com 7 April 2009 April 2009 < http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp -yn/content/article/2009/04/07 /AR2009040701663.html>.
Eckhoff, Jeff and Schulte, Grant. “Unanimous ruling: Iowa marriage no longer limited to one man, one woman. DesMoinesRegister.com 3 April 2009 17 April 2009 http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090403/NEWS/90403010
Dolan, Maura. “California Supreme Court Looks Unlikely To Kill Proposition 8”. Los Angeles Times.com 6 Mar. 2009 17 April 2009 < http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-prop8-supreme-court6- 2009mar06,0,798075.story>
Craig, Tim and Stewart, Nikita. “DC Council Votes to Recognize Gay Nuptials Elsewhere” Washingtonpost.com 8 April 2009 17 April 2009 < http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp- dyn/content/article/2009/04/07/AR2009040702200.html>
Schmidt, Steve. “Address” Liberty Education Foundation Symposium. Log Cabin Republican Conference. Washington DC. 17 April 2009.
McCain, Meghan “Address” Liberty Education Foundation Symposium. Log Cabin Republicans. Washington DC. 18 April 2009.
Edwards, Haley. “Young, Evangelical… For Obama?” Seattle Times.com 11 May 2008 17 April 2009 < http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2004406277_evangvote11m.html>
Harris, Dan. reporter. World News ABC News “Are Young Evangelicals Skewing More Liberal?”
10 Feb 2008 17 April 2009 http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=4269824&page=1
Anonymous Collaboration. “Marriage” Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia 27April 2009. 27April 2009 < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriage>
Liptak, Adam. “Gay Vows, Repeated From State to State. (Week in Review Desk)(same-sex marriage).” The Ne York Times 12 April 2009. 17 April 2009.
Marriage and Relationship Recognition. April 2009. Human Right Campaign. 27 April 2009. < http://www.hrc.org/issues/marriage.asp>
Roosevelt, Kermitt. “California’s Same-sex Marriage Case Affects All of Us”. The Christina Science Monitor. 14 Nov. 2008 15 April 2009.
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