Recently there has been a flurry of activity in regards to gay marriage. New Hampshire and Maine passed legislation legalizing it, leaving New York and as the only states that still have nothing on the books to defend this right. New York is struggling to get it passed, and even Democrats are wary of supporting a bill unless it is likely to pass. We're still not certain if it does or not.
In Russia, a lesbian couple applied for a marriage liscence, and though they were denied within an hour (it usually takes ten business days for a couple to recieve a ruling), it was declared illegal for them to be denied the opportunity to apply. After being denied, they went to Canada, where marriages are performed regardless of nationality. They're hoping that since Russia doesn't have any laws directly stating that out-of-the-country marriage is invalid, their Canadian license will be recognized.
Last but not least, as Rachele has already mentioned, there's the problem of Miss California, who stated her opinion that marriage is for heterosexual couples only. While this comment was preceeded by the statement that she's proud to live in a country where everyone shares equal freedom, the most vocal people in support of gay marriage are tearing into her. That's bad news, something we can't ignore even when good things are happening. Attacking a girl who was stating a personal opinion could bring the movement to a grinding halt.
We're getting somewhere. Massachusetts, Iowa, Vermont, Maine, Conneticut, and New Hampshire have legalized gay marriage, three of them quite recently. That's more than ten percent now. We have to be careful not to take things too personally and be grateful we're moving forward. Things can change, especially in the twenty-first century.
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