About a million votes remain to be counted before Californians will know whether Proposition 8, which will ban same-sex marriage in the state, has been passed or passed on.
At this point, the U.S. is playing a waiting game. It is pretty much inevitable that same-sex marriage will be legalized, and the rampant rambunctious rants of the religious right will restrict nothing.
Generational shift is like plate tectonics. It's slow moving, almost to the point of being invisible, but it can make mountains. The problem for the people waiting to ski down these mountains is that by the time they can ski, they'll be dead.
But really, that's the nature of certain struggles: The knowledge that the war will eventually be won doesn't change the fact that it won't be won in your lifetime, nor does it salve the wounds of the lost battle.
The idea of same-sex marriage is a new one, at least on the legal front. It's only been two decades or so since the movement to allow same-sex marriage has been large enough to be called a movement. People need time to acclimate. Remember, man/woman marriage has been around in one form or another since time immemorial. Compared to that, 20 years is a drop in the bucket.
The generational shift is going to take a few more decades to make a difference. First the old people have to die.
Most people from a more socially conservative time are not going to vote "yes" on an amendment allowing same-sex marriage. When they are gone, and the new old people grew up rationally considering same-sex marriage, they will probably vote more centrist/liberal on the issue.
A lot of those younger folks against same-sex marriage probably just need a little more time to get used to the idea. Don't want same-sex marriage? Don't have one.
The great thing about most people is that none of their principles are really held that closely. Everyone can get used to anything given enough time to facilitate acceptance, and letting two people who love each other have a slip of paper that says they have a few legal rights won't be that hard to accept. Remember: blacks and women didn't used to be legally allowed to vote, or own property, or not be property and that changed. And people said it never would.
This is a historic struggle. This is a battle not for a fundamental human right, but for the right to be treated as a human. And it will be won for the just, because there is no other way for the wind to blow. But still, we must keep fighting.
We cannot go on punishing people for being in love.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
