GOODRIDGE: Andrew Sullivan, on his weblog

...Once you have accepted the idea that gay people are no less people than heterosexuals--that gay sexual orientation is no more and no less chosen than straight sexual orientation--then the principle of equality in marriage is simply unanswerable.

...Here is a challenge to the many married heterosexual readers of this site: did you ever believe that your fundamental right to the pursuit of happiness did not include the right to marry the person you love? ...

...The court dispenses with the only real argument from the other side: that civil marriage is reserved for procreation. Of course it isn't--either as a matter of fact (there are millions of childless married couples and they are no less married than couples with children) or as a matter of law. ...

...Tomorrow, a random single man could meet a random single woman on the street, go down to a civil registry office, and immediately have hundreds of rights, benefits, privileges, and civil protections under the law. No one would ask how long they'd been together; whether they loved each other, lived together, cared for each other, etc etc. ...

...So does this open the door to polyamory? Of course not. Heterosexual polyamorists or polygamists already have a meaningful right to marry someone. Gay citizens cannot meaningfully marry anyone. ...

...I would much much prefer a legislative solution to a judicial one. But it remains a fact that marriage has long been fought over in the courts. How it is administered, whom it includes, the relationship between the parties, has been resolved in courts in this country for centuries. Why should that suddenly change now? And the rights of minorities--those that might never be able to command majority support--have also always resided in courts in a constitutional republic. ...

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posted by Eve at 10:11 PM VOTE

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