Via Salon comes this powerful opinion from Keith Olbermann. I'm no rabid Olbermann fan, but this pretty well encapsulates exactly how I feel about the utter injustice of the passage of Proposition 8. It's long but worth watching in its entirety.
That has always been my question about those who oppose gay marriage. How does this hurt you? How? Please give me one concrete example. The slippery slope argument is no good: People are not going to be allowed to marry animals because (duh) animals cannot consent to marriage. No church is going to be forced to conduct gay marriages because churches are private entities. Is it about the sex? Because from what I understand, gay men and lesbians do not have sex 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Occasionally they take a break to have lunch or go to work, maybe see a movie. And it's very rare indeed that gay people will want to have sex in front of you. I promise. I've had gay friends for years and not a single one has tried.
Or maybe you're just thinking about the children. It's true that your kid might end up reading a story in which there are two princes, but is that really going to scar him for life? (Or "turn" him gay? Seriously?) Here's your chance to jump in with your own beliefs about how that kind of love is wrong. (Good luck explaining why you believe love of any sort is wrong, though. Doesn't it just sound bad? "Well, Johnny, I don't believe those people are worthy of love. I'd rather they pretend to be something they're not. Because in that case, lying is just fine.") It's also true that gay men and lesbians cannot have children the traditional way, but the last time I checked, childbearing and rearing were not requirement imposed on heterosexual couples.
As for the idea of children doing best when raised in a home with a loving mother and father, well, that's debatable. Studies have shown little difference among kids raised in traditional two-parent families and those whose parents are gay or lesbian. The biggest difference that I can see? Gay men and lesbians must always chooseto become parents. No whoops-a-babies, no hole-poked condoms, no forgotten pills. Talk about every child a wanted child.
So it comes back to Olbermann's question: "What is this to you?" Explain it to me.