The passage of Proposition 8, which not only denies the right to marry for gay people in California but nullifies the marriages that have already taken place, would be a farce if it weren't so incredibly sad. That any Californian, let alone American, could in this day and age gleefully deny their fellow citizens rights which they themselves have, is not just a slap in the face to all people but a horrible and nearly criminal misunderstanding of civil rights.
The arguments against gay marriage are illogical and wrong. They are arguments which do not speak to legalities or even American values but to the most virulent and disgraced elements of Right Wing radical theology. These enemies of human rights, science and knowledge seek at every turn to both codify their hate and turn back the clock to an era of dogmatic viciousness. It is an era that is personified by many on the Christian Religious Right who not only value their beliefs over human lives but fail the test set forth by the very person their faith alleges to revere.
But in this one step back there is ever a road ahead. The path that history takes moves in one direction - forward. The bigotry of some may succeed momentarily but it will not be sustained in the long run. If the history of America shows us one thing it is that the clock cannot be turned backwards no matter how hard the effort to do so. Liberalism along with human and civil rights are an inevitability that comes to pass whether those that are mired in the past desire it or not. Their fear of the future and of their fellow Americans may be enough to slow the journey but it will not ever bring it to a halt.