Here is an idea for right minded Kossacks: We need to change the terms of the "gay marriage" debate. It's not about defense of marriage or gay marriage. The problem here is marriage discrimination.
For two long, over here on our side of the political spectrum folks have allowed Republicans to get away with defining their various pet wedge issues in their own terms. When they oppose abortion, Republicans are pro life, and life's a good thing, right. On our side, we're just pro choice, like, you know, a bunch of self indulgent liberals.
When Republicans support invasions and astronomically expensive military boondoggles, they are hawks. When we see extravagance, excess, waste and misery in the Republicans' unnecessary wars and other military defense spending, we're doves. Hmmm, delicious.
When Republicans come out in defense of marriage, seek laws to restrictively define marriage and otherwise work to deny important civil rights to millions of Americans, they make themselves sound almost heroic, fighting to defend an institution with origins tracing back to the dawn of civilization. Our side has yet to come up with a unifying word or phrase to encapsulate the true meaning of the debate.
I'm open to suggestions on how to change that, but for now, I think that every diary, every comment, every letter to the editor and every conversation any of us has in the future about this issue needs to frame the discussion in terms of "marriage discrimination".
The modern fight against race discrimination in the USA got a good start with Brown v. Board of Ed. in the 1950's and for the next forty years we made sure and steady progress in the fight against race discrimination, sex discrimination, religious discrimination and disability discrimination. It is time for that infamous list to grow again.
The institution of marriage is not weakened when more people people marry, it is strengthened. So, right wing efforts to enshrine marriage discrimination in our constitutions and laws actually devalues the idea that marriage constitutes a worthy, sensible and socially valuable means for two individuals in love to move forward in life together.
It's time that the increasingly irrelevant right wing of American politics lose the capability to define the terms of debate. Instead, the terms of political debate must be set by the reality based community. Let's call things by their right name, and in this case, this isn't about defense of marriage or about gay marriage. This debate is about civil rights of Americans, about marriage discrimination.
I'm a middle age, straight, white man and, hence, a member of the least discriminated demographic of the American population. But I oppose racial discrimination, I oppose sex discrimination, I oppose disability discrimination, I oppose religious and national origin discrimnation and last but not least, I oppose marriage discrimination. Are you with me?