Same-sex Ruling Good for No One: David Benkof

CHAMPAGNE corks are popping wherever gays and lesbians gather throughout the Golden State after the California Supreme Court's ruling in In Re Marriage Cases, which opens the way for same-sex couples to legally wed beginning next month. But my fellow members of the LGBT community shouldn't be celebrating. This decision does next to nothing for California gays and lesbians, and causes real harm to people who believe in the "old" definition of marriage. It's nothing to be proud of.
The June weddings that can now be expected for same-sex couples all over California will actually provide little tangible advantage to anyone. California already has a domestic-partnership law providing all the state benefits of marriage to same-sex couples, and the federal Defense of Marriage Act denies all the federal benefits. Sure, gays and lesbians may get a lift in self-esteem from having their relationships declared "equal" by four jurists, but does an ego boost really outweigh the real harms caused by Thursday's decision?

Because there certainly are harms -- to religious liberty and to children, for example. For the last two weeks, I have been contacting "marriage equality" leaders from San Diego to Sacramento to ask about the impact of redefining marriage on religious freedom.

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posted by Imapp Staff at 3:31 PM | link

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