Is a “Marriage Moment” Coming Up?
Posted by Jack Stephens on June 18, 2007
Citizen Crain blogs:
The victory in Massachusetts last week strongly encourages the idea that the sweep of history is with progress on marriage equality for gay couples, just as it was 40 years ago for interracial couples. But have we arrived finally at our “marriage moment”?
Cheryl Jacques, a former Massachusetts state senator who led the Human Rights Campaign in 2004, popularized that phrase during the halcyon months after her home state’s highest court struck down the hetero-only marriage law a year earlier.
Then came the horrific backlash, as dozens of states passed laws and constitutional amendments banning gay marriage. Karl Rove managed to wedge the issue into the 2004 presidential election. And even state supreme courts in friendly states like New York and Washington state declined to follow their black-robed predecessors in Massachusetts.
Now, as the good news returns, have the tables turned back in our favor? Are we ready, this time, for a “marriage moment” of more far-reaching and permanent effect?
