We're all about to get quite weary of hashing and rehashing the issue of gay marriage. It probably is not, like guns and abortion and where to get the best pizza, one of those ceaseless arguments. That is, it has a resolution but right now, none of those arguing it in the public arena are looking for a solution or compromise; they want to keep it going until they win in full. Many are also eager to use it as a tool to win some election and/or unseat some incumbent.
There actually is a quickie solution, though almost no one will go for it. Last July, Michael Kinsley offered this concept that would work great if everyone really wanted to hurry and put the issue behind us. But among those who argue such things in legislatures and the press, no one really does. It's too tempting a battleground to, on the one hand, argue for less government intervention into bedrooms and the other, fight against what some see as a perilous decline of the family unit. There are also, of course, homosexuals and homophobes and never the twain shall meet.
I think gay marriage is inevitable in this country and like certain past issues of civil rights, its opponents will come to be ashamed of what may now seem to them as a principled stance. But I also think it's going to take a while. We're still at the stage when most candidates (and I include both Bush and Kerry in this) look like their carefully-worded positions come out of focus groups and polling, not their respective hearts. There are votes to be harvested so we have to listen to what I consider a bogus argument that gay marriage somehow undermines straight marriage. It certainly doesn't speak well for straight marriage that it can be harmed if the two guys down the street, who are already committed to one another, add an extra level of stability to that commitment and get a better insurance plan.
Amidst all the debate, public opinion will swing back and forth. At some point, the pendulum will swing far enough in favor of gay marriage that it will become the law of the land in most states…and nothing catastrophic will occur. Straight marriages will not suffer irreparable damage. God will not smite us all or send locusts to devour our crops. A lot of people who are currently in the middle on the issue but leaning against gay rights will realize it's not that big a deal if we acknowledge what already exists and give those folks a little more dignity and a few less legal obstacles to happiness. Suddenly, all those leaners will lean the other way and that will take all the steam out of the "anti" side, and we can move on to some other silly battle that also needn't be fought.
That's how I think it will end, but it's going to take a while, especially if the drive to amend the Constitution picks up enough momentum. Right now, there are too many people incensed on the issue, if only because they see it as a symbol of many things they don't like in this world. And there are too many parties who think they can manipulate those incensed people for political advantage. Some of us will be sick of the arguments before the year is out, some before the month is out. I figure I'm good for about another ten days of it. Two weeks, tops.