I've been watching the Massachusetts gay marriage debate.  Here's why I'm a bit scared now. 

Mandi Gordey

I'm for gay marriage. I want much more for my partner and I than the new California Domestic Partner designation. We ran into trouble the other day  at H&R Block. Hertzi filed to get a RAL check so we would have her refund a bit sooner. Fine. But she can't pick it up for over a week after they have it in their office because of her work schedule. Can I pick it up, we asked. No, they replied. Not unless you are a relative. Sister would have worked. Cousin would have worked. But Domestic Partner ... oh no. They don't recognize that. No, a manager couldn't help. California Domestic Partnership registry ... no, they claim they have to follow "corporate rules". Oh well. We had the same problem at Bally's Fitness. They actually claimed that if they allowed "gay couples" to use a family membership, that straight people would pretend to be gay to save the $20 bucks or so each month. Get real.

Now, about gay marriage in Massachusetts. Here's what scares me. There are a lot of folks who don't give a damn if we have civil unions or domestic partnerships. But I fear a lot of people who are our silent supporters, large numbers who would at the moment vote democrat, people who see civil unions as something that they don't even have to know how to spell because it will never apply to them, will now be hearing the rights rally cry about the attack against marriage, a word they know applies to them, and the fear will be put there and they may vote for bush.

This really gives the hard right something to spin with. The liberal judges who are taking away the will of the people. That will be where they rally. The horrible liberal judges. The radical judges. Judges looking at civil rights when they should be looking at biblical writ. And they will scream that only an amendment to the constitution of the United States will stop them.

I can hear the bush people now. They will hit the areas ahead of the campaign. They will go to the churches and the family groups and they will preach about how if bush doesn't win this year, there will be no one to protect their fragile marriages by seeing that an amendment is passed to legalize prejudice (not their word I'm sure) in the constitution by stopping these liberal judges that are taking away the rights of the people.

I'm also pretty sure that within a few days or weeks, the legislature will try to get a federal court to block gay marriage in Massachusetts until they get to have the Massachusetts Constitution amending process go through its chance at making gay marriage illegal. They will probably even claim that it is only fair to let them have their way with this, citing fairness to the "people", meaning to the people who are already on their side.