However, there is one issue that I am completely one-sided on--gay marriage. If you don't think two consenting men or women should be able to marry, then I think you're a bigot.
I greatly enjoyed the howls of anger that came from those on the far right after the California Supreme Court last week ruled that gays and lesbians constitutionally have the same marriage rights as one-man/one-woman couples. In my mind, these howls each came from--according to the definition of bigot in Merriam Webster's Dictionary-- a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices; especially: one who regards or treats the members of a group (as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance.
I don't think all people opposed to marriage rights for gays and lesbians are bad people; far from it. But according to the above definition, all people opposed to gay marriage are indeed bigots, "devoted to his or her opinions and prejudices," whatever the motivations for those opinions and prejudices may be.
Gay marriage is not a threat to traditional marriage (an institution ending in failure about half of the time these days). It isn't a threat to anything. It is what it is: Exactly the same as straight marriage, in every way that matters.
So, congratulations to California. Let's hope California and Arizona voters show that this form of bigotry is indeed slowly fading from our society come November, when both states will likely face anti-gay-marriage ballot initiatives. Let's hope.
