The New York Times > AP > National > California's Ban on Gay Marriage Is Ruled Unconstitutional

I don't know how many people are reading my blog with any regularity, but this post might tell me. The New York Times reports that a San Francisco County Superior Court judge has ruled that the state's ban on same sex marriage is unconstitutional and I am pissed. Not because I am opposed to same-sex marriage - I am not (although I would prefer it be called a civil union) - but because all this will do is pour gasoline on the fire of those who want a constitutional amendment at the federal level banning gay marriage. I found an interesting article several months ago at a website called the advocate. In the article, the author tells a sad story of trying to recoup medical malpractice damages after his partner died. He complains that he is unable to sue the hospital because Los Angeles Superior Court is still deciding if California's Domestic Partnership law gives him standing to sue. It is based on this story, and others that I have heard like it, that I support some sort of legal protection for homosexual couples. I have bookmarked that story so that I can refer to it in future debates/arguments. But the author makes a second, and very valid, point. Those who push too hard for gay marriage, as opposed to civil unions, are shooting themselves in the foot, incurring more of a backlash than they would if they just settled for a civil union. It may seem that I don't have a dog in this fight, I am not gay and I am not seeking to marry anybody at the moment. But if the Federal Constitution is amended to ban gay marriage, we have allowed the federal government to make a decision about how we should, or should not, be conducting our lives. I oppose that, strongly. And so when some stupid judge in San Francisco gives the "family values" crowd all the more reason to push for a Federal Amendment, I get a little agitated. We have a domestic partnership registry in CA, why isn't that good enough?

Yogie

I've wanted to post something because it's been a while since I put anything up here. I thought I could share that my friend's dog Yogi has been found