How far it will get, who knows? But New York now joins a growing list of states where assemblies are debating allowing gay marriage and not banning it with constitutional amendments.
Has the tide began to turn? Polls seem to show a growing acceptance for some form or legal recognition of gay relationships, be it civil unions or gay marriage. Maybe conservative Jonah Goldberg is right when he says:
“…it’s my guess that gay marriage is ultimately inevitable.”
But as more states adopt legal recognition of gay relationships, it cannot be too far away that the federal government will have to take up this issue. It has long been standing practice for one state to recognize the legal relationships of another. The Defense of Marriage Act allows a state to ignore this precedent. It won’t be long until someone argues the constitutionality of the descriminatory practice of recognizing heterosexual legal relationships but not same sex legal relationships. Equal treatment should be extended to all Americans.
