Academic

Nineteen Years

By firstamendmentblogger

Nineteen years passed between the California Supreme Court's 1948 decision in Perez v. Lippold and the US Supreme Court's 1967 decision in Loving v. Virginia.  Nineteen years before the Supreme Court caught up with California, and recognized that when it comes to marriage, both love and the Constitution are in fact color-blind.  Nineteen years between California's bold move to recognize a right to inter-racial marriage, and the Supreme Court's mandate that every other state do the same.   

It may be another nineteen years before the Supreme Court follows California's lead this time and rejects the pure irrationality - and animus - behind discriminatory marriage statutes that allow only heterosexuals into the club.  Nineteen years before the image pasted above is seen as nothing more - and nothing less - than a tender moment that marks a milestone, rather than an "abomination to God" that invites an incalculable quantity of hate mail to my in-box.  Nineteen years, perhaps.  Fourteen if we're lucky - tracking back to Massachusetts.  But it is inevitable.  The only question is how much havoc and heartbreak we'll have to endure in the meantime.

But today we're moving in the right direction.  Today, the New York Times reports that Governor David Paterson had called upon state agencies to revise their policies to recognize same-sex marriages performed outside of New York.  So far the list includes places like Massachusetts, California, Canada, Spain,  Belgium, The Netherlands . . . .  and ultimately more to come.  Ironically, New York itself does not perform same-sex marriage ceremonies.  But there too, especially in light of Paterson's directive, its only a matter of time.

And that's worth celebrating.

-Kathleen A. Bergin 

Full post as published by The Faculty Lounge on May 29, 2008 (boomark / email).