The fish rots from the head down.
GAY MARRIAGE COMES TO BRITAIN: Well, they’re not going to call it marriage. But everything but the m-word seems now in the cards in Britain. What’s truly striking is that the brightest Thatcherite in the Tory party, Oliver Letwin, has also said that the Conservatives will back the move:
“Whilst we attach a huge importance to the institution of marriage we do recognise that gay couples suffer from some serious particular grievances,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “If what the government is coming forward with is indeed a set of practical steps to address a set of practical problems that affect people, then we will welcome them.” He denied that it would undermine the “special” status of marriage, insisting there was nobody in his party who saw a contradiction between believing in marriage and accepting that gay people have concrete grievances about their current legal status.
Contrast this with the hysterical response from some on the American far right, and you see the difference between conservatism and reaction. Rather than even go slow on this sensible reform, some American rightists want to meddle with the Constitution itself to stop this even being discussed.
The Dish 