A NEW YORK RULING

Those interested in the New York City marriage rights case – where a judge has ruled that the city must grant civil marriage licenses to qualified gay couples within thirty days barring an appeal – should check this piece out. It’s a very thorough and interesting analysis. One small detail: the parents of one of the plaintiffs had to move from Texas to California to get married. Texas banned inter-racial marriage at the time. This year may also see legislative support for marriage rights in Canada and Massachusetts. If the Massachusetts legislature decides to punt on a state amendment, the national situation changes dramatically. We will then have one state that has decided through legislative, democratic means to keep marriage rights for all its citizens. Any federal amendment would then be geared directly to thwarting an individual state’s right to choose what marriage is for itself. And the evolution of the GOP into an anti-states’ rights, big federal government party will be complete. (More interesting legal discussion here.)