According to the Iowa Independent newspaper, the homophobic group National Organization for Marriage speciously claims that outlawing gay marriage would help the economy. Notwithstanding the fact that gay marriage would be a boon to the wedding, travel, photography, and other industries, a human rights argument based on economic factors has no place in American discourse. One could make a more plausible but similarly morally bankrupt argument that bringing back slavery would be a boon to the economy. Now, I’m not accusing the NOM of favoring slavery, but their line of reasoning is no different than advocating that.
As I pointed out in a previous blog posting, prohibition of same-sex marriage is a direct violation of the 14th Amendment. Therefore, all of the posturing of our legislators is just that – posturing. Marriage equality is a civil rights issue and should not depend on the state one lives in. Just like it took the courts to institutionalize equal rights for African Americans, it will be up to the courts to ensure marriage equality for all Americans.
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