Our Supreme Court punted on hearing the gay marriage cases before it. By not hearing the cases, the court allowed same-sex marriages to be legal in more places. Nineteen states already allow gay marriage; the court’s nondecision brings the number to 30.
By letting lower court decisions stand, the Supremes exercised a pocket veto on those who are dead set against same-sex marriage. It was the right decision. The court, like the rest of sensible Americans, handled homosexuality in time-honored fashion — by knowing it goes on and blissfully looking the other way.
Like the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education school desegregation case, it is clear where our nation is heading on same-sex marriage. Yet the court left unsettled how long it will take us to get there — also a good idea.
When government tries to regulate anything, it creates a mess. Gay marriage is the most unnecessarily divisive issue in America, pitting the personal religious beliefs of some people against the freedom of individuals to do as they please.
Neither government nor citizens should waste time and energy trying to keep two loving, consenting, committed people from a public acknowledgment of their union. If we were to have a law barring a subset of our country from marrying, it should be directed squarely at the Kardashians.