I DO

Not long ago I was about to walk into Ralphs Market when I was accosted by a petitioneer (if there is such a word). He was a black man in his mid-40s I would say, tall, neatly dressed with a business-like demeanor.

“Excuse me, sir,” he said. “Are you registered to vote?” I didn’t really want to deal with whatever his story was going to be, but I have suuuuch a guilty conscience that I admitted to being a registered voter and gave him what attention I could spare from thoughts of my shopping list. He smiled and asked if I would sign a petition to create a constitutional amendment, defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. That got my full attention.

“You want to ban gay marriage?” I asked, a little bit surprised. He nodded, saying that the Bible called homosexuality an abomination. After a moment I smiled and said I would sign, if he would sign the petition I had in my car (I didn’t really have one) banning inter-racial marriage. Now he paused for a moment, trying to decide whether or not I was serious. “First of all,” I said, “if the Bible does say that homosexuality is an abomination, what that tells me is that there were homosexuals in biblical times just as there are now – and if there were, then God made them – and if God made them, they’re good enough for me. Second of all, what goes on in someone else’s bedroom is none of your damn business.”

By this time, steam was coming out of this guy’s ears, but fortunately for me, he must have signed a pledge not to kill anybody while he was out petitioning, ‘cause he sure looked like he wanted to kill me. Instead, he simply turned and walked away.

The California Supreme Court ruled today that no law may be passed preventing same-sex marriages in the state of California. It ruled further that any law curtailing the activities of any person on the basis of their sexual orientation was patently unconstitutional. You wouldn’t think such a law would even be necessary. You wouldn’t think that the guarantees of full citizenship would have to be reaffirmed for any law-abiding citizen. Well, better to have it in writing, I suppose.

a foot on either side