The Tide Has Turned

Within minutes the news hit the online news sites and the blogosphere. The California Supreme Court, in a 4-3, 172-page decision, overturned the state's ban on what is commonly termed gay marriage. Reactions from groups on all sides of the issue were both swift and predictable. For a summary of news stories, take a look at Susan Russell's An Inch At A Time. For comments from the liberal/progressive wing of the church, go to Father Jake's.







And from the conservative/regressive wing Stand Firm.






Since the ruling concerns the state constitution, it cannot be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Conservative forces in California already had a petition for a November ballot initiative underway. The initiative would amend the California constitution to include the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman. Governor Schwarzenegger has said in the past, and said again today, that he would oppose any effort to overturn the court's decision. That from a fairly conservative Republican. Not to mention that six of the seven justices are Republicans as well.

Even if the ballot initiative succeeds, it is clear that the tide has turned. Courts across the country look closely at rulings by the California Supreme Court and quite frequently follow them in their own rulings. More than that, our society is changing. It is always changing. The push for marriage rights by a segment of the lbgt communities has caused us to look more closely at marriage and what it is. Churches will have to accept the fact that the trend is to look at marriage more in line with it's original form as a civil contract rather than the religious meaning it acquired after the twelfth century.

Churches need to get out of the civil aspect of marriage. Clergy should NOT be agents of the state and should not perform the civil, legal, contractual piece. Churches should bless the marriage (heaven knows they bless everything else on earth!), not enact it. In some ways, that would make it much easier for those congregations and denominations that do not want to deal with gay marriages in their churches.

The tide has turned. You'd better learn to swim, or you'll be swept away.

Peace,
Jeffri