The arc of justice may be slow to bend, but the arc of public opinion seems seems to be curving faster and faster. I guess Mayor Gavin Newsom was just a couple of years too early.
In 1996 when the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was passed, only about 25% of the American public supported legalization of same-sex marriage.
In 2008, approximately 36% of the American public supported it, an increase of 11% in 12 years; about 1% a year.
But in 2010, aggregates of polling results suggest that at least 45% of Americans support legalization (and a CNN poll has shown support over 50%). That's an increase of almost 5% a year for the previous two years.
Here's a graphical illustration of the sea change in attitude:
2008:
2010:
Extrapolations (especially into the future) are always dangerous, but the Religious Right cannot be happy about this trend... It's looking good for Mayor Newsom having the last Youtube video laugh.
And while to every individual waiting for justice it seems indeed that the pace of equal rights is glacial, much has happened in this last year, a year which still has four months to go:
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February 17th, 2010: The New Hampshire legislature defeats an attempt to rescind equal marriage rights. (Arguing to rescind, a New Hampshire legislator proudly asserts A potato is not a turnip., illustrating yet again the commanding logic behind the effort to attack equality.)
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March 4th, 2010: The first same-sex marriages are performed in Washington DC, the nation's capital.
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March 11th, 2010: The first same-sex marriages are performed in Mexico City. All three capital cities in North America now have equal marriage rights.
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June 7th, 2010: The first same-sex marriages are performed in Portugal.
- June 27th, 2010: The first same-sex marriages are performed in Iceland. Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, Iceland's Prime Minister, becomes the first head of state in the world to enter into a same-sex marriage.
- July 8th, 2010: Federal District Judge Joseph Tauro rules that part of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional.
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July 30th, 2010: The first same-sex marriages under the new Argentina law are performed. (Other marriages under state law, or of questionable legality, had taken place earlier).
- August 4th, 2010: Federal District Judge Vaughn Walker rules that Proposition 8, California's constitutional ban on equal marriage rights, is unconstitutional.
- August 10th, 2010: The Mexican Supreme Court rules that all 31 Mexican states must recognize same-sex marriages performed in the capital.
- August 11th, 2010: CNN releases a poll that shows, for the first time, more than 50% of Americans support equal marriage rights.
Unfortunately, one of the few things related to equal rights on which there has been no concrete progress in the United States is passing ENDA, the Employee Non-Discrimination Act, outlawing discrimination in the workplace against Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender people. And, not unexpectedly, it is the United States Congress on which that responsibility rests: the courts, the states (on a federal level) and the people (who strongly favor such a concept) have no say in the matter.
Congress must act, and yet Congress refuses to act. Unfortunately, all feel-good diaries don't end that way, especially when Congress enters the penultimate paragraph.