Reactionaries

“Don’t do it,” Nancy Pelosi warned the archbishop of San Francisco when he announced his intention to take part in the “March for Marriage.” The California Democrat and Catholic called the demonstration scheduled to take place Thursday afternoon in Washington “venom masquerading as virtue.” She reminded the archbishop of Pope Francis’ earlier comment, “If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?”

Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, unofficial spokesman for the conservative arm of the Catholic Church in the United States, held fast to his convictions and cited another of Pope Francis’ pronouncements that children had a right to be raised by a mother and a father.

What took place in Washington on Thursday that will ultimately wind up in the Supreme Court is a new attempt by radical reactionaries to oppose same-sex marriage and to do so at every level.

A majority of their fellow citizens see it differently. In one of the most sudden and dramatic shifts in public opinion in decades, most Americans now hold the opinion that marriage rights apply to all. The Republican Party leadership, working on behalf of George W. Bush in 2004, peppered their campaign with messages opposing “gay marriage.” Now they have acquiesced to the current trend and have stricken the subject of homosexuality from their campaign rhetoric.

The trend crosses all sectors of society: The courts, both federal and state, have demonstrated over the past several months that they support “gay marriage.” Nineteen state supreme courts have already approved and implemented it. At the federal level, the Supreme Court of the United States has added its blessings to it in several recent decisions.

Even the Church Is Giving Way

The opposition even seems to be lessening in many church organizations. This week, the Presbyterian Church in the United States surveyed their members asking if they had any objections to their clergy blessing the weddings of homosexual couples. Despite threats of excommunication, many bloggers state they are opposed to the church’s ban on “gay marriage.” Surprisingly, President Obama — who 10 years ago admitted he did not support a legal right to gays marrying — has been more responsible for the rise in rights for homosexuals than any other American president. Just Monday, he took another step announcing that he would be introducing new anti-discrimination rules regarding homosexuals in the labor force. Since Congress seems incapable of acting, he will do this by executive order. Prior to that, he did away with the “don’t ask, don’t tell” rule for military members, under which homosexuals could only serve in the U.S. military if they kept their sexual orientations hidden.

Detached from Reality

Nonetheless, the National Organization for Marriage, the organizers of the march, isn’t giving up. Against all outward signs, they continue to believe that the U.S. Supreme Court will do an about face and reinstate the ban on same-sex marriage. The march’s organizers consist of adherents of the radical far-right agenda — among them many ultraconservative Republicans and members of several church sects.

Their members also include those opposed to abortion rights, while favoring religious and pro-gun rights. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which keeps watch on ultra-right wing phenomena in America, has designated NOM’s parent group, the “Family Research Council,” a hate group. It should also be noted that NOM also often conflates homosexuality with pedophilia.