United States head honcho Joe Biden signed legislation making gay marriage legal this week, which is as much a cause for celebration as for sadness. It’s great that this has finally happened. But sad that it has taken so long.
The new law is intended to safeguard gay marriages if the US Supreme Court ever decides to backtrack on Obergefell v Hodges, its 2015 decision that legalised same-sex marriage nationwide. The law also protects interracial marriages. According to a report on Stuff: “In 1967, the Supreme Court in Loving v Virginia struck down laws in 16 states barring interracial marriage.”
Biden was quoted as saying: “This law and the love it defends strike a blow against hate in all its forms. And that’s why this law matters to every single American.”
The law was signed during a ceremony at the White House, where singers Sam Smith and Cyndi Lauper performed.
A recording of Biden’s television interview from a decade ago, when he caused a bit of a political furore by unexpectedly disclosing his support for gay marriage.
While it’s great that the protections are now in place, why should they even need this protection? Marriage is marriage, love is love: if two consenting adults are happy together, the extremist asshats who want to interfere should simply fuck off.
If you’ve been on social media at all this week, you’ve probably seen posts about it, including a lot of hate from the mouth-breathers of the far right who don’t believe in equal rights. I have to say, I don’t understand why they are so scared of something that doesn’t impact them at all. Two men getting married is now legal, it’s not compulsory. And dudes, just because another man is gay, it doesn’t mean he fancies you. I’ve noticed most of the men full of hate and bullshit over this turn of events are definitely in the “not likely to get laid” category, so here’s a hint: if women don’t want to shag you, it’s highly likely men won’t want to either. Unfuckable is unfuckable, sexual orientation doesn’t alter that.
For young gay Kiwis, it is probably hard to fathom that there was a time when not only couldn’t they get married, but simply being gay made them criminals. The Homosexual Law Reform Bill finally became law 1986, decriminalising sex between two blokes. It all seems so simple now, but in the lead up to the passing of that particular bit of legislation, there was debate, petitions and unfounded bullshit aplenty.
I remember the many, many sanctimonious gits with clipboards in hand, roaming the streets of central Invercargill collecting signatures for their petition to stop the law being passed. More than once, I was told “our children won’t be safe if this goes ahead”.
The petition-holders seemed a little taken aback when I told them to bugger off.
Live and let live people.
And welcome to the 21st century, America.