Historian makes the case for same-sex marriage

[Kadie]

Historian makes the case for same-sex marriage
Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer

Tuesday, January 12, 2010


(01-12) 14:38 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- A Harvard professor made a historian's case for same-sex marriage in federal court today, saying defenders of California's Proposition 8 are using the same rationale that was offered against interracial unions and equal rights for wives - that the survival of marriage itself was at stake.

Those who supported prohibitions on weddings across racial lines, bans dating from colonial days that the Supreme Court abolished only in 1967, often argued that "the institution would be degraded, their own marriages would be devalued" if such unions were allowed, Nancy Cott testified in San Francisco on the second day of the trial of a suit challenging Prop. 8.

Similarly, she said, 19th century laws in most states that required women to surrender their property, earnings and legal status to their husbands were viewed by their supporters as "absolutely essential to what marriage was." It took a series of Supreme Court rulings in the 1970s, Cott said, to stamp out the last remnants of sex discrimination in marriage laws.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/01/12/BATV1BH727.DTL&tsp=1#ixzz0cRU1yeX5

[RainDog]

1. the rationale changes. the fear of change remains.

we don't need fear-mongers creating government policy.

[demigoddess]

2. i will be so glad when this is all settled and people finally can see that it is not

the end of the world like the religious idiots have said. I just hope I live that long.

[hedgehog]

3. But, but, but, if we don't spend all our time wailing andd gnashing our

teeth aver how many people are catching the gay, then we might have to consider global climate change or income distribution or ongoing civil war/genocide in the Congo or world hunger or malaria..........

[Kadie]

4. I really wish this was televised.

I would love to see the testimony as it happens.

[Motown_Johnny]

5. don't the religious idiots want the end of the world???