THE
BACKLASH
OVER
gay
marriage
during
the
past
few
weeks
doesn’t
come
as
a
surprise
to
me.
I
predicted
it
months
ago
to
a
group
of
friends
who
are
rabidly
in
support
of
pushing
the
issue.
I
told
them
that
while
there
was
a
gay-marrying
frenzy
breaking
out
in
San
Francisco,
Oregon,
and
New
Paltz,
N.Y.,
most
Americans
were
not
at
a
place
to
accept
this
change.
Since
two-thirds
of
Americans
oppose
gay
marriage,
and
the
same
percentage
support
legal
protections
for
gays
in
the
workplace,
then
why,
I
asked,
are
the
radical
gay
groups
forcing
marriage
down
the
throats
of
America
at
this
time?
But
it
wasn’t
the
“religious
right”
or
President
Bush
who
started
this
round
of
the
culture
war.
It
was
us.
The
battle
was
clearly
started
by
gay
activists
who
adopted
the
tactic
of
challenging
marriage
laws
across
the
country.
The
battle
was
joined,
of
course,
by
the
conservatives
now
pushing
for
a
federal
constitutional
amendment.
But
we
need
to
step
up
and
admit
that
the
responsibility
of
the
gay
marriage
debate,
good
or
bad,
is
squarely
on
the
shoulders
and
the
consciences
of
the
so-called
leaders
of
the
Human
Rights
Campaign,
National
Gay
&
Lesbian
Task
Force,
Log
Cabin
Republicans
and
their
ilk.
Now
the
dominoes
are
falling
against
us,
in
Georgia,
Kentucky
and
Mississippi.
A
state
constitutional
amendment
banning
gay
marriage
in
those
states
will
be
put
before
voters.
Georgia,
Kentucky
and
Mississippi
—
not
surprising,
right?
But
in
Massachusetts,
far
from
a
bastion
of
the
religious
right,
the
state
legislature
adopted
a
constitutional
amendment,
though
it
still
must
survive
additional
legislative
votes
next
year
before
it
goes
on
the
ballot
there.
SO
THERE
WE
have
it.
This
decision
by
our
supposed
leaders
to
push
gay
marriage
onto
center
stage
in
America
at
this
time
and
in
this
election
year
has
resulted
in
a
colossal
setback
that
is
solely
the
fault
of
those
same
groups.
Why?
Because
instead
of
appreciating
the
feelings
of
most
Americans
and
undertaking
a
long-term
commitment
to
educate
our
nation
about
who
we
are,
our
leaders
took
the
easy
way
and
went
to
the
courts
to
dictate
one
version
of
morality
and
forced
tolerance
from
the
bench.
That
strategy
is
faulty
and
will
never
work.
What
we
saw
in
Massachusetts,
Georgia,
Kentucky
and
Mississippi
will
be
replicated
in
nearly
every
other
state
of
the
union.
So
the
net
impact
of
our
activists
launching
this
culture
war
will
become
discrimination
enshrined
into
state
constitutions.
That
certainly
doesn’t
seem
a
step
forward
for
gay
rights.
Gay
leaders
will
scratch
their
heads
and
wonder
what
went
wrong,
but
the
fact
that
they
don’t
“get
it”
is
proof
enough
that
we
need
to
find
a
new
way
and
new
leadership.
Instead
we
get
Rosie
O’Donnell
who
says
she’s
getting
married
in
front
of
TV
cameras
merely
because
President
Bush
says
he’s
opposed
to
it.
Well,
that’s
one
sure
way
for
opponents
to
question
the
sincerity
of
the
true
commitment
to
gay
marriage,
isn’t
it?
THE
PATH
TO
gay
marriage
is
not
to
force
Americans
to
accept
a
morality
they
are
not
prepared
to
embrace.
Instead
of
radical
gay
groups
spending
their
precious
few
dollars,
time
and
resources
engaging
in
court
fights
and
street
battles,
it’s
time
to
turn
our
attention
to
the
hearts
and
minds
of
mainstream
America.
What
is
needed
is
a
fundamental
and,
most
importantly,
mature
awareness
campaign
across
the
country
about
what
it
is
to
be
a
gay
or
lesbian
American
today.
We
all
need
to
be
willing
to
come
out
of
our
closets
—
proverbial
or
not
—
and
let
our
friends,
family
and
work
colleagues
know
who
we
are.
Let
them
know
that
we
pay
our
taxes
just
like
them.
Let
them
know
we
experience
the
ups
and
downs
of
daily
life
just
like
them.
Let
them
know
that
we
want
the
same
financial,
job
and
relationship
security
that
they
enjoy.
Let
them
know
that
we
want
to
be
as
tolerant
of
their
long-standing
religious
beliefs
as
we
want
them
to
be
tolerant
of
ours.
Until
the
leaders
of
these
radical
gay
groups
come
to
grips
that
they
have
wasted
precious
years
on
counterproductive
strategies,
we
will
continue
to
face
these
predictable
setbacks
to
gay
marriage
and
other
issues
with
increasing
frequency.
Until
all
of
us
start
reaching
out
to
mainstream
Americans,
instead
of
shouting
in
their
faces,
we
will
continue
to
be
responsible
for
our
own
failures.
