California has done something that will delight my friend and debate partner. A bill has passed the State Assembly that goes through the marriage law replacing all instances of the word "marriage" with the words "civil marriage". They've also (unnecessarily) added sentences to say a religious group may refuse to marry a couple that is contrary to their doctrine and that a refusal does not jeopardize the group's legal standing. Some observers note the bill doesn't actually do anything -- it's only a name change and the religious provisions exist through other laws -- but the symbolism is nice.
All this sounds good!
The anti-gay crowd is furious.
Say what? Wouldn't they want protections for their clergy? Nope, because the bill eliminates their big scare tactic. They get a lot of mileage out of the lie that churches will be forced to conduct same-sex marriages and that religious freedom is at risk. Anything that makes it more difficult to deceive voters is a threat to the already dwindling power that anti-gay groups have. And they want to be able to deceive voters if the state's gay marriage ban is reinstated by the 9th Circuit or the Supremes and a ballot question comes up in 2012.
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