Gender no longer forms an essential part of marriage; marriage under law is a union of equals.
This was part of the answer to the claim that marriage must have a man and a woman. Naturally, the sentence above doesn't sit well with the anti-gay foes. Gender, they claim, is what makes marriage different from a friendship.
Yes, marriage used to have traditional roles for the man and for the woman. Marriage also used to mean that a woman had no legal existence apart from her husband. But in a time when wives can own property and husbands can be prosecuted for raping their wives, then gender truly no longer forms an essential part of marriage and those who claim otherwise are only insisting the supremacy of patriarchy.
A 3 judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court has issued a stay in gay marriages until after that court hears the appeals case. They gave no reason for the stay. So no gay weddings this week. However, the court rearranged its schedule to expedite the case and hear it in early December (good news for us). The first question before the court at that time is the one on standing -- do the people appealing the case have standing to do so? Those 3 judges expressed skepticism that they do. Possibilities at this point: The 9th Circuit decides those appealing don't have standing and dismiss the case. Then it is up to the Supremes to decide if a stay is appropriate while they decide whether the dismissal is appropriate. Or the 9th Circuit hears the case and issues an opinion sometime late winter or early spring.
There are some in the anti-gay crowd who are beginning to say the appeal is a bad idea. Cut the losses and protect the rest. Their thinking is that the case is so well written (though against them) that if the Calif. case does go to the Supremes Kennedy will swing to permitting gay marriage across the country. That would overturn all 31 states where anti-gay voting has succeeded. Better to let one go than lose the other 30.
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