Is same-sex marriage inevitable?
As Yogi Berra famously said, "It ain't over until it's over"
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear two cases this week related to gay marriage. And while most legal observers think it's unlikely that the court will make a broad constitutional ruling legalizing same-sex marriage across the country, even a narrow ruling could give the movement toward marriage equality a new boost.
In fact, the march toward legalizing same sex marriage in the United States sometimes seems unstoppable.
A new Washington Post poll shows that 58 percent of Americans now support gay marriage. Among those 18 to 29 years old, the number is a whopping 81 percent.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
This is a stunning reversal from the 2004 presidential election, when gay marriage was used as a wedge issue by Republicans to re-elect George W. Bush. Karl Rove, Bush's campaign manager and the architect of using gay marriage as a wedge issue, now says it's conceivable the GOP nominee in 2016 could support it.
A new Pew Research survey finds that the rise in support for same-sex marriage over the past decade "is among the largest changes in opinion on any policy issue over this time period."
But supporters should take nothing for granted. One need only look to the Equal Rights Amendment for an example of a social movement that once seemed unstoppable but stalled on its way to becoming law.
Matthew Cooper points out that as with same-sex marriage, "the most important battleground for the ERA took place in state legislatures. The ERA seemed to have unstoppable momentum when it came out of Congress with the necessary two-thirds majority in both the House and the Senate."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
But even though 30 states had passed the ERA by the end of 1973, it could never get to the 38 states necessary to amend the Constitution. Efforts to resuscitate the ERA since then have all failed.
Supporters of same-sex marriage must take heed of Yogi Berra's famous saying, "It ain't over, until it's over."
Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political websites. He also runs Wonk Wire and the Political Dictionary. Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and COO of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. senator and governor. Goddard is also co-author of You Won — Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including The Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Christian Science Monitor. Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
-
5 ladylike cartoons about women's role in the election
Cartoons Artists take on the political gender gap, Lady Liberty, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The right to die: what can we learn from other countries?
The Explainer A look at the world's assisted dying laws as MPs debate Kim Leadbeater's proposed bill
By The Week Published
-
Volkswagen on the ropes: a crisis of its own making
Talking Point The EV revolution has 'left VW in the proverbial dust'
By The Week UK Published
-
US election: who the billionaires are backing
The Explainer More have endorsed Kamala Harris than Donald Trump, but among the 'ultra-rich' the split is more even
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
US election: where things stand with one week to go
The Explainer Harris' lead in the polls has been narrowing in Trump's favour, but her campaign remains 'cautiously optimistic'
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Is Trump okay?
Today's Big Question Former president's mental fitness and alleged cognitive decline firmly back in the spotlight after 'bizarre' town hall event
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The life and times of Kamala Harris
The Explainer The vice-president is narrowly leading the race to become the next US president. How did she get to where she is now?
By The Week UK Published
-
Will 'weirdly civil' VP debate move dial in US election?
Today's Big Question 'Diametrically opposed' candidates showed 'a lot of commonality' on some issues, but offered competing visions for America's future and democracy
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
1 of 6 'Trump Train' drivers liable in Biden bus blockade
Speed Read Only one of the accused was found liable in the case concerning the deliberate slowing of a 2020 Biden campaign bus
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attempt
Speed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published