Let the Gays Get Married and Save the Economy

California's Supreme Court will decide today whether to repeal a 2000 referendum banning same sex marriages. Should the state decide to do so, "it would be sending the message that California considers its lesbian and gay couples equal," said Therese Stewart, San Francisco chief deputy city attorney.

Proposition 22 currently limits marriage to "a personal relation arising out of a civil contract between a man and a woman, to which the consent of the parties capable of making that contract is necessary." Further, the state will only recognize a marriage between a man and a woman, so no out-of-state funny business is allowed either.

If the California Supreme Court wants my opinion, I think that in these bleek economic times nothing would rev up the economy more than a spate of gay weddings - now THAT's an economic stimulus plan.

Let us get married, and we'll gladly pour our 401Ks and other savings into over-the-top fiascos. We're talking jewelry, limo rentals, florists, catering hall rentals. Plus, you'd get to tax us as married couples, and you know the gays make big bux.

Seriously, though, at the heart of this debate is a question about whether gay people have the same rights as straight people. And in 2008, it's offensive and backward to even have to ponder the question. In no way does my relationship with James threaten or make less special the bond that, say, my parents have after 30 years of marriage. Nor does it make the bond that many of my friends and relatives, all in their 20s, are forming with their beloveds as they plan their weddings. I'm just me, David, and I'm lucky enough to live with the person I was meant to love forever, James. Why is this a constitutional issue?

Living in the insular world of a Chelsea gay who works in public relations I don't always feel that sting of "you're not wanted here." I live my life and in comparison to most 20-somethings, it's pretty fabulous (not bragging, I'm just sayin...). So I find it laughable when my life is cast on a ballot for the general, underpaid, undereducated public to decide whether James and I have a right to exist as a couple. Fine, let the morons on the right eat (Entenmann's) cake.

I'm not going to point fingers at groups that I don't think should be allowed to marry or sire children. Unfortunately, my rights matter just as much as theirs and we all have to share this country and it's damn bounty. Deal with it.