JULY 5, 1996
GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE 11
SPEAK OUT
The 'marriage debate' shouldn't obscure our other efforts
by John D'Emilio
Like the military issue in 1993, marriage has suddenly jumped to the top of our so-called "gay agenda.” Despite the range of opinion about the importance or wisdom of fighting for it, the right-wing seizure of the issue has pushed it to the center of our radar screen.
Yet the marriage issue is filled with meaning and potential that begs for more than a simple "pro" or "con" analysis. The debate over marriage illuminates fissures in the body politic and provides an opportunity to examine some normally unquestioned assumptions about society. The debate, in other words, may be as important as the issue itself.
First, some background. As recently as ten years ago, marriage elicited barely a murmur of interest among us. Instead, a cluster of "family issues" did begin percolating, and by the early 1990s, had heated to boiling. These included domestic partnership registration, workplace organizing for partnership benefits, and a host of policy matters relating to our right to parent. Marriage ran at the back of the pack.
Then, in 1993, an unexpected court ruling in Hawaii raised the possibility of same-sex marriage there and, because of the "full faith and credit" clause of the U.S. Constitution, by extension in all 50 states.
Enter the right wing. Having met electoral defeats and court setbacks in its effort to block protection of our basic civil rights, the right has shifted its line of attack. The pattern was already clear last year. In "Beyond the Beltway," a 1995 survey of state legislation, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force identified family issues as the wedge used by the
right to arouse hatred against us.
Marriage is now the heart of their strategy. Through the "Marriage Protection" rally and resolution that circulated in lowa in February, the bills in 36 states to preemptively strike.
against develop-
is marriage actually for? What does it mean to call it the foundation of civilization? What kind of public policies do we need to recognize the same-sex committed relationships that exist in America?
ments in Hawaii, and Coming out as families the Defense of Marand pressing the full
riage Act in Con-
gress, of which Re-range of needs that we have as families are
publican presidential
candidate Bob Dole
was a Senate cosponsor, the issue has
become a right-wing
crusade.
From one angle,
more likely to advance our goals than a singleitem plank of marriage.
President Clinton's promise to sign the bill might steal the political thunder away from the issue, but it also functioned as a slap in the face of our community, and it reinforced the divisive rhetoric of "traditional family val-
ues.
His stance may also make it more likely that this far-reaching piece of homophobic legislation will become law.
Under these circumstances, we must respond to the threat at hand. At the same time, we will lose a tremendous political opportunity if we let the right's line of attack shape how we approach our issues. The fastest way of getting to civil marriage for same-sex couples is not likely to be a straight line. If the issue is relatively new to us, it seems revolutionary to much of America!
Yet our pressing the issue has opened a fascinating debate. Large numbers of journalists, editorial boards, columnists, mainstream elected officials, and ordinary citizens are asking some basic questions: What
What desirable social goals are we trying to foster through marriage, and does
same-sex mar-
riage help or hinder that?
Rather than make marriage the litmus test of whether someone is our friend or foe, we can instead productively engage in this debate and shape it to our purposes. Marriage is only one among a cluster of family issues; the debate about it is really a debate about how a society fosters caring, commitment, and bonds of support among its members. Let's participate in this broad social discussion about family
FASHIONS
and community, issues that large numbers of Americans are struggling with as they look for workable private and public solutions.
Coming out as families and pressing the full range of needs that we have as families are more likely to advance our goals than a single-item plank of marriage. Rethinking family and community opens possibilities for victories in the short run, as well as creating a more solid foundation for moving on the marriage front in the long run.
Of course we need to expend the energy to expose the right-wing's strategy and the dangers of anti-gay marriage-related legislation. But let's not let the intensity of their assault sweep us along until we, too, come to believe that marriage is our panacea, that marriage is the issue. A "magic bullet" focus on marriage narrows our opportunities and leaves us standing on the political ground defined by our enemies.
Dr. John D'Emilio is a historian and author, and the director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute.
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