Captain Ed Weighs In On the "Connecticut Compromise"...

Ed Morrissey at Captain's Quarters Blog sees today's news from CT from an interesting perspective. In his estimation, the State "got it right" in the way it handled the proposed bill on civil unions.

"Both sides got some piece of victory, while the centrists won the day. Connecticut will not recognize gay marriage, which fits with the will of the electorate. On the other hand, the legislature made a perfectly rational decision about reinforcing contract law by allowing two adults to form a legal partnership that regulates the public portion of their lives. For libertarians, this makes perfect sense; it allows couples who either are unable or unwilling to marry assign each other next-of-kin relationships, form financial partnerships, and establish legally defensible rights to certain civil benefits formerly excluded from them. This also appears to meet the will of the electorate."

In one sense he's absolutely correct. This bill is the kind of compromise that demonstrates how opposing interests can achieve a "win-win" when the debate is amicable and reciprocal. However, as I discussed earlier today, the overly aggressive actions of a judiciary that continually oversteps its constitutional powers can make today's equitable resolution a disaster waiting to explode.

The problem lies in that the activists on the Left will continue to seek policy change, not through popular support (which they cannot get) but rather by means of judicial fiat. The amendment to the bill that amounts to a "Defense of Marriage" clause will undoubtedly be seen by some advocates of same-sex marriage as enough of a "poison pill" to cause them to withdraw their support for this bill and try again. For the real agenda of gay activism is same-sex marriage, plain and simple. This would have been to them nothing more than an incremental step toward the larger goal.

But as Morrissey points out:

"Marriage is a public act, and the people have the standing to regulate it."

And, as of now, the people are overwhelmingly against accepting a homosexual relationship as the legal or desirable equivalent of a heterosexual marriage.

Posted by: Gary at 09:50 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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