This morning the Guardian (UK) reported on the battle over Proposition 8 in California. Proposition 8, also known as the ‘California Marriage Protection Act,’ is a proposed amendment to California’s state Constitution which will only recognize heterosexual unions, eliminating the right of same-sex couples to marry. The Guardian article describes this battle as emblematic of a larger cultural divide in the United States.
The Guardian reports:
Conservative and evangelical groups were freshly mobilised by the California supreme court’s decision in May to overrule voters’ approval of a ban on same-sex marriages in 2000.
But the movement has its roots in the culture wars of the 1980s and 1990s, says University of California-Berkeley sociology professor Michael Hout.
“They got as far as they could on abortion and have embraced marriage laws as the next step in their agenda,” said Hout, co-author of The Truth About Conservative Christians: What They Think and What They Believe. “Their main agenda remains the reversal of Roe v Wade, but they’re trying to gain new allies who look askance at gay marriage.”
Not that it’s a purely Machiavellian manoeuvre. Proponents of bans on same-sex marriage are “truly concerned that the state should not be licensing immoral behaviour”, Hout said.
“In their interpretation of the Bible, they see a prohibition on homosexual activity. Gay marriage condones a lifestyle that’s ruled out by their reading of the scripture.”
Read the full story.
Comments 2
ruth — September 22, 2008
Readers of Contexts Crawler may be interested in an ongoing discussion at The Immanent Frame, where a number of sociologists and other scholars have weighed in on “The Future of Marriage.”
“On April 3, 2008,” wrote sociologists Tey Meadow and Judith Stacey at The Immanent Frame, “state authorities raided a polygamous compound in Eldorado, Texas.... Six weeks later, on May 15, the California Supreme Court invalidated the state’s ban on same-sex marriage. The proximity of these two state interventions invites reflection on the rhetoric and politics of marital diversity in the United States.”
In response to these events, The Immanent Frame has featured a diverse set of essays reflecting on the complex place of the institution of marriage in American history and society. To read the full discussion about "The Future of Marriage," visit The Immanent Frame at http://www.ssrc.org/blogs/immanent_frame/category/the-future-of-marriage/.
Other contributors include sociologists Jaye Cee Whitehead and Melanie Heath, as well as Stephanie Coontz, Winnifred Fallers Sullivan, Jimmy Casas Klausen and M. Christian Green, with more to come.
Zoe — October 21, 2008
My photo is now no longer licensed under the creative commons license and the couple and i would prefer if you could take down this photo please. Thanks,
Zoe