According to this study, the increasing prominence of the "gay lifestyle" and recent judicial victories in the states may have cause a sharp drop in support for that lifestyle. Almost half of Americans think consensual, adult gay sex should be illegal. This is a more stringent position than that taken by most political commentators, and I suspect by both Dexter and Clio; most of us who see it as undesirable on religious or ethical grounds would nonetheless not expect it to be criminalized any more than adultery ought to be. In Canada, as with most issues, the safe bet is that more Canadians will support "gay rights" than in the US. Nonetheless, it seems premature to assume broad support for legalized privileges for gay couples, however they are defined. If almost half of Americans would criminalize sexual activity in such a relationship, how small is the number who would elevate that relationship to the status of marriage, or something very close?
A few optimists have expressed their hope that the more visible and noisy gay activists become, and the more the public becomes aware of the rather significant deviations between gay relationships and heterosexual unions, the less support there will be for extending the trappings and substance of marriage to them. I haven't shared this optimism, but this looks like a move in the right direction.
Posted by Clio at July 30, 2003 07:22 AM