April 9, 2009

The battle to maintain marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman suffered three setbacks this week. The Iowa Supreme Court decided that restricting marriage to men and women served no state purpose. The Vermont legislature overrode the Republican governor’s veto of a same-sex marriage bill.

The District of Columbia City Council voted unanimously to recognize same sex marriages from other states.

This battle was lost some time ago. We are just now seeing the results. Marriage is being redefined by activists and courts against the will of the overwhelming majority of the public. Congress, which passed the Defense of Marriage Act and Bill Clinton signed, would have to approve a constitutional amendment. That is unlikely as Democrats rule and homosexuals are a major part of their base.

The last resort is the Supreme Court, but given the squishiness of justices Anthony Kennedy and David Souter I don’t have any faith that a court majority will preserve heterosexual marriage. I guess that means we had better do a better job of preserving our own marriages.

Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C.