In the wake of the Supreme Court's refusal to hear marriage equality cases that opened the door to marriage equality in as many as eleven states, coupled with the following day's 9th Circuit ruling which lays the path to marriage in four more states, every group that fights against the right and fair thing to do has had to step up and say something. And being that this is the anti-LGBT movement, a force that typically operates with a feverish, headstrong, self-centered, eyes-on-the-prize ego where self reflection is virtually absent and determination rarely concerns itself with situational realities, the common response has been one of defiance.
For instance, NOM is recommitting itself to spending its donors' money on their skewed version of "truth":
[NOM]
The Heritage Foundation's Ryan Anderson, a young man who the other side has propped up as one of their best players,
Whatever the law or culture may say, we must commit now to witness to the truth about marriage: that men and women are distinct and complementary, that it takes a man and a woman to bring a child into the world and that children deserve a chance to grow up with a mom and a dad. [Daily Signal]
Whatever the law or culture may say, we must commit now to witness to the truth about marriage: that men and women are distinct and complementary, that it takes a man and a woman to bring a child into the world and that children deserve a chance to grow up with a mom and a dad. Others, like the Family Foundation of Virginia's Victoria Cobb are insisting that the issue is "far from settled." And in redder states with redder-toned figures in high office, governors and attorneys general are insisting that they will keep fighting even as they run out of options to do so.
Defiance to which I want to respond with a big ol' "So what?"
All of these individuals and organizations are looking at this in the wrong way. Sure, a group like NOM can keep renting office space, paying bills, meeting salary requirements, and financing more fights. I can also open an organization that seeks lower the voting age to eighteen months, if that's what I want to do with my time and money. But I can't force a political reality that does not exist. And neither can NOM.
Same goes for someone like Ryan Anderson. Seeing as how he's dedicated the bulk of his post collegiate years to fighting this fight, I understand why he wants this fight to go on and on and on. But while he surely wants to sell more books on the subject and likely enjoys the speaking fees he collects for opining on this issue, he can't force the public to keep having a conversation they don't care to have. And unfortunately for Ryan, the public does seem ready to move on. For one, all credible polling shows marriage equality with majority or near-majority support, and has for the past couple of years, and the demographic trend lines show a support base that will dramatically increase with every passing year. But even among those who might not be all that into marriage equality, the desire to step up and fight against it is really low. I mean, just think about what has happened over the past year alone. We are on the cusp of having a majority of marriage equality states in place, with all married same-sex couples having full federal benefits as well. And yet even in deep red states, you don't see news reports of everyday citizens taking to the streets in anger. It's just not happening. People understand that this is inevitable. Hearts are changing rapidly—but even those hearts that have not yet changed are still ready to move on to other passions.
Then there are the elected officials who keep insisting that they have more options. Well okay, I guess I get why a far-right politician who ran on discrimination would have to keep up appearances. But this is not a situation with limitless options. Every recent legislature that has considered marriage equality has either passed it (MN, IL, HI, etc) or, alternately, has put the kibosh on attempts to ban it in law (IN). The last four states to vote on marriage went pro-equality. And then there are the courts, where all but one major federal ruling out of dozens of decisions has gone in favor of equal marriage rights. Couple that with a US Senate where a bipartisan majority currently stands in support of full legalization, the aforementioned polling, the lack of political will for anti-equality measures, and a Supreme Court that is highly likely to side with same-sex couples if tasked with doing so, and you have an America where the discriminatory politician's fight is not only uphill—it's essentially a ninety degree climb up a thread up a threadbare rope. That is untied at the top. And is imaginary.
But again, it doesn't surprise me that so many within the anti-equality movement are taking such a self-centered view and demanding they will get their way in the end. This is how this movement has always operated. For many of them, it's not even that they refuse to believe that we have pretty much won. Instead, it's that they believe we have no chance of winning. Many of them believe that they were predestined to win this fight. Some believe it's God's will that they get to win, and some just believe that their practical arguments are so sound that Americans will eventually "wise up" and accept them. For virtually everyone who operates in the "pro-family" space, headstrong insistence about their own rightness and/or righteousness is a defining characteristic. Always has been, and I suspect it always will be. Heck, I'd even admire the indefatigable determination, were it not dedicated to such a hurtful and detrimental cause.
A cause they have lost. Whether or not they want to keep staging "culture war" reenactments for decades to come is irrelevant to the facts at hand.