Tilting At Some Windmills

Trey Smith

As I have pointed out repeatedly, I am not casting votes for ANY candidates in this election. (You can't cajole me to change my mind because my mail-in ballot already is filled out and sealed.) If it were not for several initiatives, I would have thrown my ballot in the recycle bin!

There are two measures on the ballot here in Washington state that I voted in favor of, though I don't believe either of them will pass. One has to do with legalizing marijuana and the other legalizes same-sex marriage. While the first one would provide a great economic boost to the state coffers, I simply don't think the majority will go along with it. In fact, I will be pleasantly surprised if marijuana is legalized in this state during my lifetime.

I don't think the same-sex marriage initiative will pass this year either, but I do see the day coming -- possibly during my lifetime -- when it will no longer be a controversial issue for the majority of citizens. Recent polls have indicated that young people from all walks of life are much more open to same-sex marriage than previous generations. As the old conservative farts die off, legislatures and voters will begin to approve such laws in quick order.

Issues concerning homosexuality used to represent a distinct dividing line between Democrats and Republicans, but no more. The backers of our same-sex marriage ballot initiative have been running ads in which a few Republican leaders have come out publicly IN FAVOR of it.

Even conservative judges are beginning to notice the writing on the wall.

Equality moved a step closer for gays and lesbians on Thursday when a conservative judge ruled in favor of same-sex marriage.

Judge Dennis Jacobs is the chief judge of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

George Bush I appointed him, and Jacobs is known as one of the most conservative judges on the court.

The case involved the lesbian couple, Edith Windsor and Thea Spyer, who had been together for forty-four years and who married in Toronto in 2007. When Spyer died two years later, Windsor had to shell out $300,000 in estate taxes that she would not have owed if her spouse had been a man.

Judge Jacobs ruled that this discrimination was unconstitutional because it violated the equal protection clause.

Jacobs also ruled that laws that discriminate against gays and lesbians require “heightened scrutiny” to pass muster.

In this case, the law against same-sex marriage did not clear that hurdle because the ban was “not related to an important government interest.”

With developments like this afoot, same-sex marriage will become the law of the land sooner as opposed to later. Now that's something to celebrate.