it’s the Supreme Court’s further drift to the Far Right under a McCain administration (or, Heaven forbid, a PALIN administration) that concerns me the most.

Translation: Actually FOLLOWING the Constitution = “drifting to the Far Right”

It sounds to me like the change Obama favors involves a rather substantial lowering of the American standard of living.

Marriage is not an individual right. It is a social contract that must prove a benefit to the society as contractual grantor. There is nothing preventing you from engaging in a private ceremony declaring your commitment; the state will not make your relationship more committed and more loving, nor will the absence of state validaton detract from it nor of any indirect communal benefit.

The essential question is: Are there certain unique qualities specific to a traditional heterosexual marriage that should be legally upheld as an ideal, thereby performing an irreplaceable service to the social goal of stability separate from other types of relationships? I say yes.

The gigantic elephant in the room that everyone would prefer not to discuss is the future of full inclusion, including marriage equality, for LGBT Americans. The Religious Right knows this; for them, making marriage off-limits to Gay Americans once and for all is the most important thing in the world right now. The fact that Sarah Palin favors an amendment that would forever ERASE Gay couples from the Constitution is reason enough for me to despise her. As for those like John McCain who believe that the issue of marriage is best left up to the states, it’s important to remember that the federal government has a vested interest in married couples for the purposes of income taxes and Social Security benefits. From the fed’s point of view, it wouldn’t do for a couple to be considered married in one state, then magically “UN-married” once they decide to move somewhere else.

The fact remains that the term “marriage” does not occur in the Constitution of the United States. There is technically no “right” for any couple, Gay or Straight, to get married, at least from the federal government’s standpoint. And that is why, ultimately, the Supreme Court will have to address the issue of what constitutes a marriage, much as I’m sure they would prefer NOT to. All the more reason why Barack Obama must be the one making the next few SCOTUS nominations. It’s an issue that cuts straight to my heart as a Gay American. And I’m surprised it doesn’t seem quite so important to you.

Last week in Columbia, Missouri, Barack Obama said, “we are five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America,“

And what is so wrong with America that it requires change? Nothing. America is fine, it’s Washington that needs reform. And damn McCain to Hell for not making this distinction the focal point of his campaign.