"The times, they are a-changing . . . "

Never thought I would see the day when:

1.  Six states (MA, IA, CT, NH, VT, NY) and the city of Dictrict of Columbia have legalized same-sex marriage.   It's quite likely that soon WA, CA, NJ, DE, MD, and possibly ME will be added to the list.

2.  The repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell was championed by the president and the top military chiefs, and the service branches have all said that it's working out fine without any big problems.  And it happened in New York because Gov. Andrew Cuomo exerted vigorous leadership to make it happen -- and because several key Republicans rethought their positions and voted for the law.   One of them spoke eloquently about his prior opposition and changing his view after researching it as a lawyer and seeing that he could not come up with a single rational argument against marriage equality.

3.  The president and his attorney general are refusing to mount a court defense of the Defense of Marriage Act in court, declaring that parts of it are unconstitutional.  There is also serious talk in Congress of repeal.

4.  The governor of Washington actually introduced a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in that state, and there are clear majorities in both houses favoring it.  Gov. Gregorie says she wishes she had supported marriage equality earlier, but it has been a journey that she had to go through, especially in reconciling her Catholic teachings.

5.  There are reportedly sufficient votes now to pass a law in the New Jersey legislature.  Gov. Chris Christie says he will veto it, because it should be left up to the voters to decide, not the legislature.   Gov. Gregorie of Washington has criticized him for this position.  We don't put human rights up for a popular vote.

6.  The Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki Mopon, has called on African nations to "stop treating homosexuals like second class citizens."

What comes through in most of these changes is that people are really thinking and changing their positions based on a re-examination of their past assumptions.  It's not just a shift of political power, or the waning of right-wing and conservative religious opposition.

It's also partly the changing social mores, especially among the younger generation.  Another major factor is that, more and more, people are coming out and giving others the opportunity of personally knowing a gay or lesbian person.  For example:   Gen. Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who so obviously supported the repeal of DADT personally, has a gay son.  It changes things when stereotypes are measured against real life people who do not fit those preconceptions.

Ralph