if the SCOTUS holds gay marriage to be a constitutional right

[morgieb]

Did issues for racial minorities end with Loving?

I think it did legally, tbh.

[bedstuy]

can we finally be done with LGBT activism?

No, there are some areas of this country which will treat them cruelly and will try to find ways to deny them the right to marry.

Try every area of the country.  We have a long way to go to treat gay people fairly as a society. 

[The Mikado]

Again, until ENDA passes, there's still de jure discrimination in hiring in a great many parts of the country, as you can literally give "you're gay" as a rationale for firing someone in a great many jurisdictions.  It's the natural follow-up to gay marriage.

[Torie]

It's interesting to note that the only states Mittens carried are cast in orange hues.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Again, until ENDA passes, there's still de jure discrimination in hiring in a great many parts of the country, as you can literally give "you're gay" as a rationale for firing someone in a great many jurisdictions.  It's the natural follow-up to gay marriage.

Why is most of the Northeast OK with gender discrimination while opposing sexual orientation discrimination?

[Benj]

Again, until ENDA passes, there's still de jure discrimination in hiring in a great many parts of the country, as you can literally give "you're gay" as a rationale for firing someone in a great many jurisdictions.  It's the natural follow-up to gay marriage.

Why is most of the Northeast OK with gender discrimination while opposing sexual orientation discrimination?

Generally, their anti-discrimination laws are older and haven't been updated. Trans* rights pretty much never get acknowledged separately, so if sexual orientation discrimination laws were enacted ages ago when gender identity discrimination was ignored, it's unlikely to get new protections enacted now due to legislative inertia. Especially since, while most state legislatures have at least one gay member to push things along, there are no trans* people elected to any state-level office in the United States.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Well, I guess it's high time.

[Benj]

Well, I guess it's high time.

Another point: Much discrimination against trans* people has actually been fairly consistently ruled by the federal appeals courts (though not by the Supreme Court) to be covered under federal anti-discrimination laws and the 14th Amendment already as gender discrimination on the basis of gender stereotypes (while the Supreme Court has explicitly rejected the use of gender discrimination to cover sexual orientation). So, in some theoretical ways, trans* people are more protected by law. I don't know if that actually affects anything on legislative outcomes, but it might.

See, e.g., http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_v._Brumby

[opebo]

But I'm not attracted to effeminate men.

                        ^^^^^^!

Guys, this means you are gaymen.  Pretty much every gay man I've met likes masculine men (even if many of them are not very masculine).  

For those of us who occasionally enjoy the ultimate 'effeminate man' - a Thai ladyboy - its just another aspect of heterosexuality, in a way.

[badgate]

I love that that map shows Alaska realistically

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Again, until ENDA passes, there's still de jure discrimination in hiring in a great many parts of the country, as you can literally give "you're gay" as a rationale for firing someone in a great many jurisdictions.  It's the natural follow-up to gay marriage.

Why is most of the Northeast OK with gender discrimination while opposing sexual orientation discrimination?

Pretty much what Benj said. It's a function of when the laws were passed. Trans* issues were much less visible, say, ten years ago than five years ago.

[Torie]

But I'm not attracted to effeminate men.

                        ^^^^^^!

Guys, this means you are gaymen.  Pretty much every gay man I've met likes masculine men (even if many of them are not very masculine).  

For those of us who occasionally enjoy the ultimate 'effeminate man' - a Thai ladyboy - its just another aspect of heterosexuality, in a way.

Thanks for stating the obvious. As to your possible implication as to just how masculine I am, you know what, I don't give a damn. Thanks.

[MyRescueKittehRocks]

Expect massive SoCon backlash and removal for bad behavior of any justice who supports gay marriage. You thought there was backlash over abortion... that's nothing compared to what they'll do short of violence. Also you'd see this thing called nullification mutate into something I don't think anyone wants to see.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Expect massive SoCon backlash and removal for bad behavior of any justice who supports gay marriage. You thought there was backlash over abortion... that's nothing compared to what they'll do short of violence. Also you'd see this thing called nullification mutate into something I don't think anyone wants to see.

There's nothing more gratifying than watching a bigot freak out at the irresistible march of history.

[TJ in Oregon]

If the Supreme Court holds gay marriage to be a constitutional right, I will accept that as the law of the land. I will never personally believe in gay marriage, but I think comparing this to Roe v Wade would be ridiculous. It doesn't make sense from a moral or logical perspective to compare sex acts, though sinful, between consenting adults to killing unborn children. From a practical standpoint, only a small fraction of the population has any desire to have a same-sex marriage anyway, so why go all-out to stop that in neglect of every other issue? It's not like our strategy of refusing same-sex marriages is working particularly well at saving people from committing that sin. If we're interested in saving people from sexual sin, really if anything, we should be thinking about pornography usage withing Christianity (not trying to ban it; that won't work, but maybe actually discussing it once for a change?). A whole lot more people do that than sodomy. Of course, all of this still pales in gravity compared to abortion. That's my personal two cents anyway.

I suspect if the Supreme Court were to hold gay marriage as a constitutional right, the narrative on this right would be less about gay marriage and more about judicial activism. Quite a few gay marriage supporters I know don't even want the court to do that.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Expect massive SoCon backlash and removal for bad behavior of any justice who supports gay marriage. You thought there was backlash over abortion... that's nothing compared to what they'll do short of violence. Also you'd see this thing called nullification mutate into something I don't think anyone wants to see.

There's nothing more gratifying than watching a bigot freak out at the irresistible march of history.

To be fair, there's something to be said for JCL's suggestion that there will be a major SoCon backlash. A solid 70-75% of the country will accept the decision, even if they don't like it. The other 25% will throw a tantrum like we've never seen before.

For them, this isn't just about gay marriage, it's about their way of life. A foreign culture is imposing its will on their own culture. When gay marriage is legalized, the drumbeat of secession will get even louder. And in the 35-40 "sane" states, Republicans will fall even lower in public opinion.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Oh, I agree. Actually, I said before that I don't support the SCOTUS making a ruling that imposes gay marriage to States that don't have it (both for backlash concerns and because I'm not fond of this kind of judicial de-facto lawmaking). But it's still hilarious to see JCL's reaction.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

No

Looks like there are still some equality issues for gays in Iowa despite gay marriage.