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  Wedding shots deepen gay-marriage divide
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ContributorGerald Farinas 
Last EditedGerald Farinas  Feb 27, 2004 11:54pm
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CategoryNews
MediaNewspaper - Christian Science Monitor
News DateFriday, February 27, 2004 06:00:00 AM UTC0:0
DescriptionWedding shots deepen gay-marriage divide
The Christian Science Monitor

Marriage ceremonies have put a human face on an abstract issue, bolstering support and opposition.

Some say all the talk of "gay marriage" has made the term less dissonant, scattering it through the public consciousness so that it grows familiar, if not popular. San Francisco's move has sparked spontaneous support from far-flung places - Australians sending flowers to couples at City Hall; a Minnesota church mailing cards; a message from Atlanta reading "Straight, but not narrow-minded."

Tolerance of gays and lesbians, even civil unions, has unquestionably grown fast in recent years: 45 percent of Americans now support civil unions, according an ABC News/Washington Post poll. But often, it's tempered by caveats like Mr. Kenney's: "As long as they don't flaunt it," say many, or "what people do - in private - is their own business."

Even within the gay-rights movement, there's no consensus that wedding fever is a good thing, particularly San Francisco's civil-disobedience approach. Rep. Barney Frank (D) of Massachusetts, one of three openly gay members of Congress, has suggested San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom may be undermining Massachusetts' more deliberate legal approach. California Sen. Barbara Boxer (D), a vocal supporter of gay rights, has also said she disagrees with the mayor.

It's unclear what San Francisco's 3,000-plus marriage certificates will ultimately mean. But historically, local change is often a necessary precursor to state-level change, says Jenny Pizer, a senior staff attorney at Lambda Legal's western office.
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