Referendum 74 Passes

Referendum 74, permitting gay marriage in Washington state, has passed. It’s nice to know that 52% of my fellow Washingtonians aren’t bigots.

And, yes: I believe that if you’re against gay marriage, you’re a bigot.¹ At the very least, you’re prejudiced and fearful. Now, nobody’s perfect, and the reasons for our personal prejudices can be quite complex. So: if you’re against gay marriage, you’re wrong, but I can forgive you.

On the other hand, if you organize a coalition against gay marriage — if you actively rally people to deny the civil rights of others — well, then you’re straight fucking evil. Such evil I can’t forgive.

[1] This is obviously inflammatory, but that’s intentional. If you don’t know me, you might think it is also ad hominem. However, if you do know me, you know that I’ve spent serious time examining many common arguments against gay marriage. I find them all wanting. With one exception, I’ve concluded that most interesting arguments against gay marriage rest on hidden assumptions about (un)shared cultural values. The one exception is the extreme libertarian position that argues against all state-sponsored marriage, not just gay marriage. While I understand the appeal of this position, I find it unworkable in practice. At least it’s not bigoted, though.