Our Supreme Court punted on hearing the gay marriage cases before it. By not hearing the cases, the court allowed same-sex marriages to be legal in more places. Nineteen states already allow gay marriage; the court's nondecision brings the number to 30.
By letting lower court decisions stand, the Supremes exercised a pocket veto on those who are dead set against same-sex marriage. It was the right decision. The court, like the rest of sensible Americans, handled homosexuality in time-honored fashion -- by knowing it goes on and blissfully looking the other way.
Like the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education school desegregation case, it is clear where our nation is heading on same-sex marriage. Yet the court left unsettled how long it will take us to get there -- also a good idea.
When government tries to regulate anything, it creates a mess. Gay marriage is the most unnecessarily divisive issue in America, pitting the personal religious beliefs of some people against the freedom of individuals to do as they please.
Neither government nor citizens should waste time and energy trying to keep two loving, consenting, committed people from a public acknowledgment of their union. If we were to have a law barring a subset of our country from marrying, it should be directed squarely at the Kardashians.
Are a couple of lady gym teachers with three cats and a joint checking account really a threat? Are two guys living in a once-blighted neighborhood that becomes gentrified with fixed-up homes and where, before you know it, bistros and bakeries pop up, a problem? How is that damaging to America?
This is not our country's problem. Growing government, and the resulting lack of freedom, are.
Both political parties are studies in hypocrisy. Obama wants everyone to provide proof of health insurance that he deems acceptable, but he thinks no one should have to prove he or she is in our country legally or is entitled to vote. Some Republicans believe in "limited government," except when it comes to wars of choice, data mining, reproductive choice and whom you marry.
Neither side seems able to recognize the vast difference between governing and meddling. The fundamental right to be left alone, as long as you do not hurt others, is vital to a free human existence.
Your beliefs and your religion are private. If you or your religion do not like gay marriage, don't get gay married. ISIS shows us where strictly enforced, antiquated religious dogma, left to interpretation, gets us.
Even the pope equivocated and tacitly said to lighten up on society's disdain for gays, thus making the papacy and the Catholic Church more open and tolerant of gays than rap music is or candidate Obama was. Until recently, Obama opposed gay marriage; you can read about it in his upcoming 10th autobiography, "Profiles in Political Expediency."
Some in the GOP seem to think that, but for their vigilance, everyone in America might run off and get all gay married. News flash: Just as many conservatives as liberals test positive for appletinis. Usually, you only discover which Republican politicians are gay when there is a sting operation at an airport bathroom or a truck stop.
Hey, Republicans, remember Ronald Reagan's reminder that your party needs a "big tent."
To be fair, the GOP seems to have gotten the message, at least until its presidential contenders go to the Iowa and South Carolina primaries and go on record trying to out-anti-gay-marriage and out-anti-abortion each other for the evangelical votes needed to win. We laugh at Iran, where a few extremist mullahs pick their leaders. I am not sure how the Iowa GOP primary differs.
Ron Hart is a syndicated op-ed humorist. Email him at Ron@RonaldHart.com.