A Missed Opportunity on Gay Marriage for the Religious

I've been reading civil rights/equal protection among races Supreme Court opinions and discussions of those opinions for a decent portion of my day, and it strikes me: there are lots of times when the Court took a position that only one person really supported, because the majority side couldn't get a majority without them. Here I am thinking of the deal Chief Justice Warren made for gradual desegregation so as to get a unanimous Court.

Gay marriage is going to happen, if not everywhere right now. This bothers lots of religious people; not me. I'm made hopeful by seeing young people fight to extend marriage to everyone. But I feel too often like it's put only into rights language, that the rights that come from marriage and the right to marry is all that matters. If some religious people were willing to be the kingmakers for the pro-gay marriage side, we could get a lot of rhetoric out there about the value of openly committing yourself to a stable, monogamous relationship in the public sphere, and maybe even the value of sanctifying a sexual relationship rather than embracing an ideal of free love.

But no one wanted to make that deal. No one was willing to accept gays to put those lessons right next to social justice for children. And now the gay marriage debate is going to be ended by the next generation, who very well may end up viewing it as an important break with our religious traditions as opposed to their fulfillment.

Edit: Judge overturns Florida ban on adoption by gays. Thank you, God. How dare someone call themselves pro-life and vote for that.