American Bar Association Urges All States to Allow Gay Marriage

While the boyfriend cynically said that the motivation is that the divorce bar wants to get in on the action in same sex splits (currently such splits are governed by simple contract and property law law), the American Bar Association ("ABA"),at its annual meeting in San Francisco, adopted a resolution today calling upon all states in the USA to allow same sex couples to marry. Whatever the motivation, I applaud the ABA's action and hope that the resolution may perhaps make a few people reconsider their opposition to gay marriage. Obviously, the action will have no impact on the far right Christianists who view homophobia as a cash cow and a means to make themselves feel morally superior to others. The Los Angeles Times has coverage on the ABA action. Here are some highlights:
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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The country's largest lawyers' group has backed a resolution calling on all state legislatures to let same-sex couples get married.
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The American Bar Association voted at its annual meeting Tuesday in San Francisco to support the measure sponsored by the New York State Bar Association. New York State Bar Association President Stephen P. Younger says the resolution passed overwhelmingly, with only one speaker voicing opposition during debate.
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As The American Foundation for Equal Rights (which backed the plaintiffs in Perry v. Schwarzenegger) noted in relevant part as follows to the San Francisco Sentinel,
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By approving a resolution in support of marriage equality, the ABA has confirmed what the federal courts, the state’s chief executive and the state’s chief law enforcement officer have determined in Perry v. Schwarzenegger—that excluding gay men and lesbians from marriage violates their constitutional right to due process and equal protection and causes significant harm to them and their families.