David Frum - I Was Wrong About Same-Sex Marriage

David Frum (pictured at right), a conservative commentator and sometimes lone voice of reason in contrast to the anti-gay GOP party line, has written another column that is available both on his blog, FrumForum, and CNN which will no doubt cause convulsions and flying spittle amongst the Bible beater set. In the column, Frum recants his one time opposition to same sex marriage and states that "the case against same-sex marriage has been tested against reality" and that "the case has not passed its test." Frum also states that he believe that within the next ten years all "blue states" will legalize gay marriage. No doubt the haters of the GOP base will again label Frum an apostate, but I believe that he is correct - indeed the opponents of marriage equality will one day look as horrific to future generations as the vilest of segregationists from a half century ago. Here are some highlights:
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I was a strong opponent of same-sex marriage. Fourteen years ago, Andrew Sullivan and I forcefully debated the issue at length online (at a time when online debate was a brand new thing).Yet I find myself strangely untroubled by New York state's vote to authorize same-sex marriage -- a vote that probably signals that most of "blue" states will follow within the next 10 years.
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I don't think I'm alone in my reaction either. Most conservatives have reacted with calm -- if not outright approval -- to New York's dramatic decision. Why? The short answer is that the case against same-sex marriage has been tested against reality. The case has not passed its test.
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Since 1997, same-sex marriage has evolved from talk to fact. If people like me had been right, we should have seen the American family become radically more unstable over the subsequent decade and a half. Instead -- while American family stability has continued to deteriorate -- it has deteriorated much more slowly than it did in the 1970s and 1980s before same-sex marriage was ever seriously thought of.
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By the numbers, in fact, the 2000s were the least bad decade for American family stability since the fabled 1950s. And when you take a closer look at the American family, the facts have become even tougher for the anti-gay marriage position. Middle-class families have become somewhat more stable than they used to be.
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By coincidence, I am writing these words on the morning of my own 23rd wedding anniversary. Of all the blessings life has to offer, none equals a happy marriage. If proportionally fewer Americans enjoy that blessing today than did 40 years ago, we're going to have to look for the explanation somewhere other than the Legislature in Albany.