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Debate continues as homosexuals marry legally, but quietly
It's impossible to miss the fact that Massachusetts today is allowing same-sex marriages. Even more impossible is to round up the thousands of articles related to the action. Angles abound: the attempts and consequences of non-resident marriages, looming decisions of neighboring states on whether to recognize the marriages, effects the ceremonies will have on the presidential campaign and the effort to pass a federal marriage amendment, and how the debate now changes.

There are many good sites to read about all of these issues. If you're interested in the subject, make sure you bookmark the MarriageDebate.com blog, by Maggie Gallagher and Eve Tushnet.

For now, Weblog is most interested in the response of the Christian community (or, rather, the Christian community that has an orthodox understanding of marriage). Several news outlets report today that religious opponents of gay marriage will in large part protest the ceremonies in silence. Or a kind of silence: Expect press releases, but not demonstrations.

"The main opponents of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts, most of them conservative Christians, said they planned to keep quiet and stay out of the way as gay people began celebrating their first marriages, in part to distance themselves from any unseemly or violent protests that might take place," The New York Times reports today.

The same was true at church services yesterday, says The Boston Globe: "At some services, clergy didn't mention the same-sex marriage debate. …   And those who did used relatively quiet rhetoric."

Union Baptist Church pastor Jeffrey Brown told his congregation not to join protests today that could become violent or inflammatory. "Regardless of how you feel about this issue, those kinds of groups I want you to stay far away from," he said. "This is not a way to react. … We ought to pray there be civility and some measure of sense in the midst of all this."

Other opponents of gay marriage are spending extra time today making sure that those who oppose same-sex marriage focus on the nature of marriage rather than criticize specific homosexuals.

"Our sadness at what has happened should not lead us into anger against or vilification of any group of people, especially our homosexual brothers and sisters," Sean P. O'Malley, Boston's Roman Catholic archbishop said.

It's an important statement to make since threats to biblical values don't just come from one community, says Massachusetts Family Institute acting president Kristian Mineau. "It is a cultural war, and tragically there are those on both sides of the issue that have very hostile and militant attitudes," he told The New York Times. "I am concerned about some of the groups — the antigay groups, the homophobic groups — that discredit who we are. We want there to be a positive backlash, that people will work through the legislative process."

But some of today's quietness is from confusion over what exactly working through the legislative process will mean, says the Globe. "At this stage of the game, we don't know what to do," explained Troy Goode, associate pastor of New Covenant Christian Church (the largest Protestant congregation in Massachusetts). "We've done all we know how to do, and now it's in the Lord's hands."

But activists like Matt Daniels of the Alliance for Marriage say there is more to do. He'll have a press conference today laying out the movement's next steps. Likewise, expect Christian profamily groups to comment throughout the next few days on how best to defend marriage. Still, the message that seems to be emerging so far is that defenders of marriage need to spend more time explaining what marriage is for, and less time on what's wrong with homosexuality.

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May (Web-only) 2004, Vol. 48