Right state.
I am from kansas, where we just passed a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. I was personally against it, and was willing to toss some money into the battle. A friend of mine who is gay talked me out of it. He said that they considered the battle in kansas to be a lost cause, and to hold onto my money and contribute it to help fight the federal court case that will be coming.
To date, the battle has been fought in state courts because they dealt primarily with state laws. Now that kansas has essentially placed the question of gay marriage outside the reach of Kansas courts and the kansas legislature, it opens the doors to federal courts.
I know that same gays in Kansas are pretty excited about this, and rightly so, given the sucess that the gay community has had in the courts to date. Conservative and liberal jusges alike have ruled on multiple occasions that banning gay marriage is unconstitutional at the state level, and almost always due to clauses worded very much like the equal protection amendment. NOW, they get to argue the case at a federal level and determine whether such restrictions violate the US constitution or not.
I would say that they almost certianly do. I have yet to see a legal expert, much less a judge, mount an effective explanation of how it might not.
Personally, I was raised catholic, and am extremely uncomfortable with the idea of gay marriage. I would prefer that we not have it in this country. That said, it is clear to me that regardless of my personal views, Gays should have thr ight to be married under our constitution and the foundation of jeffersonian democracy which our nation is built on. With that being the case, I plan to do my part to fight for the rights of gays to get married.
I believe it was Thomas Jefferson who sad:
"I may not agree with what you say, but I will fight to the death defending your right to say it" (paraphrased).
That is more or less my attitude on this issue. I personally do not like the idea, but I will do everythign in my power to ensure that homosexuals have the right to get married, adopt kiRAB (or have them..whatever), and have full access to all other rights and privelages that come with being an American. You cannot expect freedom for yourself if you are willing to deprive your fellow man of it.