[Magdalen] Please help me understand

[Jim Guthrie]

> WHOA!
>
> And my baloney's first name is O-s-c-a-r.
>
I should hasten to add that the number of states that have done same-sex 
marriage legislatively is small -- maybe fewer than considered or lifted 
abortion restrictions.

Only a few states okayed SSM legislatively -- same as abortion rights. The rest 
have been done by judges -- Iowa and New Jersey by state judges, but I believe 
the rest by Federal judges relying on the Windsor decision.

It should be noted that modern marriage in the US **as we know it** is strongly 
influenced by financial considerations -- tax deductions, benefits (or loss of), 
housing, inheritance and the rest, often based on Ozzie and Harriet visions of 
family structure. The 800 lb gorilla in the room is that just over 50% of 
households with children are now single parent, and the numbers of people 
remaining single continue to increase, so SSM is only small potatoes in the big 
picture of what will be the next big Civil Rights issue.

Cheers,
Jim Guthrie