Far East Bay - In today's San Francisco Chronicle, we hear from residents of the East Bay community of Oakley on their feelings about gay marriage. There is a mixture of opinions expressed, but it seems the intent of the article is to remind San Francisco readers that not everyone in the Bay Area shares their progressive views.

Some of the quotes in this piece are priceless, especially from Carol Oliviera. My intention is not so much to blast this woman's opinion as it is to blast her for being uncreative. The 60-year-old said "God said it is between Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve," which "cracked up the women sitting around the table, her weekly bowling partners." Such clever bumper sticker sayings don't really do a lot to engage in a meaningful conversation, do they? Come on, if you're going to make gay jokes, at least be a little more original. But clearly the joke was amusing enough to this crowd. It would be wrong of me to stereotype the kind of women of a certain age who bowl, but couldn't the Chron have found anymore more articulate to support the point of view in favor of the Amendment? I also fault the Chron for repeatedly relying on mentions of people wearing crosses as a means of encapsulating and representing their entire beliefs system.

The article closes with the reporter talking to two construction workers about the amendment issue. While the men had two different points of view, they agreed on one thing: "Their co-workers at the construction site aren't debating same-sex marriage at all. Ever. 'Nah,' said Smith. 'It's pretty much a San Francisco thing.'" It's critical to note that these words aren't coming from someone in Jefferson County, Kansas...they're coming from someone who lives within driving distance of San Francisco. However, the construction worker clearly feels a world away from the events transpiring one county (and a bay) over.

This reaction that gay marriage is a "San Francisco thing" makes me wonder if we should be afraid of the fact that fatigue is already starting to set in. Should we be optimistic that voters have other, more pressing matters on their mind and can't be bothered to expend much energy on caring about gay marriage? Or will people become so incensed that gay marriage feels like the only thing they ever hear about that they support the amendment just to make the discussion go away?