Marital Strife - A couple pieces on less happy side of gay marriage. First up, the AP revisits how the issue of gay marriage has driven a wedge in the Knight family, as the father whose name was synonymous with the California defense of marriage initiative refuses to comment on the fact that his gay son was one half of a couple married last month in San Francisco. This isn't new news, but it is a reminder that many of the strongest voices against gay marriage and gay rights have a close relative who is homosexual.

Secondly, the WaPo looks to promote gay marriage though a look at gay divorce. The point is that the breakup of any marriage, even a gay marriage, is when the legal structure, guidance and protection of the institution of civil marriage is needed most. Without a partnership contract, when the union dissolved, the couple was on their own to divide their belongings and property. Is this sort of legal arrangement something you have some knowledge about, John? ;-) And that's probably a LOT of property and goods...after all, Forbes estimates that legalizing same-sex marriages would mean a windfall of approximately $16.8 billion for the wedding industry.

The final gay marriage story is about a protest of Catholics marching through the San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood this weekend. It was a relatively small, quiet protest, but the quotation that came from a ten-year-old boy who participated in the march with his parents seemed especially interesting to me:

Marchers Brian and Elizabeth Hockel of Walnut Creek brought their eight children along, including two in a baby stroller. Ten-year-old John Hockel said he was proud to march with his family. 'There shouldn't be same-sex marriages because it's impossible,' John said. 'I mean, how could they have children without someone else coming in and helping?

Impossible, indeed. So, wait, if someone else DID come in and help out with having children, should gays then be allowed to marry, young Mr. Hockel?

JOHN RESPONDS: In counterpoint to the sad end to the Schwandt-Fortunato nuptuals, here's an uplifting story about a bi-national couple who wed in 1975 and pursued a claim of legal recognition all the way to the Ninth Circuit. (They were contesting the deportation of the foreign partner.) Although they lost their court case, they are still together almost 30 years later. (Not to mention living in the United States, despite the legal outcome.) Wish there were more stories like this one.