A holy impatience: Supreme Court must right a great wrong on marriage

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review state and federal legislation that currently limits the fundamental right to marry to heterosexuals. The court now has the opportunity to overturn these laws, and right a great wrong on discrimination because of sexual orientation. Dramatic successes for marriage equality in the 2012 elections demonstrate how fast attitudes have been changing about marriage equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans. This success is due to both demographic changes and changes in societal attitudes toward being gay. There is an argument to be made that there has been a need for cultural as well as religious momentum. As more and more faith groups support marriage equality today, for example, support for discrimination on marriage because of sexual orientation declines.Practically speaking, these cultural and religious changes have been necessary. But from the perspective of what can be called “political holiness,” it is long past time for this wrong to be righted. Indeed, there is no argument from the standpoint of the “holy,” that is, from the standpoint of God’s justice over against human justice, that can ever justify discrimination against any human being or group merely for who they are.