In light of Tuesday’s landmark decision by the California Supreme Court, I am reminded of a comment by a female friend who once had this to say on gay marriage: “Why should straights be the only ones to suffer?”

Apparently California gays will be allowed to suffer matrimony first hand, now that the state’s appeals court decision to declare the hotly contested Proposition 8 as unconstitutional—a decision that has already been marked for appeal by gay marriage opponents.

Proposition 8 is the referendum that passed by a narrow margin in November 2008. The referendum took away the right for gays to marry – a right given to them by the California Supreme Court earlier in the year.

I am understand the opposition to gay marriage, but when GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich tweets that it is “another example of an out of control judiciary,” I have to take offense. After all, Newt is on his third marriage and his track record has been fodder for both the press and his GOP opponents. How disappointing that he’s had three and will not allow gays one.

Mitt Romney also opposed the decision. In a statement released by his camp, he said that he would “protect traditional marriage and appoint judges who interpret the Constitution as it is written and not according to their own politics and
prejudices.”

In a quick reply tweeted by Obama’s campaign press secretary, Ben LaBolt, Romney was reminded that he said he’d “do more for gay rights than Sen. [Edward] Kennedy.” His outright opposition to the effort to level the marriage equality playing field is at odds with this statement.

Rick Santorum also tweeted his opposition to the decision, stating that “7M Californians had their rights stripped away today by activist 9th Circuit judges.” What Santorum fails to realize is that there were 18,000 married couples that had their rights threatened by those seven million.

Ultimately, this will end up in the U.S. Supreme Court, because groups opposing marriage equality have already stated they will appeal. Certainly they have that right, but one thought I have to propose: When do the gays get to vote on their marriage?

Marriage has come a long way. We have moved away from the days when arranged marriages were the norm.

We have moved even further from the days where blacks and whites were not allowed to
marry.

No matter on which side of the marriage fence you sit, the California Supreme Court is telling us that you cannot give people rights and then take them away, simply at the whim of the masses.

Unless we go back to the archaic ways of thinking on marriage, it’s time to realize that the future is here and it’s covered in rainbow weddings.