My take on the recent gay marriage bill in New York

APOLOGIA AND/OR RANT: I am a Marxist and will likely stay one in the foreseeable future. I am also a fervent supporter of the LBGT movement. If you do not like either of these positions, tough. For those who would like to discuss gay marriage here, welcome! This is my first blog post and I wanted to try and make it elaborate. I will not pretend that I have thought everything out yet. What follows is my impressions and conclusion from reading articles on the subject. I have only referenced two because they are the most obvious to my case. Enjoy.--In order to understand the limitations of the gay marriage bill in New York state, it is appropriate to appreciate the social and political context it was created in. The United States is, and has been entering a profound crisis that is, at its root, embedded in the capitalist system upon which it stands. The common refrain of the bourgeoisie and their apologists is typical. "There's no money." "We need to make sacrifices." One gets a sense that the media, while denouncing and vilifying communism on the one hand, demands that the masses make "collective" efforts to give up what little restitution they have left, on the other. What is the result? The political power of the American proletariat has been gutted by the leadership of the union bureaucracy, in conjunction with the speculators of Wall Street. Obama's entire withdrawal "plan" will leave 68,000 US troops inside the impoverished, war-torn country into 2011--roughly double the number of US soldiers and Marines who were deployed there when the so-called Democratic president took office at the beginning of 2009. The dirty and illegal colonial war has gone on now for eight years. The masses are disgruntled by Obama's capitulation to the policies of his predecessor. The right wing responds by seeking to capture and seduce them by appealing to their weaknesses and their anger. The greed of the bourgeoisie and the war effort have nearly bled the American masses white. A social explosion may be close at hand.To have positive news of social progression in the US, then--any at all--can be seen as a nearly humbug effort. But then the events at the New York Senate seems to flash a gleam of hope. Perhaps not all is lost, even in these harrowing times? Unfortunately, not yet. The celebrations, however positive and justified, are premature. A closer examination of articles on the subject reveals a troubling paragraph: <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2011/06/24/2011-06-24_gay_marriage_legal_in_new_york_state_after_senate_passes_historic_bill_.html" target="_blank">http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2...oric_bill_.html</a><!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->The decision [to legalize gay marriage] also came after Cuomo and legislative leaders agreed on language to ensure that religious groups cannot be sued if they refuse to cater to gay couples.It would also block the state from penalizing, discriminating against or denying benefits to religious groups. They would not be stripped of their tax-exempt status or their property tax breaks.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->In other words, churches would no be under any obligation to administer marriages. This is the worst part, to be found in this article: <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/57749_Page2.html" target="_blank">http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/57749_Page2.html</a><!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Cuomo, the assembly&#8217;s majority Democrats and state senate Republicans agreed to the exemptions Friday afternoon. The key sticking point was a clause that throws out the entire bill if any part of it is voided in the courts.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->This is worse than a flaw. It is my opinion that this is a fatal, <i>Faustian bargain</i> with organized religion. Gays gain the "legal" right to marriage and are basically prohibited from pursuing any religious opposition that may arise through the courts. The bill will be thrown out if the courts take the side of the homosexuals. This is not to mention that their marriages can only transcend boundaries in five other states. In the broad context, the bill is nearly worthless.But this conclusion does not permit pessimism for me, contrary to those who may interpret it that way. Nor does it invalidate the struggle for gay marriage. Gay marriage may eventually be passed under capitalism, but full, <i>human</i> equality in this matter and others <i>cannot be realized while capitalism survives</i>. The bourgeoisie is by and large hostile toward the LBGT movement. They are incapable of satisfying the demands for civil rights and social equality since its existence allows their hegemonic rule. Gay marriage cannot, in the end, be realized through legislation. It must be <i>taken</i> by the class conscious proletariat utilizing the means that the bourgeoisie will likely force them into: Large-scale civil war.