The Highest Happiness on Earth is Marriage

Tomorrow, our country will vote for our next President, hundreds of members of Congress, thousands of state and local officials, and numerous ballot initiatives. For the wedding industry and the Certified Wedding Planner, propositions in Arizona, California, and Florida are drawing attention almost on par with the national election. In each of these three states, voters will decide whether or not to ban same-sex marriage.

As same-sex couples rush to the altar in the hotly contested California ballot race, commercials for and against Proposition 8 are airing multiple times each hour. Since the California Supreme Court decision in June 2008 that legalized gay-marriage, thousands of couples, including celebrities, have tied the knot. In the meantime, arguments for the societal benefits of traditional marriage versus equality for all have continued to be waged. In many cases the contest has become vitriolic.

William Lyon Phelps, early 20th century American author, scholar, and ordained minister, wrote that “the highest happiness on Earth is marriage”. In the view of opponents of same-sex marriage, their efforts are nothing short of heroic protection of marriage in the face of a threat to that happiness. For proponents of gay marriage, the fight is against discrimination and the right of everyone to pursue their personal happiness.

While recent polls have tightened to the point of a statistical tie, the battle is being fought on the Internet, at city halls, in churches, internationally, in homes, in labor unions, in schools, in political parties, and in movie productions. In an election where economic, foreign policy, health care, and energy concerns compete for our collective attention, the war over our subjective marital happiness will inevitably continue after tomorrow’s votes are tallied. Both sides of the issue are counting on your support to either protect marriage or protect equality.

For the Certified Wedding Planner, depending on your viewpoint, a defeat for Proposition 8 will either increase your business opportunities or someone else’s. To some, victory for the measure will protect their happiness by denying it to others. When deciding your position, perhaps another quote by Phelps, highlighted in the 1001 Smartest Things Ever Said, in need of slight paraphrasing for the 21st century, can be of some guidance:

"This is the first test of a gentleman: his respect for those who can be of no possible value to him."

Please remember to vote.

Connecticut Joins California and Massachusetts in Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage

Same-sex marriage has been legalized by the Connecticut Supreme Court. As with earlier rulings, the decision was split, 4-3, reflecting the ongoing battle between the forces pushing to allow gay couples the right to marry and the forces pushing to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

Connecticut joins California and Massachusetts as the only states where same-sex marriage is legal. Even so, next month’s elections feature votes in California, Florida, and Arizona on state constitutional amendments that would define marriage as only between a man and a woman and thereby make same-sex marriages illegal.

At the same time gay marriage was being legalized in another American state, a similar measure was reportedly rejected in Portugal and accepted in Ecuador. While the issue of gay marriage rights isn’t holding the same prominence in headlines as in past election seasons, it continues to be a hot button issue around the world for those most affected by its competing resolutions.

For the Certified Wedding Planner, the decision in Connecticut, as did similar rulings in California and Massachusetts, will most likely lead to an upswing in business with gay couples wanting to celebrate their unions and make their commitment to each other official.