Predictably, RWS™ are aghast. It's tyranny. TYRANNY!!
It's a perfect lens through which to view the current state of conservatism, as manifested in teabaggRs: when anything happens with which they disagree, for whatever reason, no matter what it is or how it happened, it's tyranny. It's evil. So it has been since the election of that black guy. Not to get their way, in a democracy, is the same as living in North Korea. Seriously. That's how they see it. (I do recognize the relatively lonely voice of reason among today's conservatives. It's just that they have virtually no influence over what constitutes the Republican party any more.)
Okay, let's think for a minute. If straight people were forced to marry someone of the same sex, that would be tyranny. If only gay marriage were allowed, if churches were forced to allow gay marriages, that would be tyranny. And, by golly, by the same reasoning, when gay couples are prevented by the state from marrying, that's tyranny, too.
But when duly elected representatives, after years of public debate, pass a law which broadens freedom and which has no effect whatsoever on anyone not previously prevented from enjoying that freedom, takes nothing away from the majority while allowing a minority to share in a freedom previously denied -- what ever the hell that is, it sure as hell is NOT tyranny.
That anyone who lives in our democracy and claims to be a patriot could see it as such says everything you need to know about person and the movement of which he or she is a part. In short, it tells you that person, that movement, absolutely does not believe in American democracy. Or minority rights. Or compromise. Period. No counter argument to be made. This isn't even hard: allowing same-sex marriage has a positive effect on many, and a negative effect on none. No one. My son still plans on marrying his girlfriend. I do not plan on getting divorced. Churches are free to open their doors to gay marriages, or keep them closed. Followers of Jesus and his message of love can still hate to their hearts' content.
Nothing bad happened to anyone, no one's will got imposed on the unwilling, no person became forced to do something they don't want to do. Nothing was taken away from anyone, by anyone.
Tyranny, they call it. With such people, there's no reasoning; and they're the ones in charge of our House of Representatives and state houses across the land, stamping their feet and saying no to anything at all which is not 100% to their liking. They insist on imposing their entire agenda on every person, unchanged, unyielding, unconcerned about anyone who objects or is adversely affected, for any reason at all.
Some would call that tyranny.
