From the New York Times Department of the Obvious

Posted By Daniel W. Drezner Sunday, June 15, 2008 - 4:03 PM Share

Four years after Massachusetts became the first state to allow gay couples to marry, there have been blissful unions, painful divorces and everything in between. Some same-sex couples say being married has made a big difference, and some say it has made no difference at all. There are devoted couples who have decided marriage is not for them, couples whose lawyers or accountants advised them against marrying, and couples in which one partner wants to marry but the other does not.

That's from Pam Belluck's not-so-stunning story in the New York Times, which goes to show that there's no social trends story the Times won't run that the Onion already ran four years ago. Really, delete the words "gay" and "same-sex" and I'd say the lede applies to all couples contemplating marriage

EXPLORE:CULTURE, UNCATEGORIZED, GAY MARRIAGE, NEW YORK TIMES

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ABE

4:11 AM ET

June 16, 2008

I'm not sure why you're so

I'm not sure why you're so dismissive of this story. Pointing out that normalcy is happening is, in this case, newsworthy. And the story contains great details. You should read it!

JOHNR

5:11 PM ET

June 24, 2008

Yes, Mister, your breezy

Yes, Mister, your breezy dismissal speaks tons to how offensive the words “gay” and “same-sex” are to our collective subconscious. I'm not crazy about the words myself. But if we delete those words for the sake of universalizing the topic of marriage or to create a more entertaining NYT article for you, then we are denying history and a whole, vibrant part of our society. I am extremely hesitant to call it homophobia or to use that term too often (as you seem to be a smart fellow), but I don't get your resistance to this topic. There are now people legally marrying who have never had that right before in just two of our United States. And a major wave of hateful backlash, and prohibitions against their unions, has befallen them in other states. Certainly that is newsworthy. Mundane social progress is still progress. Perhaps you could imagine the historic nature of women winning the right to vote or black Americans being granted basic civil rights. I hope you'll stay tuned to this subject and see how it, and the apparently boring NYT updates that describe people literally fighting for their lives, continue to be important. Repeat after me: GAY, GAY, GAY, SAME-SEX.... And go snag FABULOUS wedding gifts for those of your gay friends who now have made the blissful choice to nuptialize!