Why Some Conservatives Oppose Gay Marriage

While some conservatives oppose gay marriage, others do not. For conservatives who do oppose it, the issue has less to do with homophobia and more to do with protecting the Judeo-Christian view of marriage.

On Nov. 4, 2008, voters in Arizona, California and Florida struck down gay marriage in their states. The most widely publicized of these referendums was Proposition 8 in California.

Gay rights advocates protested everywhere, rallying their liberal friends and blaming conservatives for their support of the bans.

While it is true that social conservatives have been on the front lines of wedge issues like this for time out of mind, not all conservatives are as deeply passionate about them as others. In fact, a large portion of the conservative movement -- fiscal conservatives and crunchy conservatives, for example -- may find themselves disagreeing with social conservatives on issues like gay marriage.

Nevertheless, simply identifying as a conservative is enough to earn the vitriol and condemnation of the LGBT movement (that's "lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender," for those unfamiliar with the acronym). Liberals associated with the issue aren't interested in hearing conservative opinions.

Instead, they voice opinions of their own, such as, "Conservatives are motivated by homophobia," "Conservatives use their religion as a way to oppose gay marriage," and "Conservatives don't harbor the same hatred for divorced people, vandals, or other 'sinners.' They have a special hatred for gays and lesbians."

Comments like these force even those who have no particular sentiment either way to take up sides and defend their loosely-held convictions (if they lean to the right on this issue). Frankly, "I don't support gay marriage" is not the same as "I hate gays," and those on the left are too blinded by their advocacy to know it. If they do, they refuse to acknowledge it.

Not everyone who opposes gay marriage is a "homophobe," and not everyone who opposes gay marriage "hates" people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans-gendered. By branding the religious end of an entire conservative movement as "hateful," the people making such remarks come off as "hateful" of conservatives. It boils the issue down to one or the other, without considering those in between.

For many people (not just religious conservatives), marriage is a sacred symbol of heterosexual love and commitment. Seeing it changed in such a profound way would be like the National Rifle Association suddenly claiming the rainbow flag as its symbol. Just as this would change the meaning of the flag in a way that is unpleasant to the LGBT community, so too would gay marriage change the meaning of marriage to a large part of the married community.

For political conservatives, gay marriage isn't the issue it is for social conservatives. While there is a crossover for many on the right, political conservatism is less about wedge issues and more about small government, strong national defense and free enterprise.