Maggi Gallagher

She’s got a new piece out on the ‘demand’ for gay marriage. I guess, the theory being that if you don’t use a right, you lose it.

Taking a page out of Cameron’s book, Maggie uses estimates of estimates, to conclude that few gay people really want marriage. It’s all an illusion. Her ‘estimate’ of gays who marry in Mass varies between 6 and 17%. (Depending on what % of the population is gay). And, I guess, since that number isn’t 100% then we don’t deserve marriage.

Of course, one might quibble with her analysis

First of all, I wonder what number would be acceptable to her. 30%? 40%? According to the US Census, only around 55% of the population over 15 is married in America. And they’ve had hundred of years to get that number to where it is, and can get married in any state. Gay couples have only had 2 years (almost), and one state. And they managed between 6 and 17% of their population in that state.

Of course, gay couples have more to consider in deciding to get married than straight couples do. Even in MA, the anti-gay crowd are working overtime to remove marriage as an option. That means that people who are considering marriage have to consider whether or not they’ll lose it. They also have to consider that the marriage is only valid in that state – once you move, the marriage goes bye bye.

Maggie also makes a big deal of the ‘drop off’ of gay marriages since it was made legal in MA. This helps with her ultimate conclusion:

That’s how Maggie thinks gays perceive marriage. Some ‘novelty’ we’ll quickly tire of. Of course, it’s common sense to realize that when an opportunity presents itself that had not previously been there, people will jump at the chance, but that those doing do will eventually settle down into some normalized percentage.