Gay marriage and the great gulf in Georgia

“I believe the truth is the truth, and you don’t evolve away from the truth.”

“People see a cousin or someone at work is gay. That’s led to more acceptance.”

And so stands the gay marriage debate in Georgia: opponents say homosexuality is prohibited by divine injunction, supporters say those Old Testament prohibitions are irrelevant. But which side has the upper hand? There’s no question that attitudes are evolving, even in this reddest of red states. A commanding majority of Georgia voters – 76 percent – passed the state’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in 2004. More recent polling suggests that the margin would be much slimmer now; indeed, such a measure might even fail, which would have been unthinkable here just a few years ago.

Whatever the case, Georgia’s ban may be overtaken by events this spring: the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments about the constitutionality of gay marriage on Tuesday, with a ruling expected by late June.