This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
With the governor's signature on Monday, same-sex marriage is now legal in the state of Washington.
Gay marriage is legal in seven other states (New York, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont). Three more states may follow by year's end (Maine, Maryland and New Jersey), and surely within a few years.
Whether by court decree or referendum, California will soon be again joining gay couples in holy matrimony.
In much less than a decade, a third of our nation's population will reside in states where same-sex marriage is legal. That situation will cause a national conundrum, as same-sex couples inevitably move around.
Will so many marriages be legal in some states but not others? When a straight couple is married in New York, Utah must recognize the marriage. Why not for gays?
Utah will not allow same-sex couples to adopt, but it must recognize such legal adoptions made in other states. Why not for gay marriages?
At some point, surely, the Constitution's guarantee that states have to give full faith and credit to the acts of courts in other states will kick in.
After all, we're one nation under God, not many nations.
Rick Edwards
Salt Lake City