Wedding shots deepen gay-marriage divide

Opposition is already clear, most notably in President Bush's support of a constitutional amendment limiting marriage to a man and a woman - protecting, in his words, "the most fundamental institution of civilization." His move was seen by some as a means of polarizing the electorate, playing up Americans' tendency to vote more along cultural than economic lines. Georgia's state legislature is debating a ban on gay marriage, and Kentucky legislators were, until Wednesday, seeking a constitutional amendment along the same lines.

The backlash is also clear in polls. In the three weeks between Jan. 18 and Feb. 22, support for a constitutional amendment enshrining marriage as a union between a man and a woman rose from 30 percent to 42 percent in the West, according to an ABC News/Washington Post poll. Some of that, notes Carroll Doherty, editor of the Pew Research Center, is driven by older people disturbed by unfamiliar images. "When you have a societal change of this magnitude, to see pictures of gay couples if you're not prepared for it - it's a surprise, a new thing. Now it's thrust in their face on the evening news, and the initial reaction is somewhat negative."

Still, Mr. Doherty adds, opposition to gay marriage has remained relatively constant (about 60 percent nationwide). Most people want states to decide, he continues, and favor an amendment only when they feel states aren't doing their jobs.

It's unclear what San Francisco's 3,000-plus marriage certificates will ultimately mean. But historically, local change is often a necessary precursor to state-level change, says Jenny Pizer, a senior staff attorney at Lambda Legal's western office.

Beyond San Francisco, many gay-rights advocates have been hailing the outspoken support for gay marriage from mayors, including Richard Daley of Chicago, R.T. Ryback of Minneapolis, and Rocky Anderson of Salt Lake City. Hearing Mayor Daley say he'd have "no problem" with Cook County issuing licenses to same-sex couples is "worth 10,000 gay activists speaking out," says Rick Garcia, political director for Equality Illinois. "People respect Mayor Daley. They know he's not a knee-jerk liberal. They know he's a strong family man. He's a devout Catholic. Hearing him speak out makes people who may not support gay marriage pause and rethink."

To Richard Rohan, riding a Boston subway, media exposure "only strengthens the feeling" that gays should have the right to marry. He felt that way already, he says, and suspects that the barrage of coverage confirms people in their old opinions.

To some, it's simply a matter of "live and let live." "I've been married a few times, so what do I have to say about it?" asks Bill, a Boston electrician. "It's none of my business."

• Sara B. Miller and Noel C. Paul contributed to this report from Boston.

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