I was fortunate to catch part of the Assembly's debate on Spitzer's gay marriage bill in person. It was fascinating to watch how passionately people will debate an issue that they have no stake in themselves nor do their district has no stake in it.

There is no (significant) economic benefit or cost to gay marriage. It doesn't deprive anybody of their rights or restrict what they can do in their back-40. It really doesn't do much at all.

So why do people really care? I don't understand.

Spitzer's same-sex marriage bill indeed is only a single page long. It simply replaces man and women with person in the definition of marriage in the domestic relations law.

It also states that no person can be denied the right of marriage simply because of their gender, and that no church or religious institution must preform any marriage. Not a big deal.

The critics of gay marriage are right in saying that many gay couples engage in behavior that is quite strange. Yet, there are many other gay couples that are quite happily living together, living the American life like most other Americans. There are certainly gays living in suburbs, gays who own farms and ranches, and gays who live in the city and work for big corporations. Most of them are totally normal except for their choice of a partner.

People often fear what is different. They might even believe that what is different is having a negative impact on their lives. People need to do their own thing, and just ignore what other people are doing. Indeed, it seems the people who complain about the smell of cow shit are no better or worst then those who complain of gay marriage.