I believe gays are misjudging the mood of the country. Sure, there are bigots and religious fanatics out there who hate LGBTs, but as in the issue of race, this constituency, though vocal, represents a smaller and smaller proportion of the population, one whose influence is diminishing. The country is finally outgrowing that nonsense, racism and homophobia are on the decline, the real opposition is economic, and "economic" always has political consequences.

Fewer people really care any more about these religious or "moral" issues, but a lot of people (and companies) care very much how much its going to cost them to have to deal with gay marriages and other beneficiary issues among their employees. Marriage benefits and discrimination lawsuits are money, legal, union and regulation nightmares, they will have to be administered, and they will vary from state to state. Its fat city for lawyers, and that's bad for business.

Human resources departments are not necessarily homophobic, any more than they are racist, they just don't want to have to deal with the expense of administering all this and that's what matters. Insurance, pensions, benefits, all sorts of complications will arise, and they are going to be costly and complex to implement. This is what drives the opposition to gay rights, and this is just another reason why religious fundamentalists are being courted by the political Right. Do you really think the Mitt Romneys of this world really care if you're gay or not? They've got bigger fish to fry.

Follow the money, Jody. Always, follow the money.