O'Malley sees the light

Martin O'Malley, governor of my state of Maryland, wrote the following to an archbishop who had the gall to presume to tell O'Malley that his Catholicism had to dictate the way he runs the state for those who aren't Catholics:

“When shortcomings in our laws bring about a result that is unjust, I have a public obligation to try to change that injustice. I have concluded that discriminating against individuals based on their sexual orientation in the context of civil marital rights is unjust. I have also concluded that treating the children of families headed by same-sex couples with lesser protections under the law than the children of families headed by heterosexual parents, is also unjust.”

And here's the money quote, the one the archbishop should memorize - italics mine:

“I do not presume, nor would I ever presume as governor, to question or infringe upon your freedom to define, to preach about and to administer the sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church. But on the public issue of granting equal civil marital rights to same-sex couples, you and I disagree. . . . I look forward to working with you on other issues of mutual agreement. And I respect your freedom to disagree with me as a citizen and as a religious leader without questioning your motives.”

No one is requiring the Catholic Church to solemnize same-sex marriages, any more than they are forced to let divorced people, atheists, or Hindus be married by their priests. But I fear O'Malley is expecting too much if he thinks civility is going to be the order of the day.