The Economist: On Gay Marriage

'Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license. Indeed the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California constitution the notion that opposite sex couples are superior to same sex couples.'

"Those two lines, from Judge Vaughn Walker's decision to overturn Proposition 8 in California, are as fine a summary of Perry v Schwarzenegger as you'll find. In arguing for gay marriage back in 2004 we asked, "Why should one set of loving, consenting adults be denied a right that other such adults have and which, if exercised, will do no damage to anyone else?" In the end, proponents of Proposition 8 could not answer that question, nor could they support their flimsy claims that gay marriage does damage to children and the institution of marriage," argues The Economist this week.

Surprised?
You shouldn't be - The Economist first came out for gay marriage back in 1996, arguably the first mainstream UK-based publication to do so.
And following liberalism to its logical, non-hypocritical conclusion, The Economist has also repeatedly argued for the legalisation of drugs.