The more canny of the self-apointed "defense of traditional marriage"  crowd on the Chrstian right - who eschew apocalyptic prophecies that same sex marriage will certainly bring about the end of the world, the downfall of Western civilization*, ginguvitis, and so on - hedged their bets on the impact of same-sex marriage on Massachusets : they asserted that the concept of marriage would suffer damage and that, as a consequence, people would take to marrying their pets, farm animals, or animate objects such as cars, rocks, trees, or who knows what. The Christian right has used fearmongering over same sex marriage issue as a potent weapon in the "culture wars" - including attacks on the mainline Protestant Christian denominations - and has been loathe to admit the biological basis of same sex attraction, claiming instead that therapy, re-socialization, and various bizzare methods that have little or no connection to scientific research on human sexuality can get out "the gay" ( Activist Mike Airhart covers bizzare, ridiculous, and appalling aspects of the "Ex-Gay" movement at Ex gay Watch ) .

Last November 2005, The Daily Show sent roving reporter Ed Helms to assess the impact of same sex marriage on Massachusetts ( see video, hosted by Crooks and Liars) : Now, over two years have passed since the legal right of marriage was extended to same sex couples living in the Bay State. How is Massachusetts doing ? And, how are states which have seen fit to pass state constitutional amendments banning same sex marriage doing ? Oddly, few have thought to ask.

* "Barring a miracle, the family as it has been known for more than five millennia will crumble, presaging the fall of Western civilization itself.... For more than 40 years, the homosexual activist movement has sought to implement a master plan that has had as its centerpiece the utter destruction of the family." -  Dr. James Dobson of Focus on The Family, in a July 2004 letter to supporters