Um.

Via Andy at Towleroad, Bill Maher said on his show Friday night that "pot is the new gay marriage. And by that, I mean it's the next obvious civil rights issue that needs to fall."

Sure.

That I find Bill Maher to be a colossal annoyfuck is not a secret, but, in fairness to him, in this case I'm merely singling him out as an example among many people (virtually all of whom are straight) who are talking about same-sex marriage in the US as if it's a done deal. As if it's time to move on to the next big civil rights issue, which is definitely something that matters to straight people!

Same-sex marriage has been legalized in 12 out of 50 states. And despite the fact that it looked to be a sure thing in Illinois, it wasn't. This is a fight that continues, and, in a lot of places, it's not going to get easier. At least not without some help from the Supreme Court, which is not even expected to provide the kind of help that federally legalizes same-sex marriage.

For same-sex couples in 38 states, same-sex marriage is still an "obvious civil rights issue."

Which is to say nothing of the couples in the 12 states with legal same-sex marriage who may still face clerks who refuse to issue same-sex marriage licenses or justices who refuse to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies or other pushback that requires legal intervention and communicates a pointed reminder that changing the law doesn't magically enact culturally equality.

That takes time and vigilance. Not pretending everything's solved yayayayayay let's move on wheeeeeeee!

For fuck's sake.

[Note: Legalized weed is an important issue for a number of reasons, most notably the vast number of healthcare applications and reducing the number of lives ruined by the garbage nightmare that is the war on drugs. Whether legalizing weed is itself an important issue isn't, however, the topic of this thread. Casual indifference to the incomplete campaign for marriage equality is.]