Last Call For The Barbaric Yawp Of The Defeated

I'm not at all surprised to learn that opposition to same-sex marriage is growing in Kentucky as opponents are faced with the very real prospect that we're only a few months away from a Supreme Court decision that would nationalize it.

Showing a possible backlash to judicial decisions favoring gay marriage, the percentage of registered voters in Kentucky opposing it has increased to 57 percent this month compared to 50 percent in July. 

A Bluegrass Poll conducted March 3-8 shows that support for gay marriage also has dropped, from 37 percent to 33 percent. 

Chris Hartman, director of the Fairness Campaign, said the uptick in opposition probably reflects the fears of opponents that the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to declare same-sex marriage a constitutional right. 

"Opponents are grasping for ground as it is removed under them," Hartman said. 

The high court will hear oral arguments April 28 on gay marriage bans in Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and Michigan. Thirty-seven states now allow gay nuptials, 26 of them by judicial decision.

That's a pretty significant spike, but I'm betting similar polls in other red states would show similar results, and a 5-10 point jump seems about right to me.  The prospect of actually having same-sex marriage as a reality where you live is starting to shake the bigots.  It's no longer a rhetorical exercise that will be reality "somewhere else", but imminent.

And judging from Alabama's legal tantrums over the subject, I think it's going to be a long, messy summer.