The Times They Are A-Changin'

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin'.
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'. ~ Bob Dylan, 1963

While I don't put much stock in polls, the latest California Field Poll (pdf) confirms the impression I have living here in the Golden State. The Field Poll observes that a majority of Californians (51% to 42%) approve of allowing same-sex couples to marry. That is a seven point swing from the last time they polled the question two years ago. They only age category where the question loses is among people 65 and older. Over two-thirds of young people, under 30, approve of same-sex marriage.

This has become a generational issue. People born before World War II grew up during a time when prejudice and hate were ingrained into society. Gen-Xers grew up during an age when tolerance was de rigueur (excluding those home schoolers who were taught pure hatred unpolluted by experience in broader society). Younger people by and large find homophobic legislation to be absurd.

The Christian Taliban will try to find the votes to overturn the California Supreme Court's ruling in favor of gay marriage but the demographics are in favor of liberty and tolerance. As the Hate Class ages and dies off a greater percentage of Californians are unafraid of homosexuals and believe there is no problem if two people of the same gender wish to marry.