Richard E. Barnes, the executive director of the New York State Catholic Conference, said yesterday in response to Governor Paterson’s new policy interpretation recognizing out-of-state same-sex marriages:

“No single politician or court or legislature should attempt to redefine the very building block of our society in a way that alters its entire meaning and purpose.”

He doesn’t seem to understand that the “entire meaning and purpose” of marriage has been altered many times over the years — over centuries, in fact — and that this is not because of a “single politician or court or legislature,” but because of the evolution of society. Marriage is no longer about the joining of two families for economic benefit; it’s no longer about dowries and the subsuming of a woman’s legal identity into that of a man; it’s no longer about the survival of your tribe. For some people it’s not even about having children. Marriage can be about having children, and raising a family, and it usually is. But not always. It can be about happiness and personal stability. It can be about economic benefits. People get married for all sorts of reasons today, and liberalized divorce laws attest to how much society’s definition of marriage has changed over the years.

Seriously, I wish some of these people would do some actual thinking sometimes, before or instead of running their mouths.

Also from the Times today on the governor’s decision: how the governor came to support gay rights early in his career, how same-sex marriage opponents face an uphill battle in challenging the decision, and an editorial on how this is a step closer to justice.