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What US history can teach us about gay marriage

When Barack Obama finally expressed his support for gay marriage last month he sent issue waves pulsating around the world. OK, his words won't change any US laws, nor win/lose him too many presidential votes - but they were a global energiser to those now fighting what might be the last great civil rights battle - in many countries, they drove the issue front and centre.

Some of those waves lapped up in Sydney last week when activists and protesters gathered loudly outside Seven's massive windows in Martin Place - while we debated the issue on Sunrise. Some of them weren't happy with us for shining too much light on it, it's becoming a big thing.

One of the common arguments against gay marriage is that it's unnecessary. Opponents point out that same sex couples get full legal rights but insist the definition of marriage is a union between a man and a woman. Full stop. They say they don't want to actively discriminate against same sex couples, but claim what they do is ‘different'. Different... but not wrong.

That argument lends a veneer of compassion and respectability to the ‘No' platform, it can make their position seem compassionate, caring and Christian... but it's been used before. In the Deep South during the Civil Rights Movement it was known as ‘Separate but equal' and it was supposed to be granting African Americans new rights. Full rights. Equality. But again they were just ‘different'. As now, the naysayers depicted themselves as caring and compassionate while black people got schoolbooks to read, public bathrooms to use, benches and bus seats to sit on.... just not the same ones as white people. Google the words and see how history judged all that.

This idea of history repeating itself is encapsulated in a picture being shared on Facebook right now. It shows a black and white shot of angry 1960s people outside the US Supreme Court with banners saying, "Stop the race mixing". Above it sits a similar shot of flag waving demonstrators in exactly the same spot this year, "Stand up for marriage" say their banners. The caption reads "Imagine how stupid you are going to look in 40 years".

Hopefully those people trying to hold back progress and stunt civil rights realise the error of their ways sooner than that. They should stop congratulating themselves straight away.