San Francisco is my new favorite city.

Not for the sites, or the night life. I'm not a sports fan or a fisherman, and I'm really not much for overpriced bars. No, my love for the city centers around one highly important factor: its political decisions.

When San Franciscans felt that the buses were unsafe, the city passed an ordinance that required beat cops to spend one hour of their shift on the bus. When the government said they were going to ban gay marriage, the mayor (then Willie Brown) held a large, same sex ceremony where six couples were married. And now, when the country is so wrapped up in controversy over Janet Jackson's breast, San Francisco has made another step towards representing its people's desires.

They have begun issuing marriage licenses for same sex couples.

At a point when the president of a nation which is of, by, and for the people, and which claims NO religious affiliation whatsoever, has outlawed same sex marriages on what can only be considered religiously biased grounds, the city of San Francisco has basically said "our citizenry want same sex marriage to be allowed, and we work for them". A beautiful sentiment in a time where our government seems to forget that they should be working for us, not in spite of us.

I personally don't understand why our government, or the Republican party for that matter, even gives a shit about same sex marriage. By the Bush Administration's own claims, the tax benefits earned by married couples extended to same sex marriages would extend to more people, who would then spend and boister the economy, right? By religious claims, it is invalid to make a law prohibiting it, as we have a separation of church and state. If you think they are going to hell, why is it any of your business whether they get there or not? Sure, tell people on a personal level your beliefs, if they are interested, but why would you need to dictate how people live their lives? Isn't that antithetical to the concept of free will?

Basically, why does anyone care? I really don't understand why it's any of your business, or even an issue, and I applaud the city of San Francisco for making this move, as it is a step in the right direction. We have the ability to be the best nation in the world, but we are nowhere near that yet, and the last couple of years we have been stepping further and further away from it.

-todd