Now that the effort to ammend the Constitution to ban gay marriage fell through in the Senate, smaller pushes are being lined up across the country to attack this civil right on a micro-scale. As more progress is made in establishing equality between homos and heteros, the political right also sees a tactic to mobilize conservatives.

If more judges rule the way the Massachusetts court did [to recognize same-sex marriage], there could be a wider backlash against judges defining marriage, say some conservative activists.

"You lose a battle here, you lose a battle there," said Len Deo, president of the New Jersey Family Policy Council. "It helps to educate the public and motivate the constituency."

And that, he said, might pressure Congress to move ahead with a federal amendment banning gay marriage. [...]

The Marriage Law Foundation's Stewart said seeing a second state allow same-sex unions would be more significant than Massachusetts _ and a bigger unifying force for conservatives.

You read it correctly: Moving forward means moving backward. And while many conservative talking heads may be correct in concluding same-sex advances could motivate the right-wing to step up their efforts, stalling or stopping progress isn't the answer. Of course conservatives will get pissed off as more states adopt equality laws. And it's our job to turn that shade of red in their face from puce to magenta.

Allowing gay marriage in NJ, elsewhere, may help opponents' cause [AP]