Subsidiarity and the demise of the gay marriage amendment

Beliefnet has an interesting article titled, "The Gay Marriage Ban: Where's the Groundswell?," exploring why the proposed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage has not sparked much grassroots activism among the conservative Christians who are assumed to support it. After President Bush announced his support for the amendment,

Folks in the pews continued to abhor the idea of gay marriage, just as the activists had said they would--but they didn’t do much about it. Fewer than expected bothered to call senators, write emails, send money, or march in demonstrations. By June, President Bush expressed exasperation that his base--whose leaders had lobbied so hard to get administration support for the amendment--wasn’t doing enough to support him.

One possible explanation for the inaction derives from the premise of subsidiarity and its hold on the nation's political psyche, especially among conservatives. Just as many individuals who supported the legalization of abortion were uncomfortable with the top-down manner in which it was imposed on the nation as a whole, it seems that many opponents of gay marriage are uncomfortable with a national, one-size-fits-all remedy. Americans, in large part, like to tackle problems on the local level. One would think that President Bush, more than anyone, would understand that.

Rob