More Gay Bishops: Great point, Razor. My guess is that the fuss kicks up when a threshhold is crossed. I'm sure the very first openly gay priest caused quite a stir. After that, who can be bothered? But the first bishop? That's worth the fuss again. It's similar, I think, to the Lawrence decision: there came the stampede of ostensible conservatives saying, "We never really supported sodomy laws, anyway; we just thought it wasn't a constitutional issue. But gay marriage? That's where we'll draw the line." False. The conservative line was drawn at sodomy, on community morality grounds. The cover argument, that there can be bad laws that aren't constitutional, seems a bit hollow when it comes to the basics of life, in which category I would put something like sexual association. (The constitution is clear that liberty is paramount.)

Anyhow, it's natural, when you lose, to kick the "big fight" down the road a bit. That's the fuss, as far as I can tell. The other possibility is that the fight is being encouraged by some other Christian denominations -- the Catholics come to mind -- who hope the fight can be settled before it comes to their turf.