When will 'it' arrive?

It began in 2001 in the Netherlands. Then in 2003, it happened in Belgium. In June and July of 2005, Spain and Canada joined the ranks, respectively. It happened last month in England, and starting this year, South Africa will also be counted as one of the few. \nBut what is "it?" Not only that, but why hasn't "it" happened in America yet? If all of these other cool countries can have "it," why can't America? It seems simple enough. We like to take over everything else, why can't we take this?\nWhat I'm speaking about, of course, is same-sex marriage. On Dec. 21, England wrote into law that same-sex couples and their families would be able to have the same rights as married couples. Sir Elton John was married that very day to his long-time lover David Furnish. Not only that, but he married Furnish at Windsor's town hall -- the same place Prince Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles back in April 2005, clearly stating that, for once, same-sex couples are being treated as equals.\nComing a long way from its apartheid days, South Africa climbs aboard the same-sex marriage train this year. Once a country that was famous because of its discrimination, on Dec. 1, the country's highest court ruled that South Africa would allow gay marriage beginning in 2006. I think that it definitely says something amazing about a country that once separated black and white to embrace the colors of the rainbow. \nI don't know, but isn't it about time America jumped on the bandwagon? As more and more of the world begin to accept the GLBT community as a legit subculture, it seems as though America, as an individual political state in the world, shuns itself more and more from the idea. \nThere is an endless cycle with this idea, though, because America, as a society in the world, is becoming more and more accepting of the homosexual lifestyle. It's an accepted norm to party and experiment in college. It's not frowned upon anymore for very heterosexual Americans to have had their fair share of homosexual experiences. Also, you see the acceptance on the tube everyday, whether you use a satellite, cable, digital cable, or even an antenna: a gay sitcom, or a sitcom with lovable gay characters. With "Will & Grace" on NBC, "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" on Bravo and "Queer As Folk" on Showtime, America's television stations are saying, "It's OK to be gay!"\nSo I guess what I don't understand is this -- if America is becoming more and more accepting of the GLBT community, why does it appear as though the opposite is the reality? The reason could possibly be that our own government officials are no longer representing the people, but representing themselves. "We the People ..." headlines the U.S. Constitution. It was written for all the people; it wasn't written just for the peoples' representatives.\nHow has America not legalized same-sex marriage? Doesn't the U.S. government realize yet that in order to be truly free, one has to have the same rights as one's neighbor?