Jennifer Rambo, right, kisses her partner, Kristin Seaton, after their marriage ceremony in front of the Carroll County Courthouse in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, on Saturday, May 10. At left is Sheryl Maples, the lead attorney who filed the Wright v. State of Arkansas lawsuit. Rambo and Seaton were the first same-sex couple to be granted a marriage license in Eureka Springs after a judge overturned Amendment 83, which banned same-sex marriage in the state of Arkansas. 
Same-sex couples get their marriage licenses at the Oakland County Courthouse in Pontiac, Michigan, on Saturday, March 22, a day after a federal judge overturned Michigan's ban on same-sex marriage. 
Utah state Sen. Jim Dabakis, left, and Stephen Justesen acknowledge the crowd after being married in Salt Lake City on Friday, December 20. A federal judge struck down Utah's ban on same-sex marriage, saying it conflicted with the constitutional guarantees of equal protection and due process. Many Utah counties began issuing marriage licenses before the state appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court temporarily blocked enforcement of the lower court ruling until the constitutional questions are fully resolved. 
Plaintiffs Laurie Wood, left, and Kody Partridge, center, and attorney Peggy Tomsic leave a federal courthouse in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, December 4, after a judge heard arguments challenging Utah's same-sex marriage ban. 
Hawaiian Gov. Neil Abercrombie, left, and former Sen. Avery Chumbley celebrate with a copy of the Star-Advertiser after Abercrombie signed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in Hawaii on Wednesday, November 13, in Honolulu. Hawaii's same-sex marriage debate began in 1990, when two women applied for a marriage license, leading to a court battle and a 1993 state Supreme Court decision that their rights to equal protection were violated by not letting them marry. Now the state is positioning itself for an increase in tourism as visitors arrive to take advantage of the law, which took effect December 2. 
Newark, New Jersey, Mayor Cory Booker officiates a wedding ceremony for Joseph Panessidi and Orville Bell at City Hall on Monday, October 21. The state Supreme Court denied the state's request to prevent same-sex marriages temporarily, clearing the way for same-sex couples to marry. 
A couple celebrates at San Francisco City Hall upon hearing about the U.S. Supreme Court rulings on same-sex marriage on June 26, 2013. The high court cleared the way for same-sex couples in California to resume marrying after dismissing an appeal on Proposition 8 on jurisdictional grounds. 
In the other June 26 ruling, the Supreme Court struck down a key part of the Defense of Marriage Act, a 1996 federal law defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Jamous Lizotte, right, and Steven Jones pose for photos while waiting for a marriage license in Portland, Maine, in December 2012. 
At the state Capitol in St. Paul, Minnesota on May 14, 2013, Gov. Mark Dayton signs a bill legalizing same-sex marriage. 
Delaware Gov. Jack Markell holds up legislation on May 7, 2013, allowing same-sex couples to wed in the state. 
Rhode Island state Sen. Donna Nesselbush, right, embraces a supporter after the Marriage Equality Act was signed into law at the statehouse in Providence on May 2, 2013. 
Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, center, shakes hands with Senate President Thomas V. "Mike" Miller after signing a same-sex marriage bill on March 1, 2012. The law was challenged, but voters approved marriage equality in a November 2012 referendum. 
Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire celebrates after signing marriage equality legislation into law on February 13, 2012. Voters there approved same-sex marriage in November 2012. 
Phyllis Siegel, 76, right, kisses her wife, Connie Kopelov, 84, after exchanging vows at the Manhattan City Clerk's office with New York City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn in attendance on July 24, 2011, the first day New York state's Marriage Equality Act went into effect. 
In 2010, television reporter Roby Chavez, right, shares a moment with gay rights activist Frank Kameny during Chavez and Chris Roe's wedding ceremony in the nation's capital. Same-sex marriage became legal in Washington on March 9, 2010. 
Olin Burkhart, left, and Carl Burkhart kiss on the steps of the New Hampshire Capitol in Concord in January 2010 as the state's law allowing same-sex marriage goes into effect. 
Maine state Sen. Dennis Damon left, hands Gov. John Baldacci the bill that the state Senate passed to affirm the right for same-sex couples to marry on May 6, 2009. 
Beth Robinson of the Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force, who is among those who fought for marriage equality, on April 7, 2009. 
Amy Klein-Matheny, left, and her wife, Jennifer, exchange vows in Iowa after same-sex couples were allowed to marry there with a court ruling on April 3. 
Michael Miller, left, and Ross Zachs marry on the West Hartford Town Hall steps after same-sex marriages became legal in Connecticut on November 12, 2008. 
Lara Ramsey, left, and her partner of eight years, Jane Lohmann, play with their 7-month-old son, Wyatt Ramsey-Lohmann. The two wed in 2004 after Massachusetts approved same-sex marriage. Massachusetts was the first state in the U.S. to do so.
- LZ Granderson: Facts have disproved claims of racists and birthers
- He says politicians against same-sex marriage say it contributes to a lower birth rate
- Granderson says the opponents fail to cite any evidence to back up statements
- LZ: Ultimately those opposing gay rights will be defeated by the facts
Editor's note: LZ Granderson is a CNN contributor, a senior writer for ESPN and lecturer at Northwestern University. Commentary by the former Hechinger Institute fellow has been recognized by the Online News Association, the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association. Follow him on Twitter @locs_n_laughs. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
(CNN) -- Remember the birthers?
Those people who would appear on national television claiming President Barack Obama was not born in the United States. They didn't have any facts to support their claims, just a gut feeling. And even in the face of more and more facts that proved the contrary, media continued to validate birthers by allowing them to occupy the same space reserved for people taking part in intelligent debate.
Then one day, the madness stopped.
That's not to say all the birthers went away. Only that their brand of irrational thinking had been escorted to the same space we put other silly debates. Like whether women are intelligent enough to vote or if the Earth is flat. You may laugh but for a time, those opinions were the basis of policies and their merits housed in the same space reserved for intelligent debate. Then the public was presented with facts, and the madness stopped.
It's hard to remember, but there was a time when well-meaning politicians warned that the military would collapse if gay people were allowed to serve openly. That hasn't happened, and people have stopped saying it.
We thought big-time sports was not ready for an openly gay male player, and then the Brooklyn Nets signed Jason Collins and life went on. The latest scare tactic is to try to blame gay people for the country's falling birthrate.
True there has been five consecutive years of decline. But it is also true we're coming out of the greatest turmoil in our economy since the Great Depression.
According to Pew research, the recession contributed to more than a third of people 18-34 going back to school and nearly one in four moving back in with their parents. Neither situation is ideal for having a lot of children.
Also, women are waiting longer to start a family. In 1960, more than 80% of new mothers had a high school diploma or less. By 2011, only 34 had a baby before college. I guess women's desire to pursue a college education is also gay people's fault.
Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear recently filed an appeal in federal court, attempting to defend his state's ban on same-sex marriages by repeating Utah Gov. Gary Herbert's rationale citing the importance of a stable birthrate. But neither Beshear nor Herbert presented facts that showed causality.
Cheney: Daughters' feud 'unfortunate' 
Catholic: Marriage is not about love Only fear-mongering -- and more and more Americans are saying enough already.
Whether it's HGTV canceling the Benham Brothers show or the NFL fining players for tweeting negative remarks regarding Michael Sam's kiss, what we're witnessing is not a liberal assault on freedom of speech, religious intolerance or political correctness run amok. It's just people saying the world isn't flat.
Again, facts alone are not enough to stop silly people from having an audience.
Missouri Republican Senate candidate Rep. Todd Akin said, "If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down" and two months later some people still voted for him. But as with the birther phenomenon, there comes a point at which stupid ceases to occupy the same space reserved for intelligence and the need to hear a so-called other side yields to facts.
There wasn't a need to talk to members of the KKK to hear their thoughts on the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington because we now recognize racism is an argument that falls short in the face of facts. As does sexism. And day-by-day, the irrational fear that is homophobia loses its grip on society, much to the chagrin of those who believe same-sex marriages cause Category 5 hurricanes.
Perhaps one day, when all of this silliness is behind us, the public will be ready to talk about what actually does cause Category 5 hurricanes. Until then, I guess we'll continue to allow science-deniers to call reports of a rising ocean a distraction as Antarctica melts right before our eyes.
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