In an interview with the College of New Jersey newsmagazine The Perspective, Fox News host Mike Huckabee seems to go all out against the lgbt community, attacking not only same-sex marriage but also lgbt families:"I think there's been a real level of being disingenuous on the part of the gay and lesbian community with their goal of civil unions," he alleged, referring to LGBT activists who first claimed that their goal in several states was to enact civil unions, but subsequently launched efforts to implement full marriage rights.
Huckabee went on to draw parallels between homosexuality and other lifestyles that are considered by some to be morally aberrant. "You don't go ahead and accommodate every behavioral pattern that is against the ideal," he said of same-sex marriage. "That would be like saying, well, there are a lot of people who like to use drugs, so let's go ahead and accommodate those who want who use drugs. There are some people who believe in incest, so we should accommodate them. There are people who believe in polygamy, so we should accommodate them."
If anyone is being disingenuous, it's Huckabee. Drug abuse is a crime because it damages the physical and mental state of those in ensnares. Now some on Huckabee's side of the argument have tried to make the same case about the lgbt orientation, but as it has been pointed out countless times, their attempts are grounded in an intentional distortion of research.
In addition, drug abuse and addiction lead to other crimes, i.e. drug abusers do sometimes steal in order to fund their habit and those behind the drug trade do sometimes engage in "turf wars" which have led to countless murders.
Following Huckabee's tangent to it's logical conclusion, I guess one could say that allowing same-sex marriages will lead to desperate gay men stealing television sets to fund their weddings and wedding planners shooting each other over "turf wars" regarding who gets the larger share of gay marriages.
Ridiculous isn't it? And the comment about incest and polygamy is ridiculous also. You simply cannot compare two adults wanting to share their lives together with a man molesting his daughter or another man creating a stable of wives like a farmer herds cattle.
But strangely enough, those like Huckabee who make such comparisons never think these things out. They tend to repeat a talking point which sounds good but really means nothing.
Now Huckabee's comment about lgbt families was way beyond the realm of good taste:
He also affirmed support for a law in Arkansas that prohibits same-sex couples from becoming adoptive or foster parents. "I think this is not about trying to create statements for people who want to change the basic fundamental definitions of family," Huckabee said. "And always we should act in the best interest of the children, not in the seeming interest of the adults."
"Children are not puppies," he continued. "This is not a time to see if we can experiment and find out, how does this work?"
Allow me to inform Huckabee of a few facts:
According to a report by Gary Gates, Lee M.V. Badgett, Jennifer Ehrle Macomber, Kate Chambers of the Urban Institute:
* More than one in three lesbians have given birth and one in six gay men have fathered or adopted a child.
* More than half of gay men and 41 percent of lesbians want to have a child.
* An estimated two million GLB people are interested in adopting.
* An estimated 65,500 adopted children are living with a lesbian or gay parent.
* More than 16,000 adopted children are living with lesbian and gay parents in California, the highest number among the states.
* Gay and lesbian parents are raising four percent of all adopted children in the United States.
* Same-sex couples raising adopted children are older, more educated, and have more economic resources than other adoptive parents.
* Adopted children with same-sex parents are younger and more likely to be foreign born.
* An estimated 14,100 foster children are living with lesbian or gay parents.
* Gay and lesbian parents are raising three percent of foster children in the United States.
* A national ban on GLB foster care could cost from $87 to $130 million.
* Costs to individual states could range from $100,000 to $27 million.
And even if these figures were not available, for Huckabee to make that statement demonstrates willful ignorance. I say willful because I am of the opinion that Huckabee isn't totally ignorant when it comes to lgbt families. He is a former governor of Arkansas as well as a former presidential contender. I'm sure he must have met at least one or two lgbt families during those times.
But despite all of that, he chooses to paint all lgbt families with a broad discriminatory brush. While Huckabee doesn't come out and say it, the nasty implication is clear - lgbt families are inferior because lgbts are incapable of giving love and support to children. Furthermore, lgbts don't really want the children. They just want to further their "agenda."
Perhaps he should talk to the Gill family out of Florida - two gay men and their adopted children whom they have raised since 2004. They are just one of countless number of lgbt families who provide love and support to their children.
You see, Huckabee is right about one thing. Children aren't puppies but lgbt families aren't freaks and they certainly aren't out of the norm. And even if they were, should it matter? Anyone who has the means, the desire, and the heart to parent a child should be encouraged, not discouraged.
After all, that would be the Christian thing to do.
Huckabee should know better and the sad thing is that I think he does.
His attack on lgbt families is certainly something to remember should Huckabee choose to run for President again - something to remember and fear.
Anyone who attempts to create a caste system for American families has no place near the White House, even at the front gate.
Hat tip to Media Matters
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