Tuesday, September 13, 2011

It's time for the 'we need to protect marriage' con to die

Here we go again.

The North Carolina Legislature has passed a bill to allow its citizens to vote on a state constitutional amendment against gay marriage.

The majority of folks in NC are against this amendment but that is considered a minor detail by the organizations and people pushing it.

They are always quick to point out that other states which have polled against state constitutional amendments against gay marriage passed them when voters had the chance to register their opinions via the ballot box.

Of course the truth is not that simple. The untold narrative usually goes like this:

People in the targeted states are so generally worried about more pressing issues that they allow their legislatures to be the first salvo in what can be called an invasion, i.e. laying the groundwork by passing  a bill, thereby forcing constituents to vote on the matter.

Then an organization – usually the National Organization for Marriage – is the second part of the invasion via its virtually unlimited funds supplied by secret donors (which the group has fought tooth and nail not to reveal), that pays for the inundation of robocalls, mailers, and commercials spinning a multitude of lies about gays harming children or gays persecuting Christians, or gays causing all sorts of mayhem in general if the amendment is not passed.

At the same time, the organization stroke the egos of area pastors and public leaders. The organization, combined with these pastors and public leaders, gain votes by:

  • spooking people into thinking that God will literally send the Angel of Death to smite them if they don’t vote for the amendment,
  • and scaring people into thinking that gays are going to knock down their front doors and cart them off to jail or convert their children if they don’t vote for the amendment.

The organization – again usually NOM – wins the vote and while it brays about how “the community stood up to protect marriage,” the community in actuality deals with strife, hard feelings, broken families, and generally not understanding why their votes to “protect marriage” hasn’t put food on their tables,  more money in their paychecks, or made their lives better.

It’s like some religious version of that Simpsons episode about the monorail. But instead of a faulty monorail, people are being sold a faulty premise that the biggest harm to their marriages are their gay and lesbian neighbors and if they make it difficult for these folks to marry, then somehow the real things that harm marriages – i.e. lack of communication or poverty (a subject none of these "we need to protect marriage" groups seem to ever address) will suddenly disappear.

It's time for this "we need to protect marriage" con to die. And it will. It could happen in North Carolina or Minnesota. Both states are facing anti-marriage equality votes next year. Or it could happen before then. But rest assured, it will happen.

As our economic crisis looms and Republicans go tete-a-tete with the President, people are starting to get hip to these distracting  amendment pushes which exploit their religious beliefs while doing nothing to solve the problems they have gaining employment, feeding their families, or paying their mortgages.

They say that a lie travels around the world before the truth has time to put on its shoes. What they always forget to mention is that when truth does put on its shoes, it usually makes up for lost time.

In the case of these phony “protect marriage” votes, I have a feeling that truth is just about to slap on its sneakers.


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Ten years ago, gays were blamed for 9/11 and other Tuesday midday news briefs

Happy 10th Anniversary Of Being Blamed For 9/11 - Ten years ago, the late Jerry Falwell blamed gays for 9/11. Ugly anniversary.

She shares my name, not my support. Does she get to share my enthusiasm? - Unbelievable. NY Rep who voted against marriage equality in the state trying to take credit for its passage.

Anti-Gay Marriage Forces Converge On NY-9 - And speaking of New York, there is a special election today to replace Anthony Wiener in Congress. It looks like the Republican may win. NOM and the Family Research Council have been spinning a false narrative - and spending a lot of money - to claim that the Democrat's vote for marriage equality in the state legislature is leading to his possible loss. Of course this is a lie, as the article points out.

Bill To Repeal DOMA Attracts Record Number Of Co-Sponsors - Great news!

Sad State of Affairs in Africa - Things don't look good for us in the Mother Land.

Oregon GOP Removes Anti-Gay Language From Party Platform - Good news out of Oregon.



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Racists and homophobes use the same lying tactics

Those on the right claim that opposition to marriage equality and opposition to interracial marriage is like "comparing apples to oranges."

If that's the case, then why do folks who oppose both use the same tactics?

Many who oppose marriage equality, like Bob Vander Plaats of the Iowa Family Leader, say that their opposition is because of the supposed "health risks" of homosexuality:



Just like racists (The Nationalist Coalition) who made the following video claim that interracial dating is wrong because supposedly African-Americans are a high risk group for sexually transmitted diseases.



Apples and oranges my foot. Strip away all of the lies and cherry-picked science and what you are left with are lies and fear tactics manipulated to exploit people's ignorance.

There is no difference.



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