Friday, March 29, 2013

I Didn't Say It ....

Evan Wolfson, of Freedom To Marry, to Tony Perkins on Face The Nation:
"Marriage is not defined by who is denied it. When gay people share in the freedom to marry, it doesn't change your marriage, it doesn't change Tony Perkins' marriage. My marriage is my marriage. And it means that I'm able to share in the same aspirations of commitment and love and support and dedication and connectedness, and that my parents are able to dance at our wedding. And our family and friends are able to support and celebrate and hold us accountable for the commitment we've made to one another. That takes nothing away from anyone else... The gay people are not going to use up all the marriage licenses when we enter marriage. And this is not just somebody saying it. We now have nine states including the District of Columbia, fourteen countries on four continents in which gay people share in the freedom to marry and the result is families are helped and no one is hurt."

Like Wolfson, I’m still waiting for some heterosexual couple to make their appearance, state, and prove, their case that same-sex marriage ruined their marriage.
Yeah, won’t happen.

Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, AKA Joe The dumber, er, Plumber, having a sadz because he can’t call queers queer:
"30 years ago we use to play a game called “smear the queer;” a game where whoever had the football got gang tackled. It was a normal. If you had the ball, you were the queer, because no one else had the ball, and having the ball made you odd or “queer” in that respect. Of course, you could throw the ball to another player and the pack would quickly turn to smear that queer, without regard to his or her sexuality, I might add. Queer, gay, homo, fag meant nothing having to do with what you were attracted to and no one committed suicide, got beat up or even called names in that regard. That was my experience. Then, about ten years later, the media and the ever-tolerant Hollywood (not), began portraying homosexual (men) on television and film as the “Funny” one or the one you felt sorry for – just to get us used to the idea. C’mon – who didn’t laugh at Paul Lynde or Charles Nelson Reilly? And not until Ellen demanded her character come out of the closet (which she was summarily fired for) did gay characters litter the big and small screen alike, whether it was important or not. (Just to go a little further with this point, Hollywood will put “gay” characters in TV show/movies that are not relevant to the plot. They try to portray this as “Normal” America. I can tell you right now, when I’m tossing the football with my son in front of the house, I have never seen 2 men hand in hand prancing down the street. You?"

Out of the mouths of morons ...
Joe, you’re an idiot, Gay people, fags, homos and queers, have been name-called, beaten, and murdered for years, even as far back as your tiny mind can fathom … 30 years ago. Times change. The use of words change.
And I imagine two men wouldn’t be caught dead holding hands in front of your house because you might try to smear the queer.
Grow up, Joe, your fifteen minutes is up. You were irrelevant in 2008 and you’re irrelevant today. Get a job.

Matthew Lannon, a sixth-grader, testifying at Rhode island's marriage equality hearing:
"If there's one thing you don't mess with in life, it's love. My parents and all the other gay and lesbian people here want to be happy, just like you. All they want is to be treated fairly. But unlike most of you, they have to come again here year after year and explain over and over why their love is equal to yours. This year, you have the opportunity to change that. I say, choose love.”

Out of the mouths of babes …..

Salvatore Cordileone, San Francisco's 'drunk driving' Archbishop, on marriage equality:
"To legalize marriage between two people of the same sex would enshrine in the law the principle that mothers and fathers are interchangeable or irrelevant, and that marriage is essentially an institution about adults, not children; marriage would mean nothing more than giving adults recognition and benefits in their most significant relationship. How can we do this to our children? No matter what the Supreme Court rules, this debate is not over. Marriage is too important and the issues raised by treating same-gender unions as marriages are too fundamental to just go away. Just as Roe v. Wade did not end the conversation about abortion, so a ruling that tries to import same-sex marriage into our Constitution is not going to end the marriage debate, but intensify it. We will have a bitterly polarized country divided on the marriage issue for years if not generations to come." 

Howsabout, rather than thinking of a child having a mother and a father, Howsabout wishing children had a loving parents, or parents, of either gender. Howsabout, Archbishop, shutting your pie-hole about what’s best for children when you belong to a group that has been raping children for decades.

Ronnie Musgrave, former Mississippi governor, now regretting signing a law to ban adoptions for gay couples:
"After thinking about this for some time, I realized that if you're fortunate, age and knowledge breed compassion. The more I read the (U.S.) Constitution, the clearer it became that you just can't deny rights to a specific class of people just because some are uncomfortable with what they do not understand. Too many elected officials take positions without thinking about the real impact on people and families. I am glad Sen. Portman had the same evolution I did, but I wish all of us had the compassion for other people to think about the impact of political positions before making them policy."

Nicely put; people can change their minds, but many times, if they just thought first, they might have made the equal choice in the first place.

Mike Huckabee, on whether the GOP will pivot to support marriage equality:
“They might. And if they do, they’re going to lose a large part of their base because evangelicals will take a walk. And it’s not because there’s an anti-homosexual mood, and nobody’s homophobic that I know of, but many of us, and I consider myself included, base our standards not on the latest Washington Post poll, but on an objective standard, not a subjective standard. I have great sympathy and extraordinary admiration for Sen. Portman. I consider him a friend and I value his work in the Senate and think he’s a great person. The mistake is that we sometimes base our public policy decisions on how we feel, how we think, maybe even some personal experiences, and we don’t regard a lot of these issues from the standpoint of an objective standard."

I love how he says denying equality to one class of people, based on his own religious indoctrination does not make him a homophobe.
Yes, it does Mike. Equal is equal, plain and simple, and until the GOP gets that, they’ll forever be on the outside wondering how to get back in.

Scott Fujita, NFL linebacker Scott Fujita, in a piece he wrote for the NYT about marriage equality:
"I support marriage equality for so many reasons: my father’s experience in an internment camp and the racial intolerance his family experienced during and after the war, the gay friends I have who are really not all that different from me, and also because of a story I read a few years back about a woman who was denied the right to visit her partner of 15 years when she was stuck in a hospital bed ... My belief is rooted in a childhood nurtured by a Christian message of love, compassion and acceptance. It’s grounded in the fact that I was adopted and know there are thousands of children institutionalized in various foster programs, in desperate need of permanent, safe and loving homes, but living in states that refuse to allow unmarried couples, including gays and lesbians, to adopt because they consider them not fit to be parents ... In articulating all my feelings about marriage equality, I almost don’t know where to begin. And perhaps that’s part of the problem. Why do we have to explain ourselves when it comes to issues of fairness and equality? Why is common sense not enough?"

Word.

"Bishop" Harry Jackson, on how much better straight marriages are for everyone involved:
"When a man and a woman are in the house, poverty is lessened. When a man and a woman are in the house, kids don’t go to prison. When a man and a woman are in the house, there’s less domestic violence. When a man and a woman are in the house, sexual abuse does not happen."

No poor straight couples?
No kids from straight marriages in prisons?
No domestic violence among straight married couples?
No such thing as spousal rape?
Apparently Bishop Jackson doesn't read a newspaper, for if her did he could find out in one sitting how unbelievably stupid a man he truly is.

8 comments:

  1. After listening to some of the arguments and more punditry I have a question....
    If the Supreme Court allows marriage to continue to be a state by state function. So marriage in Washington state but not available (at this time) in Oregon.
    My parents were transferred, by my Dad's company, seven times before Dad retired - between states and countries. Their rights went everywhere with them including to the other country.

    Question: does that mean gay
    couples will be 'trapped' in the state in which they married and isn't that economic discrimination with a very significant impact?

    My dad's job went from being a mechanical engineer to a VP of the company - all of which allowed them a very nice and adventurous retirement.

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  2. My goodness! Bishop Jackson certainly must live a very sheltered life to be so oblivious to the real world. He has to be ignoring a lot of misery occurring right under his nose. Of course, if he preaches that those things wouldn't be happening in his religious Neverland, it becomes less likely that anyone would seek counseling from him if they are living abusive home lives. No doubt, he would shame and be dismissive of their pain and fear. Sadly, there are a lot of hard-hearted clergy like that!

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  3. Bob,

    An excellent post. Thank you so much for posting this. I will share it with my Facebook friends and relatives, many of whom I regret to say are still clinging to their bible. Nice people but just totally unrealistic to the real world that is changing around them. They just cannot get those horse blinders off of their heads. This year's family reunion (which I organize and put on) will be very interesting. Most already knew I was gay and several younger family members are out gay but it will be interesting when I introduce my gay married friend who is the photographer that I hire every year and who all love. Some of these straight people are in such a quandary that I almost feel sorry for them. Almost.

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  4. Bob,

    Personally I am looking forward to the day which is not too long in the future when these homophobes will fade away into another sad chapter of ignominy of intolerance.

    RonRetired in Delaware

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  5. @The Dog's Mother
    That's THE question exactly!

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  6. Yup! And has anybody addressed it then I've missed it.
    (Oh, and it was 8 work related moves then add 3 after retirement so make that 11...)

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  7. I second ron's posts! hell, even fatty rush limbo said yesterday that same-sex marriage is inevitable. more people need to get with the program!

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  8. Anonymous12:32 PM

    Since when has sexual abuse not happened in heterosexaual marriage? I've worked in Social Services and dealt with cases where the Dads have sexually abused the children and Mum stood aside, desperate to keep her man! Is that better than same-sex marriage?
    There are good people and bad people; what you are is not important. Who you are is.

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Say anything, but keep it civil .......