Wrong
This is a disturbing photograph of a group of concerned Maine citizens, calling on a higher power to protect their state. They supported a referendum that would repeal a state law, enacted earlier this year, prohibiting discrimination in employment, housing, credit, public accommodations and education based on sexual orientation. The ‘Yes on 1’ people, pictured in the photograph, were among those who wanted the law repealed.
Now, you might notice that the sign on the table refers to preserving marriage and protecting the state. Nowhere in the law that makes it illegal to discriminate in employment, housing, credit, public accommodations and education, based on sexual orientation, is there even a suggestion of marriage. In fact, the law specifically excludes marriage. But their reasoning seems to follow along these lines—if you give gays, lesbians, transgendered and transsexuals an inch, you’ve set a legal precedent and, before you know it, they’ll be getting married.
So let’s make it legal to discriminate against them so the precedent thing never happens. And let’s pray about it and ask God to help us beat down some of our neighbors and coworkers, no offense, so we can keep the state safe for marriage. It’s not that we hate them or anything, but if we don’t make it legal to discriminate against them, soon they’ll be walking down the aisles in our churches and we totally can’t have that. Oh God, hear our prayer.
People praying to God to put his blessing on legal discrimination is a perversion all in its own category. Anyway. They lost. Discrimination is illegal in Maine. Period. Common sense and decency prevailed. Finally.
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No, I don’t think they do wonder how God feels about things, Pablo. They are secure in their faith and that’s all that matters to them.
Massachusetts has provided for gay marriage for...what?...a year now? I am absolutely certain that if you polled every one of my married neighbors and inquired if gay marriage has had a negative effect on their marriage, they’d look at you as if you were crazy.
There are still forces at work to slap an amendment on our state Constitution to ban gay marriage, but I’m not sure what argument they’ll use. Marriage for everyone else hasn’t changed a whit. The issue more or less fell off most people’s radar shortly after the court made their decision. Life goes on, same as before.
I have every expectation that the issue will be revived in time for the 2006 elections, though. One would think that those who rabidly run against the issue don’t have any other issues. You are right that it is a rallying point for those who have a larger agenda. Enough people will vote on a single issue to make it worthwhile to push the gay marriage issue, regardless of what the candidate thinks about other much more substantive issues. People are gullible.
The fact that our elections have focused on that and abortion almost to the exclusion of everything else (except for war) for the last several election cycles is damaging our country.
I was sorry to hear that Kansas voted to include creationism in their school ‘science’ programs. I read an article someplace last night that quoted a high school senior who said she was glad she was graduating this year, but was sad for the kids coming along behind her. Along with the implications and the dumbing down of science courses, it must give college science professors a case of the shudders to think what they have to look forward to in a few years when those kids hit their classes.
The lad was disappointed to learn that his candidate lost, by quite sizable margin. The safe guy who won said that his opponent was too ambitious and wanted to do too much. Isn’t that something? My town voted for status quo. Our demographics have changed tremendously in the past five years. We are growing richer and redder every year. It’s very disturbing.
The latest issue of Popular Science lists the 10 Worst Jobs in Science, and one of them is Biology Teacher in Kansas. No lie!
Funny you should mention that, pablo; the e-notification of that issue just arrived in my mailbox. Link to 10 Worst Jobs in Science article.
None of them sound very appetizing.
That sign, and cause is SO DISHONEST, that one wonders how they resolve THAT.
Well, I’m not them, so I can’t say. But from reading the article, I’d hazard a guess that they very truly believe that a law securing any rights is the first step toward marriage. From that perspective, they’re not being dishonest.
I think whoever designed the anti-campaign also understands very well that arguing for discrimination makes most people pretty uncomfortable. How small do you have to be to vote to discriminate against people? Framing the issue as a stand against gay marriage gets people all lathered up. Guess it didn’t work this time. The chasm between what the law is really about and what they were about was so wide that the majority didn’t buy it this time.
These folks should be ashamed, but I’m sure they are not.
I see what you mean…
But in that case it’s about them believing their own lies.
Approving of discrimination will somehow protect marriage? That’s a far jump, I’d say.
If I saw that sign, I definitely would think the law had to do with gay marriage. To me that’s dishonest. And I can’t help but think that was exactly what they hoped people would believe.
Well, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, and YES. Respectively. In the next year or two they’ll be crawling all over Massachusetts, too, if a constitutional amendment vote comes up.
Next entry: Cold front. Not.
Previous entry: Go vote!
So much I could say about this. I am SOOOOO VERY glad the law was sustained and discriminiation continues to be illegal, at least in some places. These devout people need to understand that very many people were also praying to their god that the law NOT be repealed. I wonder if the devout ever wonder how god comes down on the issue.
There is a wonderful epiphany moment in Arthur Miller’s novel Focus in which a hardworking Jewish man is talking with an average Joe who is being recruited by the discrimination and hate gang. Why do people hate Jews, asks the Joe. The Jewish man says, to effect, they’re not after the Jews. They’re after you.
The point being that the forces of hate need scapegoats and whipping boys so that they can whip their flocks into a frenzy of hatred and activism. Gays don’t threaten marriage. But if I can get you to hate some outside group, I have you in my control, and I can use you for other purposes as well. As evil as this hate legislation is, I suspect it is only a side issue, a rallying point for amassing followers and frenzy.
The same goes with anti-evolution forces in Kansas. The science will go on. The theory will continue to get more refined and more defined. The theory will continue to be a cornerstone for medical research, leading to advances in treatment and cures. The evolution-deniers aren’t going to stop that. So what is the point of rallying the forces against it? Something far greater, I fear.