Series: Gay Marriage

ABC News did one of their “What Would You Do” segments in a Texas diner. They had a lesbian couple with children (actors), and a gay couple with children go in, and a person playing a waitress who began to criticize the couples openly. I must admit, I was heartened by what transpired, and reminded of how important it is to speak out in face of bigotry and inequality. The Texan’s fared better than New Yorker’s. But leave it to NOM to go hating on the people who stand up to bigotry.

I admit to being a little late on this one, but head of SPLC designated hate group Family Research Council, Tony Perkins, is just all atwitter about marriage equality passing in New York State. Get this, he’s deeply concerned the law doesn’t “protect” deeply religious “divorce lawyers.” If, as Perkins and the other haters claim, they are just in this to “protect marriage,” why would there be any such thing as a “deeply religious divorce lawyer.” Wouldn’t their deeply held beliefs prohibit them enabling any divorce?

The Senate today held hearings on the Defense of Marriage Act. There were a lot of poignant moments, but Senator Al Franken may have pulled off one of the best exchanges of the day. Franken is a smart guy, and these idiots from the hate organizations need to not sell him short. They may get away with making shit up with other Senators, but not much gets by Sen. Franken.

So this GOP State Senator James Forrester who is supposedly a medical doctor (fortunately the sick in his town he’s retired). The batshittery is beyond belief and goes on and on as this blow hard is caught in lie after lie as he tries to conceal the animous on which the anti-gay hate bill was based. He was the primary sponsor. I warn you, the blatant idocy could make you want to puncture your ear drums.

It appears that folks at the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), Maggie Gallagher’s personal hate group, is collecting stories of town/county clerks from around New York State who feel put-upon for having to follow the state’s law that all couples are equal under the State’s Marriage laws. As they collect their videos of the horrible (horrible I say) persecution caused these people being expected to do their civil duties under state law as Agents of The State, we’ll look at them under the light of a Constitutional Republic which is ruled by law, not religion.

Today’s featured guest is Ruth Sheldon, but before we get to Ruth’s story, don’t you just love the intense music NOM uses at the beginning of their videos? Ruth was the Town Clerk for Granby for nearly 16 years. She wants us to be sure we know that she loved the job, but was forced to give it up because of those icky gay people expecting to be treated fairly. She wrote in her resignation letter that “New York State passed the same-sex marriage law, a law which violates my conscience and my faith.”

So now we come to the end of our little journey through the latest creation of Maggie Gallagher. Maggie is the former Board Chair and President of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), but she recently left those posts to create an off-shoot group called the Marriage Anti-Defamation Alliance, because you know, the good Christians like Maggie are being persecuted because they slowing losing their right to discriminate against whole classes of people under the civil laws of this country. Maggie started this group up with a guy named Frank Turek. Frank’s story was one of the first NOM started trotting out to try to show that people who believe in unequal treatment were being treated unequally.

Well, of course the war over writing bigotry and discrimination into the North Carolina Constitution is in full swing. I am sadly disappointed that this is what my home state has come to, but I’m not surprised. I’ve talked to several of the legislators who voted to put this on the ballot, and they absolve themselves by saying, “Well, I just think the people should vote.” But when I ask them why they don’t put every civil right on the ballot, I was called, “absurd.”

Jim Burroway at Box Turtle Bulletin brings this YouTube video to our attention. It is Pastor Frederick B. Haynes of Friendship West Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas preaching about the hating on Obama on his stance around gay marriage. I don’t know how, but I’m thankful that here is a minister who gets it, and isn’t afraid to say so. “…But whatever you like to ostracize other people it’s because there’s a fear that you have yourself, and the fear that you have finds itself rooted in an ignorance of other people. “