Columnist and ladies man … not! Dan Savage appeared on Countdown to discuss Maine, our so-called fierce advocate, and why the Democratic party is a bunch of pathetic poodles (video: Countdown with Keith Olbermann)
The educated, urban-dwelling Mainers who turned out in droves this past Tuesday to support the right of same-gender-loving Mainers to enter into civil marriages deserve our gratitude, as do the volunteers who worked their assets off defying the immutable bigotry of the Roman Catholic Church, its shy to a fault funders, and the usual lineup of anti-gay groups, including but not limited to, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) and Focus on the Family.
Unfortunately, that same day, a slim majority of Mainers, the ones who thump their Bibles in the sticks and can’t fathom why some of their sons and daughters move to LGBT-welcoming places like Portland, Bangor and Brunswick and are reluctant to let Mom and Dad come visit the homes they share with their same-sex roommates, took their ignorance and fear to the voting booth. These bigots — there is no more apt term for them — drank the religious reich’s caustic kool-aid, defied Maine’s traditional live-and-let-live values, and voted to eliminate the essential right to first-class citizenship of their fellow Mainers.
In the last days of the campaign, fearing a gathering storm of equality, Stand for Marriage Maine trotted out an ad that told Mainers it was possible to both hate on the gays and still feel good about themselves:
It’s possible (video: YesOnOne at YouTube)
You heard that right:
Abandoning traditional marriage entails real consequences, yet we want to be tolerant of gays. Maine’s Domestic Partnership laws provide substantial legal protection for gay couples. Any problems remaining can be addressed without dismantling traditional marriage. It’s possible to support the civil rights of all citizens and protect traditional marriage at the same time.
(emphasis: mine)
Stand for Marriage Maine’s feigned sense of fairplay and acceptance of the gays didn’t sit well with Anti-Gay, Inc. and there has been a subsequent torrent of criticism from the usual lineup of professional phobes — Mike Heath, Bam Bam Barber, Brian Camenker, Paul Madore to cite a few. These individuals devote every waking moment of their lives to echoing the sentiments of the Westboro Baptist Church’s Fred Phelps. They cringe and bleat when the truth is articulated, but bottom-line: They’re no different than the hate-mongering preacher from Topeka.
That torrent of homo-hate hit the high-water mark today, when professional phobe and gay-porn aficiando Peter LaBarbera surrendered the steering wheel of the Christianist clowncar to fellow ‘mo-hater Linda Harvey of Missionary Position America, who had previously spewed the same line of shit at Wing Nut Daily.
Ms Harvey claimed “Christian policy professionals all across the country were aghast” at Stand for Marriage Maine’s last-ditch attempt to thwart marriage equality. She describes it:
This is a huge concession to the hopes and aspirations of “gay” activists. Are there indeed “rights” that need to be accorded to the behavior of homosexuality? No self-respecting Christian would take this position. This paves the way for the pseudo-marriage of “domestic partnerships.” The big question is: Why did “conservatives” do this?
Obviously in the throes of an acute onset of honesty-impairment, Harvey asserts:
In California, a lesbian teacher invited her grade-school class to her “wedding,” providing Exhibit A about the poor judgment empowered when same-sex marriage becomes law –– and this incident was featured in the winning Prop 8 campaign.
Wrong! The outing was not organized by the teacher. Get your facts straight, Ms Harvey. The parent of every child on that field trip had the right to opt their child out and two parents, truth be told, took advantage of that policy.
Then the Christianist con and conservative columnist attacks Maine’s Catholic Church for not hating the gays quite enough to suit her personal tastes:
The Catholic Church in Maine made similar foolish accommodations. In reacting to the victory, Bishop Richard Malone said that the church upholds marriage yet “respects and accepts gays.” Really? The Catholic Church accepts homosexual behavior? Two men having sex with one another? Women excluding men from their lives and shacking up as lesbians? This is respectable and acceptable in Catholic teachings? This seems to say there might be truth to the claim of “gay” identity, something homosexualists would love for Christians to embrace.
Harvey points to the pointless, and largely ignored by Mainers, parade of hate group leaders and truth-bending sideshow toadies who hit the capitol of Maine in the waning days of the campaign:
But despite the teaching moment that LaBarbera, Madore and Camenker took advantage of, and despite the excellent media coverage their statements received, the Stand for Marriage campaign did not embrace them. In fact, they did everything possible to discourage their efforts, both in public and behind the scenes. Scott Fish of Stand for Marriage told the Maine media he “disavowed” any association with these brave pro-family warriors.
In this instance, Scott Fish is to be commended for his sanity.
Harvey concludes: “God has no tolerance for damaging, destructive homosexual behavior.” However, Harvey’s invisible dude in the sky is down with her false-witness-bearing and lifelong commitment to not loving her neighbor if that neighbor happens to love individuals of the same gender.
On the other hand, LaBarbera and his good friend Ms Harvey are to be commended for more than amply demonstrating that these ongoing battles have nothing to do with marriage — traditional, opposite or any other description, they are about hating people who were born to love differently and about denying them first-class citizenship in their own country.
Click for Printable Version
