Tag Archives: homophobia

Deep in the heart of Texas (yeeeuchh!)

I’ve mentioned before that I’m from Texas originally.

That’s not something I say too loudly these days. It seems like someone handed the keys to the asylum to the inmates in Austin these days.

The 2010-11 GOP platform came out recently. The committee that excreted this pitiful piece of ignorance (headed by state representative Wayne Christian) did an exceptional job of flaunting self-interest and ignorance like it was a new suit. Here’s an excerpt from the platform paper:

Are they fucking kidding? “Breakdown of the family unit?” “The spread of dangerous, communicable diseases?” “Tears at the fabric of society?” (The total tipoff is, of course, “Homosexual behavior is contrary to the fundamental, unchanging truths that have been ordained by God…”)

The platform includes some raving lunatic’s notion that people who assist in getting gay people married to each other should be considered felons.

Doesn’t this sound a lot like Uganda?

Encouraging mass murder

Remember the anti-homosexuality law going down in Uganda? You remember how anti-gay religious wackaloons stirred up the homophobia in Uganda, and then tried to distance themselves from the resultant gay bashing and proposed laws?

Sure you do.

Evangelist Lou Engle recently visited Uganda and participated in a rally in favor of passing this law, which contains measures such as

  • death for gays who HIV positive (but not for HIV-positive straights)
  • 3 years of prison for anyone who witnesses homosexual activity that doesn’t report it to law enforcement (rat on your neighbor or go to jail)
  • 7 years of prison for anyone who supports or promotes homosexuality (this would account for no active protests at the latest rallies)
  • life imprisonment for committing a homosexual act

Engle, who runs various evangelical movements had this to say:

“Today, America is losing its religious freedom. We are trying to restrain an agenda that is sweeping through the education system. Uganda has become ground zero.”

Engle has publicly condemned the harsher provisions of the proposed law, but then backpedaled at the rally (attended by pastors and legislators) and told Ugandans that he praised the country for its courageousness in promoting the bill.

The next mindless beauty queen zombie

Miss Beverly Hills Lauren Ashley--looking good for a member of the religious undead

I guess Carrie Prejean’s lesson didn’t take. Here Miss Ashley opines:

“The Bible says that marriage is between a man and a woman. In Leviticus it says, ‘If man lies with mankind as he would lie with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death and their blood shall be upon them.’ The Bible is pretty black and white…I feel like God himself created mankind and he loves everyone, and he has the best for everyone. If he says that having sex with someone of your same gender is going to bring death upon you, that’s a pretty stern warning, and he knows more than we do about life.”

Oh, but she has lots of gay friends, and they’re okay.

I can hardly wait for someone to out the explicit emails and/or the sex tapes she likely made when she was “young and misguided”.

Vox populi, vox Dei (secui duos)

There is afoot yet another effort on the part of  homophobes to “protect the institution of marriage” in Washington state (known as Referendum 71), hot on the heels of California’s approval (and judicial okey-dokey) of Proposition 8.

(I have never understood the reasoning behind the idea that “marriage” needs protection, why allowing gay couples to wed would threaten “marriage”, and why anyone would think the state should be allowed to interfere with any sort of voluntary legal or moral contract. But, that’s just me, I guess.)

What caught my eye in one commentary stream about the validity of petition signatures for this repugnant bolus of electoral flotsam was from commentariat member Reality Check:

Why are you all afraid of a vote on the issue? Are you afraid of democracy? Afraid of the majority opinion ? If any issue has merit the citizens will vote to uphold the law or issue right?…

What was the merit in legally-voted-upon Jim Crow laws in early 20th-century America?

Jim Crow in action

Jim Crow in action

“Separate but equal” facilities were touted as the segrationists’ way of avoid miscegenation and other “mixing” of the races. The irony of this comparison is that for blacks back then Jim Crow is actually a step up from what is being offered gays now–”domestic partnerships” don’t have the legal teeth that marriage does, while (at least on paper) blacks were “equal”.

What was the merit in legally-voted-upon poll taxes and poll exams that were on the statutes in many states in the U.S. south?

Such impediments were put in place to discourage allowing the vote to blacks and all poor people. They were only deemed illegal due to the passage of the 24th amendment to the U.S. Constitution?

What was the merit in not giving women the right to vote prior to the passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution?

suffrageThere were cries of “Anarchy!” and “Apocalypse now!” when the amendment was being considered. Petitions were held, and endless state referenda voted upon and passed banning women’s suffrage. It was widely believed that women were not capable of understanding the issues and candidates being voted upon.

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“What we are afraid of”, RC? We’re afraid of pure democracy, since it reflects the lowest common denominator of its constituency. As long as there is a sizable portion of the electorate who is even willing to consider putting such exquisite bullshit as Referendum 71 or Prop 8 (California) on the ballot, we all have a great deal to fear.

What it takes to get discriminatory laws swept away is action by those chosen in our representational government (in America, Congress and the Executive Branch), and in many cases it must be forced by constitutional amendment. Giving blacks the right to vote, giving women the right to vote, prohibition, the repeal of prohibition, enforcing the right of blacks to vote and full implementation of civil rights, extending franchise to those 18 years of age–all came about to override the efforts of bigoted zealots.

…and of course we all know where our Chief Executive stands on gay marriage. Don’t we? Or don’t we?