Post by MisterC on Jun 8, 2014 0:05:17 GMT -6
You know, I never cease to be amazed at how the opponents of gay rights in general (and marriage equality for same-sex couples, specifically) all continue to read from the same tired, worn-out page. They seem to relish using scare tactics against the LGBT community that simply wore out long ago. They cling to the old lies like an old dog with a bone, stubbornly refusing to let go. Where their arguments for keeping that Infamous closet door slammed shut and packed with as many of us as it can fit are concerned, the Bible puts it best, "there is nothing new under the sun".
The quotes below just prove that fact in my mind. That's why I included them here. They're just random quotes I found, but when you read some of these words, don't be surprised if you start wondering--like I do--if these people actually live on this planet in the 21st century or not. Their words--if they weren't so sad and hateful--would almost be funny...ALMOST. It's the sentiment that the words portray, though, that is far from funny, and is actually quite disheartening.
To me, the silver lining in all this is that America is apparently listening to and engaging this debate. And I firmly believe that--with the unwitting assistance from our opponents--the public is starting to understand just how simple our demands for equality are. Americans, by and large, seem to be finding fewer and fewer reasons for the government to legally keep us from our due as full-fledged citizens of the United States of America, and just as fellow human beings living on the same little blue marble in space.
Hold on to your hats...it's gonna be a bumpy ride...
1. Rabbi Noson Leiter, of Torah Jews for Decency, explained that Hurricane Sandy hit the northeastern U.S. in late 2012 because New England is "one of the national centers for homosexuality." I'll bet you had no idea where our national center was located, did you? In all seriousness, though, it doesn't sound like much compassion at all for all those people (of course, including children) who aren't of the homosexual persuasion, does it? Organized Religion strikes again.
2. Former singer and spokesperson for Florida Orange Juice, as well as celebrated anti-gay rights crusader from the 1970s, Anita Bryant once warned that "If gays are granted rights, next we'll have to give rights to prostitutes and to people who sleep with St. Bernards and to nail biters." Boy, there's no doubt why Florida Orange Growers chose little Miss Sunshine (no offense intended to the awesome movie by the same name) to pedal their juice, is there?
Now, fast forward to 2013...
3. Showing how some things just never change (especially when you're entirely devoid of logical arguments), Kentucky U.S. Senator Rand Paul, on the occasion of the Supreme Court's striking down of the Defense of Marriage Act (a.k.a. DOMA) last summer, regurgitated essentially the same old discredited line. Said Senator Paul: "I think it's a conundrum. If we have no laws on this, people take it to one extension further, does it have to be humans, you know?" (To answer the senator's question: no...I really DON'T know. Maybe it's because I live in the real world, you know?)
4. Now that we've broached the inter-species marriage question, what list of unquotable quotes would be complete without the old incest canard? Back in April 2013, actor Jeremy Irons, weighed in on the subject and asked, rhetorically, I suppose, "Could a father not marry his son? It's not incest between men [because] incest [law] is there to protect us from inbreeding, but men don't breed. I don't have a strong feeling either way. Living with another animal, whether it be a husband or a dog, is great. It's lovely to have someone to love." I guess that those last couple of sentences represent Irons' feeble attempt at sarcasm. Seems that, just as it was for now-infamous former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, the man-on-dog comparison was just too good for Irons to pass up.
5. Phyllis Schlafly of the very conservative Eagle Forum (or "Phyllis Shoo Fly", as former Senator Ted Kennedy called her) whose own son, John is gay (and who actually supports his mom's work), appears to have thoroughly studied the subject of marriage equality, and is able to actually quantify the damage the evil gays are perpetrating on the "sanctity of marriage". Using her bigoted math, Mrs. Schlafly contends that "the gays are about 5 percent of the attack on marriage in this country, and the feminists are about 95 percent." Come on guys (I mean, GAYS), can't we do any better than 5 measly percent? Where's that enthusiasm for "the homosexual agenda"?
Source for first 5 quotes: www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-10-dumbest-things-ever-said-about-same-sex-marriage-20130627
6. Back in 2004, U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, on a radio program called, “Prophetic Views Behind The News”, talked about her "serious" fear of marriage equality. Why, you may ask? Why, it's "because it is our children who are the prize for this community. They are specifically targeting our children." In case you're keeping track, so far we've covered the big three major talking points for the opposition to marriage equality: bestiality, incest and child molestation.
7. Professor of Christian Ethics at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC, Daniel Heimbach, spoke about his opposition to marriage equality by, of course, referencing the "bestiality thing" (I guess he just couldn't help himself), but he gets points for originality for making a comparison I'd personally never heard before: Heimbach wondered if "people who love ice cream [will have the legal right] to marry ice cream.” You'd think a college professor might think a little before speaking. The sad part is that he probably DID think before he spoke.
Source for quotes 6 & 7: www.verbicidemagazine.com/2012/06/19/top-ridiculous-anti-same-sex-gay-marriage-quotes/
8. Alan Chambers, former Executive Director of the now-defunct "ex-gay" group, Exodus North America, put God's stamp of disapproval on homosexuality, remarking, “One of the many evils this world has to offer is the sin of homosexuality. Satan, the enemy is using people to further his agenda to destroy the Kingdom of God and as many souls as he can.”
Source for quote 8: www.truthwinsout.org/ex-gay-quotes/
9. The Right Reverend Tyrone Queen (what a fabulous last name, right?) of Oakland Baptist Church in Oakland, California practically admits that no sensible case can be made against marriage equality. Apparently, he believes that the burden of proof as regards the effects of equality on the moral fabric of America is on the proponents of allowIng gays and lesbians to marry, contending, "same-sex 'marriage' advocates have not proven it will NOT [emphasis mine] harm the traditionally [sic] family unit.” Sounds to me like he's saying, "Well, the opponents of marriage equality can't really prove that same-sex marriages will harm society, but you guys can prove it won't." Convoluted reasoning, anyone?
Source for quote 9: www.bluepage.org/gay-partners/4.html
10. Back in 2003, the Supreme Court ruled in Lawrence v. Texas, that the Lone Star state's anti-sodomy law was unconstitutional. One of the arguments used on behalf of those seeking to overturn the law was that, while heterosexuals could have non-procreative sex legally in Texas, same-gender people could not, thus placing an additional burden on gay people, which, the plaintiffs contended, violated the constitutional right to equal protection. Arch conservative, Justice Antonin Scalia, who (of course) dissented from the majority opinion striking down the law, callously pointed out that the Texas law didn't prevent gays and lesbians from having "any sexual intimacy. It says you cannot have sexual intimacy with a person of the same sex." He went on to write that all "men and women, heterosexuals and homosexuals [in Texas]" are prohibited from engaging in "deviate sexual intercourse with someone of the same sex." Yep, he went there. Scalia, head firmly ensconced up his own ass, contended that not only can gay people in Texas not have gay sex, straight people in Texas can't have gay sex either. Wow! And all this time, we though we weren't being treated equally under the law. Thankfully, Justice Scalia was there to set us straight...so to speak.
Source for quote 10: www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/03/scalia-worst-things-said-written-about-homosexuality-court
After reading all the foregoing, and having heard all of it again and again over the years, I personally think that the words chosen by the foes of fairness and equality for LGBT people to describe who they think we are and what "the Homosexual Agenda" seeks to extract from society actually say more about THEM than they do about US. So much so that, really and truly, I've come to the conclusion that we who support LGBT rights should almost be thankful for those who oppose equality. They speak volumes for us simply by speaking their minds. We should never, ever stop our fight for what is right and just, but we also should pray that they keep on talking, using the same old-same old to make their points. We should hope that the (basically fair-minded) American public continues to hear every single hateful, hurtful word they say, all the while just shaking their collective heads in utter disbelief.
The quotes below just prove that fact in my mind. That's why I included them here. They're just random quotes I found, but when you read some of these words, don't be surprised if you start wondering--like I do--if these people actually live on this planet in the 21st century or not. Their words--if they weren't so sad and hateful--would almost be funny...ALMOST. It's the sentiment that the words portray, though, that is far from funny, and is actually quite disheartening.
To me, the silver lining in all this is that America is apparently listening to and engaging this debate. And I firmly believe that--with the unwitting assistance from our opponents--the public is starting to understand just how simple our demands for equality are. Americans, by and large, seem to be finding fewer and fewer reasons for the government to legally keep us from our due as full-fledged citizens of the United States of America, and just as fellow human beings living on the same little blue marble in space.
Hold on to your hats...it's gonna be a bumpy ride...
1. Rabbi Noson Leiter, of Torah Jews for Decency, explained that Hurricane Sandy hit the northeastern U.S. in late 2012 because New England is "one of the national centers for homosexuality." I'll bet you had no idea where our national center was located, did you? In all seriousness, though, it doesn't sound like much compassion at all for all those people (of course, including children) who aren't of the homosexual persuasion, does it? Organized Religion strikes again.
2. Former singer and spokesperson for Florida Orange Juice, as well as celebrated anti-gay rights crusader from the 1970s, Anita Bryant once warned that "If gays are granted rights, next we'll have to give rights to prostitutes and to people who sleep with St. Bernards and to nail biters." Boy, there's no doubt why Florida Orange Growers chose little Miss Sunshine (no offense intended to the awesome movie by the same name) to pedal their juice, is there?
Now, fast forward to 2013...
3. Showing how some things just never change (especially when you're entirely devoid of logical arguments), Kentucky U.S. Senator Rand Paul, on the occasion of the Supreme Court's striking down of the Defense of Marriage Act (a.k.a. DOMA) last summer, regurgitated essentially the same old discredited line. Said Senator Paul: "I think it's a conundrum. If we have no laws on this, people take it to one extension further, does it have to be humans, you know?" (To answer the senator's question: no...I really DON'T know. Maybe it's because I live in the real world, you know?)
4. Now that we've broached the inter-species marriage question, what list of unquotable quotes would be complete without the old incest canard? Back in April 2013, actor Jeremy Irons, weighed in on the subject and asked, rhetorically, I suppose, "Could a father not marry his son? It's not incest between men [because] incest [law] is there to protect us from inbreeding, but men don't breed. I don't have a strong feeling either way. Living with another animal, whether it be a husband or a dog, is great. It's lovely to have someone to love." I guess that those last couple of sentences represent Irons' feeble attempt at sarcasm. Seems that, just as it was for now-infamous former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, the man-on-dog comparison was just too good for Irons to pass up.
5. Phyllis Schlafly of the very conservative Eagle Forum (or "Phyllis Shoo Fly", as former Senator Ted Kennedy called her) whose own son, John is gay (and who actually supports his mom's work), appears to have thoroughly studied the subject of marriage equality, and is able to actually quantify the damage the evil gays are perpetrating on the "sanctity of marriage". Using her bigoted math, Mrs. Schlafly contends that "the gays are about 5 percent of the attack on marriage in this country, and the feminists are about 95 percent." Come on guys (I mean, GAYS), can't we do any better than 5 measly percent? Where's that enthusiasm for "the homosexual agenda"?
Source for first 5 quotes: www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-10-dumbest-things-ever-said-about-same-sex-marriage-20130627
6. Back in 2004, U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, on a radio program called, “Prophetic Views Behind The News”, talked about her "serious" fear of marriage equality. Why, you may ask? Why, it's "because it is our children who are the prize for this community. They are specifically targeting our children." In case you're keeping track, so far we've covered the big three major talking points for the opposition to marriage equality: bestiality, incest and child molestation.
7. Professor of Christian Ethics at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC, Daniel Heimbach, spoke about his opposition to marriage equality by, of course, referencing the "bestiality thing" (I guess he just couldn't help himself), but he gets points for originality for making a comparison I'd personally never heard before: Heimbach wondered if "people who love ice cream [will have the legal right] to marry ice cream.” You'd think a college professor might think a little before speaking. The sad part is that he probably DID think before he spoke.
Source for quotes 6 & 7: www.verbicidemagazine.com/2012/06/19/top-ridiculous-anti-same-sex-gay-marriage-quotes/
8. Alan Chambers, former Executive Director of the now-defunct "ex-gay" group, Exodus North America, put God's stamp of disapproval on homosexuality, remarking, “One of the many evils this world has to offer is the sin of homosexuality. Satan, the enemy is using people to further his agenda to destroy the Kingdom of God and as many souls as he can.”
Source for quote 8: www.truthwinsout.org/ex-gay-quotes/
9. The Right Reverend Tyrone Queen (what a fabulous last name, right?) of Oakland Baptist Church in Oakland, California practically admits that no sensible case can be made against marriage equality. Apparently, he believes that the burden of proof as regards the effects of equality on the moral fabric of America is on the proponents of allowIng gays and lesbians to marry, contending, "same-sex 'marriage' advocates have not proven it will NOT [emphasis mine] harm the traditionally [sic] family unit.” Sounds to me like he's saying, "Well, the opponents of marriage equality can't really prove that same-sex marriages will harm society, but you guys can prove it won't." Convoluted reasoning, anyone?
Source for quote 9: www.bluepage.org/gay-partners/4.html
10. Back in 2003, the Supreme Court ruled in Lawrence v. Texas, that the Lone Star state's anti-sodomy law was unconstitutional. One of the arguments used on behalf of those seeking to overturn the law was that, while heterosexuals could have non-procreative sex legally in Texas, same-gender people could not, thus placing an additional burden on gay people, which, the plaintiffs contended, violated the constitutional right to equal protection. Arch conservative, Justice Antonin Scalia, who (of course) dissented from the majority opinion striking down the law, callously pointed out that the Texas law didn't prevent gays and lesbians from having "any sexual intimacy. It says you cannot have sexual intimacy with a person of the same sex." He went on to write that all "men and women, heterosexuals and homosexuals [in Texas]" are prohibited from engaging in "deviate sexual intercourse with someone of the same sex." Yep, he went there. Scalia, head firmly ensconced up his own ass, contended that not only can gay people in Texas not have gay sex, straight people in Texas can't have gay sex either. Wow! And all this time, we though we weren't being treated equally under the law. Thankfully, Justice Scalia was there to set us straight...so to speak.
Source for quote 10: www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/03/scalia-worst-things-said-written-about-homosexuality-court
After reading all the foregoing, and having heard all of it again and again over the years, I personally think that the words chosen by the foes of fairness and equality for LGBT people to describe who they think we are and what "the Homosexual Agenda" seeks to extract from society actually say more about THEM than they do about US. So much so that, really and truly, I've come to the conclusion that we who support LGBT rights should almost be thankful for those who oppose equality. They speak volumes for us simply by speaking their minds. We should never, ever stop our fight for what is right and just, but we also should pray that they keep on talking, using the same old-same old to make their points. We should hope that the (basically fair-minded) American public continues to hear every single hateful, hurtful word they say, all the while just shaking their collective heads in utter disbelief.