Discrimination

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We should be able to discriminate because religion

The photographer who refused to provide service to a gay wedding because it went against his religious beliefs lost again, this time with an appeal to the Supreme Court.

This has some religious people quite upset, because they believe — try to follow this logic — that laws that prevent cruelty to and discrimination against other human beings violates their rights.  Their right to deny rights to others.

I know, right?

The law in that particular state prohibited this exact kind of discrimination, so the photographer thought that there should be an exemption for those who disagree with the law.  You know, in the same way that there are exceptions in other laws that allow you to disobey them if you don’t like them.  In the same way some religious folks were able to ignore laws that struck down interracial marriage back in the ’60s.

Oh, right, I remember now.  That never happened.

Republican leader Mike Huckabee thinks this decision is just terrible.  After all, the Bible is against this and our laws should do whatever the Bible says.  Which means that not only should we be stoning gays to death, we should also bring back slavery.

As Huckabee stated, “unless God re-writes it, edits it, sends it down with His signature on it, it’s not my book to change.” I wonder how many gays Huckabee stoned to death this week?

Here in this place called the United States, we have a Constitution in which the Founding Fathers said, in the very first amendment, that our government would not promote a religion in any way (the “establishment clause.”)  There are other parts of the Constitution that prohibit any sort of religious test be given to anyone in our government, too.

Is it all that surprising that people like Mike Huckabee pick and choose what parts of the Constitution they think should apply to them in the same way they do with the Bible?

 

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The future of gay marriage lawsuits

The Utah Attorney General’s request for a stay pending an appeal has been denied by everyone, and now goes before the United States Supreme Court. A stay is granted when the appellant has the possibility of winning the appeal. It would stop the marriages happening in Utah now pending the results of the appeal.

Higher appeals courts do not have to take every case. If they did, they’d never get anything done. Usually they only take a case when at least some of the justices want to overturn what the lower courts did. Even then, if they can’t convince the other justices, the lower court decision will remain. If the Supreme Court refuses to grant the stay, that’s a pretty good sign that they are not interested in taking this case, which means that marriages will continue in Utah.

The Utah court based much of its decision on the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down California’s anti-gay marriage act. Prohibiting gay marriage “humiliates tens of thousands of children now being raised by same-sex couples,” the Supremes wrote, which gave the federal court ammunition it needed to strike down Utah’s laws.

Any law that discriminates must be strictly scrutinized and the state has to show that the discrimination is necessary to achieve an important end. Generic+Gay+Marriange+Legal Here, there is none. Opponents of gay marriage argue that marriage is for procreation (thus nullifying my 31-year childless marriage and prohibiting the sterile and elderly from ever getting married). They say gay marriage harms the children (when there is no evidence whatsoever to support it). They argue that it’s what the citizens of their state want (which didn’t work when they fought to save laws discriminating against minorities and women, either). And then they argue religious reasons (which have no place in our laws).

There is no legal justification to deny gay marriage, and courts are starting to recognize this.

The important thing about the Utah decision is that it may embolden other courts, both state and federal. If this can be done in Utah, the state with the largest percentage of people still against gay marriage, then why not Pennsylvania, where a majority favor it?

It’s also discouraged the fanatics who are fighting against it. Even some of the most conservative observers are now admitting that this is inevitable so it’s better to wage fights elsewhere.

What we really need is one of the conservative Supreme Court members to retire or, in the case of Thomas, be impeached. (But that’s a different topic for a different day.) If Obama could appoint one more justice, great changes could take place and many of the worst decisions made by the Supremes in the past twenty years could be reversed. (Well, except for Gore v. Bush.)

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The real discrimination

Fox News knows. That’s why they are always fighting for those who are discriminated against: Men. Christians. Heterosexuals. Non-minorities. The wealthy.

Those poor downtrodden members of society. How they’ve been mistreated over the years.

(Here’s the latest example, wherein we should all be decrying the terrible discrimination that men have suffered under.)

Thank God (and I mean “God” literally, you heathens trying to take away God-given rights to mention God as many times in a sentence as God demands. God god god) that someone is fighting these battles for us.

Because clearly, allowing others to be equal only makes everyone else second-class.

And if there’s one thing these people don’t want, it’s to be treated as second-class. That’s a big worry. Soon, for instance, whites will be the minority in America and that’s a terrible thing — do you realize how terribly minorities are treated in this country?

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Gay Bigotry is Dying, So Why Are the Bigots Still Winning?

The latest polls show that gay marriage is now supported by a majority of Americans with the exception of evangelical Christians, the backbone of the Republican party.

And that’s why only nine states have allowed gay marriage (or as they like to call it, “marriage”).gay+marriage+generic081612

Once more, the people lead the politicians, who are afraid of doing anything that may alienate the loudest voters. The solution, clearly, is for us to be louder.

Posting on blogs and Facebook is good for getting the message out, but like all political action, you have to do more. You’ll be surprised how much politicians pay attention to emails and letters they get. Encourage them to sponsor a bill, and let them know how much you’ll work for and contribute to their future campaigns.

Hell, just get out and vote. For every election, including primaries. We outnumber them. We have the power. But if they vote and we don’t, they win.

That’s what the bigots do. They participate. That’s how they defeated propositions in California and other states that would have banned this discrimination.

So spread the word, let everyone know we won’t stand for discrimination, and then do something about it.

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I’m Sorry You’re a Bigot

Seriously. I’m really sorry, and sad for you.

But when you say that gays should not be given the same rights as everyone else, you’re a bigot by definition.

I mean, I know you don’t think you’re a bigot. You think you’re a modern, free-thinking reasonable person. All bigots think that. No one thinks of themselves as a bigot, because they’ve rationalized their reasons for treating other human beings as less than human.

Despite the fact that there is absolutely no evidence that anyone chooses their sexual orientation, you have decided that they do.

There are a few reasons why you may believe that.

Maybe your religion tells you that’s the case and you won’t question it.

Or maybe you have those feelings, and assume everyone else does too. Since you’re fighting the urges inside of you, you think everyone goes through that. “Since I have chosen not to act on my feelings,” you say, “then they can make the choice, too.”

Unfortunately, in either of these scenarios, you’re still a bigot.

The fact that you believe very strongly that you are correct doesn’t mean anything. The reasons for your bigotry aren’t important. All that matters is how you treat your fellow human beings.

And once you have decided that other humans can be treated as inferiors for things they can’t control — their sex, their race, their sexual orientation, their place of birth — then you’re a bigot no matter how sincerely you may believe you are not.

And I’m sorry for you.