The Devil went down to. . .Washington

So I was all set to rant about selfish customers who don't believe people who work retail are really people, and I had a question for you guys (which you won't answer, you never answer, but I have a dream and one day most of you will!), but then.

Then I ran across this little news item and it both boggles and bothers me, so of course I have to share.  What are friends for?

Background for those of you just joining us.

Here in Washington State, we have a domestic partnership law, and over the last couple of years, we've gotten more and more rights.  This year, the legislature enacted the "everything but marriage" law which says we have all the same rights as our heterosexual married counterparts, we just can't CALL it marriage.

It goes into effect this month.

Let's face it, there are quite a few people out there who really want us to have equal rights, they're just wildly possessive about those three words -- "marriage", "husband" and "wife".  They don't want to share.  They see it as a slide into debauchery, conveniently overlooking the phrase "consenting adult" which immediately bars pedophiles and those into bestiality from getting married.

Okay, so we have the rights, not the name, and for the most part, that's just dandy.  It's really the rights most of us are after.  Well, and for people in power to recognize that we do HAVE those rights, but that's another story.

Granted, there are people who are saying the next step for the GLBT community is to actually CALL it marriage, and they're right, it will happen, if only because people under 30 for the most part think it's a non-issue and they wish everyone would concentrate on what matters.  So, yeah, it's gonna happen.

But these folks want to rescind the rights we have simply because they believe that it will lead to marriage.  For us to be equal in all but name puts us too close to them for comfort.

Kinda like penalizing us for what we might do.  Like taking away your keys 'cause you *might* drive drunk.  Or barring you from buying a swimming suit if you're over 30, 'cause you *might* wear it in public.  It's all about protecting society from our potential impulses.

So Larry Stickney spearheaded Referendum 71 to have our rights repealed (although he hasn't donated to his own cause; isn't that strange somehow?) and he has until July 25th to get the signatures to put everything on hold.

Oh, and by the way, if you'd like to sign the Decline To Sign petition, please do so.  It'd be great if we had twice as many people decining to sign as Larry has actually signing.

Okay, but this is just background.

Today one of Larry's supporters, Ron Boehme, has "exposed the truth" about folks who defend civil liberties.  You might want to be fully informed before you sign that petition, folks!

Here's the truth he's expounding (and this is a quote directly from the article) - "Thus conservatives share a Christian view of reality. Liberals share an atheist view of life. That's not an opinion - it's just a fact."

Oh yes, if you're a liberal, you're an athiest.  All liberals are athiests!  Come on, 'fess up!  No, you can't be religious or spiritual.  You're a liberal!  Only conservatives can be Christian. Remember that!

But it gets better.

See, apparently if you're not conservative enough or wealthy enough, you've got to be working for Satan.  Here's what he says:

"Satan wants to destroy people (John 10:10), and the easiest way to do this is to blind them to right and wrong. That’s why he’s for free sex, fornication, pornography, homosexuality, killing babies, altering marriage–and anything else that cripples the human spirit and separates them from a holy God.  He also desires to bring them to poverty of life and health through government controls of commerce and industry. Satan wants people immoral and poor."

So if you're poor, you're Satanic?  Really?

And of course gays are obviously at the forefront of abortion.  We so casually get pregnant, doncha know.  Happens all the time.

Well, and Boehme wants to fewer business regulations but he's opposed to "free sex"?  So he wants to license and tax it, then?  Isn't that, um, prostitution?  Which is immoral?

Now understand, this is the same guy who said that preventing gay marriage was more important in the 21st century than opposing abortion, which he called the world's greated holocaust.

And us getting married is worse than a holocaust?  Any holocaust?  Seriously?

Apparently it's right up there with government regulated health care. 

Does anyone but me hear Flip Wilson hollering, "The Devil made me do it!"?

Oh wait, that was a man dressed up as a woman.  That CAN'T be moral! 

I'm making fun of him because, well, I have to, but the fact is he's serious.  And he has folks who agree with him.  I don't doubt the depth of his conviction, and in a way it's kinda admirable.

But this guy and his cohorts actually think Lillian and I are demon-possessed, and that's his basis for refusing us civil rights.

That scares me.  Because people who think this way encourage a mob mentality, and violence towards gays in Christ's name is more common than you think.  And if - WHEN - Referendum 71 gets shut down, won't that be the proof they need?  What will their reaction be?  It's a little disturbing.

It doesn't change anything, actually.  I'm still going to say I'm married because I am, at least in a few States in the nation, and I'm not going to submit to an exorcism to chase the demons out of me, and I'm still gonna advocate for complete civil equality.

And I'm still going to call the wingnuts on their wingnuttery.  Because you can't just ignore stuff like this.  It's like an poisonous mold.  It'll spread until it infects everything. 

Nope.  Can't have it.  And I'm going to shine lights on it until it shrivels, and I'm going to laugh at their silliness, because, well. . .they keep giving me stuff to laugh at!

Like dear Rush, and his pro-hypocrisy stance, which is a whole 'nother story, but dudes!  Seriously.

"Next, Rush had "one more thing" to say about the Sanford affair. He explained that people were telling him that the Republican Party needs to get rid of social issues because it is seen as hypocrisy in situations like this. But Rush rejected this idea. Instead, Rush argued that "society needs hypocrisy." This actually went on for a few minutes, with Rush essentially making the case that hypocrisy helps preserve morality more effectively that "moral equivalency" does, which is what liberals try to impose on society."

You can't make that shit up.

Comments

[Cassiopeae]

You're right. I know that. You know that. Just one thing.

"Or barring you from buying a swimming suit if you're over 30, 'cause you *might* wear it in public."

Helen Mirren is in her 60's and looks better in a bikini than I do. Just sayin'.

P.S. Rush is hilarious. Sometimes I almost think it's an act.

[Jaime Frontero]

lord, those people are all so stupid and worthless. wouldn't it be nice, if it were safe not to be forced to engage them?

what we could accomplish on this earth...

[Charlie Kohm]

New York State's legislature has put gay marriage legislation on hold because two democrats decided to join the republicans to make a majority voting bloc against gay marriage. The Christian fundies have been airing TV commercials warning of a descent into immorality and decadence if New York state joins the ranks of other states which have made gay marriage legal.

This is coming from men who have had to leave office because of their past discretions with prostitutes, embezzlers and corrupt PACS!

This makes one realize quickly that New York City IS NOT New York State! Upstate New York is poverty stricken, corrupt and more like Georgia than downstate residents would like to admit.