Comments on: Maine voters favor overturning gay marriage in latest poll http://www.inlookout.com/2009/09/18/maine-voters-favor-overturning-gay-marriage-in-latest-poll/ Looking out for all the gay, political, science and entertainment news you need from a liberal perspective. Wed, 23 Nov 2011 01:44:53 +0000 hourly 1 By: James http://www.inlookout.com/2009/09/18/maine-voters-favor-overturning-gay-marriage-in-latest-poll/comment-page-1/#comment-1410 James Sun, 20 Sep 2009 19:06:38 +0000 http://www.inlookout.com/?p=7173#comment-1410 It's time for some motivation... http://indeclaration.wordpress.com/2009/09/20/fire-from-heaven/ It’s time for some motivation…

http://indeclaration.wordpress.com/2009/09/20/fire-from-heaven/

]]> By: Philip Chandler http://www.inlookout.com/2009/09/18/maine-voters-favor-overturning-gay-marriage-in-latest-poll/comment-page-1/#comment-1408 Philip Chandler Sat, 19 Sep 2009 18:46:59 +0000 http://www.inlookout.com/?p=7173#comment-1408 As is almost invariably the case, Republicans disgrace themselves yet again with respect to this particular social issue. Seventy four per cent of Republicans would vote to reject the gay marriage statute, with only 20% willing to uphold the gay marriage statute. While it is certainly true that many homophobic Democrats exist, these figures throw into stark relief the ugliness of the Republican agenda with respect to social issues. I left the US three years ago, and now live in the UK (although I am still a US citizen). One issue that contributed to my decision to emigrate from the US was the level of anti-gay hostility and generalized homophobia that continues to pervade the social discourse, and that animates such politicians as Associate Justice Antonin Scalia (I realize that it is usually considered inappropriate to refer to a federal judge as a politician, but in the case of Scalia, this label is entirely accurate and well deserved). At the present time, gay marriage is legal in only six states in the US (Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Iowa, Maine, and Connecticut), whereas gay marriage is legal in all but name in the UK (gay marriages are referred to as "Civil Partnerships" in the UK, and these partnerships offer to gay couples ALL of the substantive rights, benefits, and privileges of marriage; whereas gay marriages in the six US states that permit them afford to gay couples only a few hundred state-level rights, privileges, and benefits (all federal marriage benefits are denied gay couples due to the misnamed "Defense of Marriage Act" (DOMA))). Although gay marriage was repealed in California in November 2008 (due to passage of Proposition 8 in that state), the margin of "victory" enjoyed by anti-gay bigots was very, very narrow (Proposition 8 passed by an overall vote of 52% to 48%). The fate of the Maine gay marriage statute will be decided depending on the extent to which gay persons in that state are able to motivate members of other communities to vote in favour of retaining the statute. It is precisely because gay persons comprise a minority that issues as basic as the right to marry should NEVER be left to the majority to decide; the concept of democracy is generally understood to incorporate both procedural and substantive safeguards for minorities. I am not optimistic – the forces of “Christian” hatred and bigotry are overwhelming. Nevertheless, any “victory” attained by these forces is likely to be short-lived. Should the hard right and the “Christian” community succeed in trashing the gay marriage statute, we will be back, in due course, with another such statute. One thing I have learned about the gay community of which I am a member is that we NEVER surrender, and are always on the offensive with respect to seeking recognition of rights as fundamental as the right to marry. PHILIP CHANDLER As is almost invariably the case, Republicans disgrace themselves yet again with respect to this particular social issue. Seventy four per cent of Republicans would vote to reject the gay marriage statute, with only 20% willing to uphold the gay marriage statute. While it is certainly true that many homophobic Democrats exist, these figures throw into stark relief the ugliness of the Republican agenda with respect to social issues.

I left the US three years ago, and now live in the UK (although I am still a US citizen). One issue that contributed to my decision to emigrate from the US was the level of anti-gay hostility and generalized homophobia that continues to pervade the social discourse, and that animates such politicians as Associate Justice Antonin Scalia (I realize that it is usually considered inappropriate to refer to a federal judge as a politician, but in the case of Scalia, this label is entirely accurate and well deserved). At the present time, gay marriage is legal in only six states in the US (Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Iowa, Maine, and Connecticut), whereas gay marriage is legal in all but name in the UK (gay marriages are referred to as “Civil Partnerships” in the UK, and these partnerships offer to gay couples ALL of the substantive rights, benefits, and privileges of marriage; whereas gay marriages in the six US states that permit them afford to gay couples only a few hundred state-level rights, privileges, and benefits (all federal marriage benefits are denied gay couples due to the misnamed “Defense of Marriage Act” (DOMA))).

Although gay marriage was repealed in California in November 2008 (due to passage of Proposition 8 in that state), the margin of “victory” enjoyed by anti-gay bigots was very, very narrow (Proposition 8 passed by an overall vote of 52% to 48%). The fate of the Maine gay marriage statute will be decided depending on the extent to which gay persons in that state are able to motivate members of other communities to vote in favour of retaining the statute. It is precisely because gay persons comprise a minority that issues as basic as the right to marry should NEVER be left to the majority to decide; the concept of democracy is generally understood to incorporate both procedural and substantive safeguards for minorities.

I am not optimistic – the forces of “Christian” hatred and bigotry are overwhelming. Nevertheless, any “victory” attained by these forces is likely to be short-lived. Should the hard right and the “Christian” community succeed in trashing the gay marriage statute, we will be back, in due course, with another such statute. One thing I have learned about the gay community of which I am a member is that we NEVER surrender, and are always on the offensive with respect to seeking recognition of rights as fundamental as the right to marry.

PHILIP CHANDLER

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