Oh no, my son has got the gay!
Today, dear reader, I offer you an in-depth and challenging interview with leading anti-gay activist James Dobson (via BoingBoing). This piece exemplifies how the gay marriage controversy has raised the level of public debate in this country and I am proud to be present at the moment we as a nation deliberate on this complex and not-at-all-clear-cut issue:
FB: I never knew homosexuals had an agenda! I just thought they were ordinary people who were easily stereotyped as lovers of musical theater.
JD: So they and the gay-controlled Hollywood elite would have you believe. But the Forces of Gay are now closer than ever to destroying the divine institution of the civil marriage certificate, and with it, the family itself.
For real, though, I can’t even believe anyone thinks they have the right to question a person’s right to marry someone of their choosing; we’re talking about a basic civil right that ought to be guaranteed by the 14th Amendment if nothing else. Marriage as a civil institution is simply a protection of law, a state sanctioning of a private agreement, and cannot be exclusively offered to a certain class of citizens. Not allowing gay marriage is like not enforcing a binding contract because one of the parties was “of the Negroe persuasion.” As for all those closet cases who argue “it’s a lifestyle choice; you can’t choose to be black,” they’re just trying to rationalize away the 100GB of hot man-on-man action on their hard drive. Of course, it’s a spectrum and they aren’t necessarily 100% queer, but it’s a little too convenient that they’ve hitched their wagon to an argument that allows them the freedom to spend Saturday night in a Chelsea hairdresser’s torrid embrace and then confess it all on Sunday morning, because of course they can “choose to stop whenever they want.”
Luckily the youth of America are on the right side; over 70% of them support at least civil unions for gays, and that number will get higher as they disabuse themselves of received “wisdom” from their parents. So in the long run, there’s nothing to worry about. Certainly people should fight for their rights now, because that’s what you do with injustice, but time is their side.
evan :: May.26.2004 :: Notions :: 6 Comments »
