do unto others
If you missed it like I did, you might find it interesting to watch John Stewart debate Bill Bennett on the subject of gay marriage.
I have to confess, I haven’t really given the issue much thought. I always sort of thought of the problem as just one of semantics. Now, clearly, gay men and lesbians should have the exact same legal protections as anyone else, and that includes the protections and rights that come with getting married. I always just thought that what conservatives really have a problem with was calling it “getting married.” That there is such a strong history and tradition of Marriage-with-a-capitol-M that these people just couldn’t get their head around it. I figured that eventually, everyone could come up with some nice compromise where the couple in question could go down to the courthouse and instead of a piece of paper that said “Marriage License” they would get a piece of paper that said all the exact same things, except on the top it said “Civil Union Contract” or some crap like that, and we could have a little wink between ourselves and everyone would be happy, at least for a few years until nobody was paying attention and even that small distinction could fade away.
But no, that’s not what they want. Not at all. These morons actually want these couples to not be able to have the same kind of lives that they have. They really don’t think that gays are fully deserving of, not just legal protections, but basic human rights.
Which reminds me of the famous Bush quote where he said that athiests can’t be Americans, or some shit like that.
At one point in the debate, Stewart asks Bennett what would prevent his logic from eventually preventing mixed race couples or mixed religion couples from getting married, and of course there was no answer. People like him only go so far as to say that the Government should enforce their particular version of “morality,” and it never occurs to them, not for a second, that there are a million different versions and that if we legislate one, next year we might legislate another.
All Men Are Created Equal. Another American value that conservatives didn’t learn in school.
(Crabby, please invite me to your wedding!)