"Protecting Marriage" Lies

The anti-gay Christianist and Mormon organizations have gone to great lengths to disseminate the message that they are not anti-gay and are merely motivated out of a desire to "protect marriage." Sadly, many in the media out of a combination of stupidity - remember, anchor are typically hired for looks, not intelligence - and laziness let these disingenuous statements go unchallenged and do not look at the true actions of the alleged "Christian" organizations and the professional Christian set. In reality - if one will bother to look - is that their actions and opposition to ANY rights for gay citizens tell the true story. Right Wing Watch has a story that looks at the intentional and totally disingenuous lengths these false Christians go to in order to blur the lines between civil rights and religious rights in their effort to deceive the voting public. Here are a few highlights:

*

There are many different definitions of marriage. For most Americans, marriage is a couple’s public commitment to love, care for and take responsibility for one another and for their families. As a legal matter, marriage is a civil institution regulated by state governments, an institution accorded recognition and protection in a variety of ways. Marriage is also a religious institution, defined differently by different faiths and congregations.

*

In America, the distinction can get blurry because states permit clergy to carry out both religious and civil marriage in a single ceremony. Religious Right leaders have exploited that confusion by claiming that granting same-sex couples equal access to civil marriage would somehow also redefine the religious institution of marriage. Like many other Religious Right political strategies, this is grounded in falsehood and deception.
*

It is important to note that there are denominations and congregations whose religious views embrace marriage for loving and committed same-sex couples. In the absence of civil marriage equality, clergy from those denominations and congregations are essentially made unwilling enforcers of inequality, because they cannot offer all the couples who come before them the same services.

*

This memo focuses on the Right’s persistent, purposeful blurring of the distinction between religious and civil marriage. This blurring serves several of the Right’s purposes: it falsely frames marriage equality as a threat to churches’ freedom, independence, and integrity, and it encourages voters to think they must choose between religious liberty and the constitutional principle of equality under the law.

*

Those who portray civil marriage equality for same-sex couples as a grave threat to churches’ religious liberty are not being truthful or consistent. There are no high-profile campaigns to make divorce or remarriage illegal, or claims by church leaders that legal recognition of second or third marriages -- or interfaith marriages, or civil marriages between people of no faith at all -- is somehow an assault on their own religious liberty.

*

Also telling as to the real agenda of the Christianist/Mormons are the remarks made recently in connection of extending partner benefits to employees, something that has zero involvement with marriage rights. As noted in a prior post weasel look alike Gary Bauer made the following remark recently which demonstrates that the reality is that our foes want us to have no legal right whatsoever or better yet be targeted as inferiors:

*

Gary Bauer, president of American Values, a conservative advocacy group, said that if Obama extended benefits to same-sex partners of federal workers, he would "provoke a furious grass-roots reaction, reinvigorate the conservative coalition and undermine his efforts to portray himself as a moderate on social issues."