Philosophy
Gay people want the same constitutional right to be miserable that the rest of us have. I don't quite get this preference myself (I'm skeptical of marriage in general), but the question is ultimately one of equality and justice before the law, not a question of religion or tradition or even of ethics. The role of government is not to legislate morality, taste, preference or popularity, but to protect all citizens and their rights, even their right to make choices that others might consider distasteful, foolish or downright revolting.
Most of the opposition to the legalization of gay marriage comes from religious conservatives who, aware that they can't use their religion to legislate for the rest of us, argue that gay marriage is a threat to the tradition of marriage. Wasn't that the same set of reasons their ancestors used to argue against interracial marriage?
In the following totally kick-ass clip, NYS Senator Diane Savino brilliantly shows that the real threat to the institution of marriage is precisely those who do have that right, those who have made a mockery of the very same institution they proclaim to want to protect :)
I'm sorry to inform that the bill was rejected by the Senate... oye... :(
.
- Passing The Plate: Wedding Edition
My Fellow Comedists, It's time to solicit donations again. Other churches ask for money, but Comedists tithe jokes. We had the royal wedding this week, but this weekend, one of our own -- Jeff Maynes -- is tying the knot. So in his honor, let's...
- The Traditional Definition Of Marriage
With the Obama administration backing away from DOMA, it makes me wonder why we allow the right to get away with the false claim that "the traditional definition of marriage is one man and one woman" as if this has been what the institution has meant...
- Passing The Plate: Take My Wife...please Edition
My Fellow Comedists, It is time to pass the plate again. Other religions ask you to donate money, but in Comedism we tithe jokes. So, dig deep and give to the worthiest of causes. In honor of TheWife's and my anniversary, let's do marriage jokes...
- Polygamy Revisited
In discussing yesterday's comments, TheWife suggested a post extending and clarifying the polygamy portion of the argument. Fortunately, Lindsay over at Majikthise has done it for me and, no doubt, better. We need to remember what the original claim...
- The Awesomest Sentence I Read Today
I've totally neglected this type of blog entry for a while, but maybe now I'll get it started again. Anyway, this is from an essay on gay rights, written by Jonathan Rauch, quoting James Q. Wilson: Of all the institutions through which men may...
Philosophy
Senator Diane Savino on the Marriage Equality Bill
Gay people want the same constitutional right to be miserable that the rest of us have. I don't quite get this preference myself (I'm skeptical of marriage in general), but the question is ultimately one of equality and justice before the law, not a question of religion or tradition or even of ethics. The role of government is not to legislate morality, taste, preference or popularity, but to protect all citizens and their rights, even their right to make choices that others might consider distasteful, foolish or downright revolting.Most of the opposition to the legalization of gay marriage comes from religious conservatives who, aware that they can't use their religion to legislate for the rest of us, argue that gay marriage is a threat to the tradition of marriage. Wasn't that the same set of reasons their ancestors used to argue against interracial marriage?
In the following totally kick-ass clip, NYS Senator Diane Savino brilliantly shows that the real threat to the institution of marriage is precisely those who do have that right, those who have made a mockery of the very same institution they proclaim to want to protect :)
I'm sorry to inform that the bill was rejected by the Senate... oye... :(
.
- Passing The Plate: Wedding Edition
My Fellow Comedists, It's time to solicit donations again. Other churches ask for money, but Comedists tithe jokes. We had the royal wedding this week, but this weekend, one of our own -- Jeff Maynes -- is tying the knot. So in his honor, let's...
- The Traditional Definition Of Marriage
With the Obama administration backing away from DOMA, it makes me wonder why we allow the right to get away with the false claim that "the traditional definition of marriage is one man and one woman" as if this has been what the institution has meant...
- Passing The Plate: Take My Wife...please Edition
My Fellow Comedists, It is time to pass the plate again. Other religions ask you to donate money, but in Comedism we tithe jokes. So, dig deep and give to the worthiest of causes. In honor of TheWife's and my anniversary, let's do marriage jokes...
- Polygamy Revisited
In discussing yesterday's comments, TheWife suggested a post extending and clarifying the polygamy portion of the argument. Fortunately, Lindsay over at Majikthise has done it for me and, no doubt, better. We need to remember what the original claim...
- The Awesomest Sentence I Read Today
I've totally neglected this type of blog entry for a while, but maybe now I'll get it started again. Anyway, this is from an essay on gay rights, written by Jonathan Rauch, quoting James Q. Wilson: Of all the institutions through which men may...