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FullMetalPatriot on Obama Photobombs History
Gay marriage defeated in Texas
I’m extremely disappointed in Texas voters. They overwhelmingly approved an amendment to the Texas Constitution which bans something that was already outlawed: gay marriage.
Oooh, I bet just reading those words sends a shiver through self-righteous voters everywhere.
The sad fact is that this amendment does nothing but help guarantee re-election of the politicians who proposed and backed it. Gay marriage is already illegal here in Texas. Making an amendment to the Constitution that reinforces it is unnecessary. And spiteful.
I steer far to the right on many issues. But this is one I just can’t join. I’d welcome any of my fellow Conservatives to sound off about why it’s right to deny equal rights to gays who wish to commit to one another. I just can’t see how it adversely affects anyone, financially or otherwise. Why is the Right afraid to allow gays equal legal and financial rights?
If they wanted to protect the meaning of “marriage” so as to only include one man and one woman, the amendment should have kept to that alone. But they had to include verbiage which also excludes the possibility of civil unions as well, effectively barring gays & lesbians from any financial equality under the law.
SECTION 1. Article I, Texas Constitution, is amended by adding Section 32 to read as follows:Sec. 32. (a) Marriage in this state shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman.
(b) This state or a political subdivision of this state may not create or recognize any legal status identical or similar to marriage.
Why they felt the need to exclude ANY legal status is what amazes me.
Re-read that. It says “legal status,” not “moral status.”
I guess I should have expected this. I do live in Texas, after all. But I thought better of my fellow Texans. I know a lot of church-going folk were whipped into a frenzy by their pastors. And most, I’d wager, never bothered to investigate the issue themselves, choosing instead to rely on what they’ve been told.
I’m sure most of these people mean well. And they think they’re standing up for what is right. But they’re refusing the see the humanity of their opponents. And the fact that gays make up a minority makes it very hard to win a popular vote. The Houston Chronicle ran a good quote from Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force:
“When you put a fundamental right of a minority up for popular vote, it’s almost impossible to win,” said Foreman. “I’m not sure the right to desegregate schools, the freedom to marry another race or even access to contraception in many states would exist if those issues were put up for a vote.”
So, if church-going folk are to be allowed to settle civil rights based on their own religious views, I wonder how Baptists would feel if Catholics passed an amendment saying all non-Catholic marriages are void and illegal?
I wonder how Catholics would feel if Jews passed a law which makes it illegal for all Gentile couples to receive insurance benefits like other Jewish couples?
I wonder how Evangelicals would feel if Wiccans voted for a law which kept any Christians from the deathbed of their partner?
All the above examples are based on discrimination against a different religion, which is a set of beliefs and behaviors.
That’s no different than this amendment’s discrimination based on another set of beliefs and behaviors. The only difference is the label of religion.
Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not saying homosexuality is a religion. But for practical, non-sectarian, governmental purposes, belief & behavior systems are pretty much the same. Civil rights should be equal under the law.
But yesterday, a bunch of frightened voters proved that wrong.
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UPDATE: Now that Texas has approved the gay marriage ban, I think we need to add one more amendment to the Texas Constitution which establishes separate, but equal, facilities for gays. An idea whose time has come again?
Posted by FullMetalPatriot
12th gen. American, Constitutionalist, Harley-riding Texan, gun owner & NRA member, blogger, illustrator, Florida Gator alumnus. #TCOT
12th gen. American, Constitutionalist, Harley-riding Texan, gun owner & NRA member, blogger, illustrator, Florida Gator alumnus. #TCOT
