Posted by
Playful Walrus on Monday, October 26, 2009 5:40:59 PM
As homofascists seek to harass and intimidate marriage defenders, one of the many legal questions that has arisen has essentially been, as David G. Savage and Carol J. Williams report in the Los Angeles Times:
Is signing a petition and delivering it to the government a public act, like voting on a bill in the legislature or contributing money to a campaign? Or is it more like casting a secret ballot at the polling place?
In the case of Washington State, the Supreme Court of the United States has sought to protect marriage defenders, siding more with the "secret ballot" side.
Marriage neutering activists, however, are eager to get their hands on names of marriage defenders:
Toleos said, "We don't ask people to go confront strangers. This is about finding someone they already know -- a cousin, a friend and co-worker -- and having a civil dialogue."
A civil dialogue? More often then not, when someone I've known has encouraged me to join with them in a move to neuter marriage, and I've declined, no matter our history, the person has been likely to unleash expletive-laden tirades attacking me personally. They insist that me not subjugating my own convictions to their personal desires is akin to hating them and bidding them ill. By the way, I decline their invitation without disparaging or expressing any disapproval of homosexual behavior or the person.
The mainstream news media has reported targeting of marriage defenders and retaliation against them. Considering the bias most of these newsrooms have demonstrated in sympathy towards the marriage neutering cause, where are the reports of marriage neutering advocates being targeted by marriage defenders? Don't see a lot of that, now do we? Just imagine we behaved as they have behaved. The ACLU would be calling for the Justice Department to get involved.
It would be a shame if we all balkanized and retreated into enclaves, only working for employers who agreed with us, only using businesses where everyone agreed with us, only living in neighborhoods where everyone agreed with us, quizzing our friends on their votes and cutting them off if they didn't swear on a stack of chocolate they voted our way. If we are truly to be a tolerant society, we're going to have to exist together.
If I see a bumper sticker that indicates the driver is a marriage neutering advocate, I have no inclination to be any less polite to them than I would be to anyone else. Can marriage neutering advocates reading this say the same thing about learning someone is a marriage defender?