What to do About Florida

So it is not surprising to see the Florida Republican Party support an amendment for the November ballot that would ban gay marriage. Actually, it goes beyond that. It also would stop gay couples from going steady, getting pinned or even making plans for brunch next week.

As much as conservatives profess horror at the promiscuous gay lifestyle, even more disturbing to them is the thought that gay couples might settle down, watch The O’Reilly Factor and argue about in-laws. (source)

Interesting. I’m not sure how you can prevent people from going steady or making plans for brunch. Can you say.... Nazi Germany... all over again. Scary, isn’t it?

The biggest threat to these Republican bigots is our truth. They are fighting a losing battle. It’s interesting to me that before we had any hope of recognition in law with our relationships, they were willing to let us be and simply characterize us as a disease upon society, right up there with venereal disease.

Now, we are just a little too close to achieving recognition for their comfort. As Mr. Thomas states, “You would think Bush’s record on issues such as school accountability and job growth would be sufficient for Republicans to run on, without resorting to this nonsense.” It’s hard to teach an old bigot new tricks it would seem.

And I think this point is probably the most important of all:

It seems this measure should be a slam-dunk for the ballot. But the petition drive is falling far short of the required signatures to get it before voters. You’d think they were trying to pass an amendment banning barbecue. This has the Florida Republican Party quite concerned. So it tossed in $150,000 to revive the effort.

I believe that the “gay marriage” issue is going to be raised once again in the next presidential election. Undoubtedly, some will try to still gain whatever mileage from the issue they can. My prediction (at lease, my hope) is that people are getting tired of hearing about it. I also believe that people have some time to think about it. When you think about the issue, it’s not too far from reality to realize that you are talking about denying rights to someone you know personally - perhaps a relative. That can change everything. Suddenly, it’s personal.

I also believe that more and more people are seeing the issue of putting us into second class status as just down right mean spirited and hateful. That turns a lot of people off.

If I’m wrong about this, this is no longer America. It is on it’s way to becoming a fascist state. The issue is ultimately not about gays. We are only the catalyst. The issue is the concept that it is ok to make a class of citizens into a less-than-equal status. Once you’ve accomplished that, anything is possible. If Hitler were alive, he would tell you that, because that is exactly what he did.

Unlike Nazi Germany, we have a government that supposedly answers to The Constitution, a powerful document that speaks of equality on more than one occasion. But of course, the interpretation of this great document is left to the judicial system - our Supreme Court. Everything is interpretation! It wasn’t that long ago that the Supreme Court ruled that gays had no right to privacy (Bowers vs Hardwick). Fifteen or so years later, the high court reversed itself. Why? They stated because public opinion had changed. So it would appear that the law is not absolute and the Constitution can be changed or interpreted to mean anything, that is deemed “constitutional” by the Supreme Court. This is the war we are engaged in now; the seeding of conservative judges into the Supreme Court to kill a myriad of social issues that are against conservative values.

In the middle of all of this is us. People. That is what gets lost. Will people like me end up fleeing America for freedom when it all comes down? That could very well happen, just as people left Nazi Germany to save their very lives.