Box Turtle Bulletin
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobby“Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife…”
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyMay 5th, 2009
The Courage Campaign, currently the most vocal activists seeking to organize an overturn of Proposition 8 in either 2020 2010 or 2012, say that things will be different this time around. The parties who spearheaded the opposition to Prop 8 will not be involved in the effort.
The two main differences may be
1. in deflating the spurious claims of NOM and other anti-gay activists
To address voter concerns about the impact that state-sanctioned gay marriage could have on religious institutions, the Courage Campaign is considering possible ballot language that would guarantee the right of any two unrelated consenting adults to marry, while simultaneously stating that churches have a right to decide for themselves whom to marry.
“In order to win, we have to remove fear because that’s all the other side has left,” Jacobs said.
2. showing the face of gay marriage
Jacobs is convinced that the “No on Prop. 8” campaign erred by not showing gays or lesbians in any of its ads.
“There were no pictures of gay people. The ads were all about fairness,” Jacobs said. “This time, we’re going to make it clear you’re talking about real people.”
The campaign will also seek to make inroads into the African American community and other communities that were not adequately targeted last year.
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Lindoro
May 5th, 2009
Have this people been told that they are late?
Scott P.
May 5th, 2009
Perhaps I’m wrong, but doesn’t the 1st Amendment guarantee that no church has to perform any ceremony that violates it’s tenets? If such is the case, why is such language needed?
John
May 5th, 2009
One word, Scott: fear. While fear of God can at times be the beginning of wisdom as the Bible says, humanity has shown time and time again that fear can also lack any rationality or common sense. If it takes re-stating the obvious from the 1st Amendment, I see no harm in this move. Actually, if this became a common practice with all such legislation, reminding folks of their liberties guaranteed by the Constitution can be a good thing.
Buffy
May 5th, 2009
“There were no pictures of gay people. The ads were all about fairness,â€
Indeed. Unfortunately the RRRW has no sense of fairness so it’s futile to try to appeal to it. And the idea of advocating for same-sex marriage while never showing any gay couples is downright silly.
Jason D
May 5th, 2009
John has it right. A lot of people are convinced that churches will be forced to host every gay wedding in the world, at gunpoint if necessary, and that if they refuse they’ll be forced to give up their taxe benefits, receive fines, wedgies, etc.
You can point out to them that gay marriage has been legal for almost 5 years in Massachusetts and not one Church has been forced, picketed, sued, or threatened into performing a gay wedding against it’s will. They don’t care, they don’t believe it, they’re certain that the gay boogeyman is right outside the door.
Some of them will be satisfied by this sort of redundancy. Perhaps enough to make a difference.
M2
May 5th, 2009
“activists seeking to organize an overturn of Proposition 8 in either 2020 or 2012”
Please tell me this is a typo. Surely you meant “2010 or 2012.” Surely it won’t take another ELEVEN YEARS to get marriage equality in California!
cd
May 5th, 2009
They don’t care, they don’t believe it, they’re certain that the gay boogeyman is right outside the door.
I suspect it’s projection, with its basis in subconscious fear that their real homophobia past, present, and perhaps future will be punished.
Timothy Kincaid
May 6th, 2009
M2,
thanks. yep it was a typo
Kansas Sebastian
May 6th, 2009
Another mistake the No on 8 campaign made was to preach to the choir. The campaign targed big cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego where the voting majority is already in favor of marriage equality. Almost no advertising was targeted to California’s bible belt, the more conservative Central Valley (Sacramento, Stockton, Fresno, Modesto, and Bakersfield).
Ben in Oakland
May 6th, 2009
I am so grateful for this. I was just Jeremiah in the wilderness trying to get anyone at EQCA or HRC to do these things. they just weren’t interested in listening.
We could have and should have won on prop. 8, and if the campaign had not been run from so deep in the closet, I have no doubt we would have.
So thel essonis this: start coming out now. Start talking to your firends, families, and colleagues now.
patrick
May 6th, 2009
If the silly language regarding the protection of churches is necessary to use in a repeal then I sure as hell hope that the point about divorce is driven home.
One argument that must be LOUDLY made is that although divorce is rabidly unChristian and is a mortal sin – it is completely legal and without limitation – you can get divorced and remarried as often as you desire no matter what religion (or none) you belong to.
No church has ever been forced to recognize a divorce or perform a legal, state sanctioned and provided remarriage…let alone recognize an interfaith marriage if it doesn’t adhere to religious beliefs.
Enough with the tip toeing around the goddamned exceptions that exist to heterosexual relationship status. The point is that THEY don’t have to adhere to ANY religious tenants if they don’t want to.
WE should not be forced to uphold a moral standard that is not imposed on anyone else.
We must make this point because they don’t even see how easy they’ve got it.
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