Perkins gets to bottom of Massachussetts' bigtop

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05/18/2007

by Jeremy Hooper

Here's the Family Research Council's Tony Perkins on the state of gay marriage in Massachusetts:

The people of Massachusetts are having a “Deval” of a time on marriage. Governor Deval Patrick, to be exact. Since taking office, Patrick’s been a big supporter of gay “rights”—but not everyone in the state shares his enthusiasm. When the court ruled to legalize same-sex marriage, voters started a massive petition drive to put the issue back where it belongs—in the hands of the people. Last week, Patrick said, “Rather than turn Massachusetts into a political circus… we [should] resolve this… so that it stays off the ballot.” Let’s face it. Massachusetts is already a circus—and as the liberal ring leader, Patrick has no one to blame but himself. He’s been busy juggling the demands of homosexuals when he should have been taming the left-wing lions. The truth is, Patrick doesn’t want to put the issue on the ballot because he has a pretty good idea of what the outcome will be. In every state but one, Americans have voted to preserve traditional marriage. Instead of walking a tightrope to please gay activists, the governor should support the democratic process. Join us in asking Patrick to stop clowning around and give voters a voice.

Well first off, Tony: That "Deval"/ devil interchange is bit of a stretch. Now don't get this writer wrong -- I'm a big fan of wordplay. But this one wasn't executed all that well. Personally, I would have done something with "Deval" and "devalue."

Clumsy punning aside, let's move on to the quote that Mr. Perkins provides. He paraphrasingly quotes Patrick as saying: “Rather than turn Massachusetts into a political circus… we [should] resolve this… so that it stays off the ballot.” But the actual quote is:

"Rather than turn Massachusetts into a political circus for a national debate over something which is largely settled here, my own view is that we ought to resolve this on the merits so that it stays off the ballot, and to do so at the constitutional convention."

And in addition, Patrick also added these words:

"If this does get to a popular ballot, there is very little other business that will get done in Massachusetts politics and policy making while that is pending"

So what Gov. Patrick is saying is that he doesn't want Mass to be a place where folks nationwide are debating a situation unique to their state. And he's right: This issue has been (rightfully) decided by the courts, and lawmakers and citizens are being forced to waste loads of time on something that has cause no harm for three years now! None of the predictions that social conservatives use to justify their bans have come true. If Massachusetts' gay marriage "issue" has already turned the state into a circus, as Mr. Perkins suggests, the blame lies fully in the hands of the "pro-family" folks who are trying to overturn a court decision in the name of religion/ discrimination. The gays who have chosen to participate in legally-recognized monogamy are certainly not the clowns!

But of course in the eyes of Perkins and company, it is and will likely always be we who are asking for respect and fairness that are the "left-wing lions." They simply cannot see that they are the ones who, in Massachusetts even more than other places, are viciously on the attack. It is up to us to show that liberals and gays are also part of this democracy. And to show that when unfair attacks are being waged against a certain sect, the judicial process rightfully protects that population, to ensure that the democratic process is fair for all. Yes, the gay marriage-antipathetic citizens also have the right to seek out such bans via the proper channels (even if the bans themselves may be later found unconstitutional). But as we've seen many other times in history: Just because they have the right, it doesn't make it right!

So Massachusetts lawmakers, we plead to you to please kill this "battle" while you have the chance! Our opposition may threaten you with the Deval devil; but we all know that is their views which will someday be looked back upon with great shame.

When It Comes To Defending Marriage, This Patrick Is No Saint [FRC Blog]

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