So goes Florida's anti-gays, so goes queer liberty

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02/04/2008

by Jeremy Hooper

Are you a fan of equality? Do you think the anti-gay sentiment that has been cultivated by the Bush administration is symbolic of all that is wrong with that flawed presidency? Does it make you sad to see any of our nation's states voluntarily installing a hurdle which their good name and reputation for treating all of their citizens fairly will have to someday overcome? And persecution of a minority sect at the hands of religious extremism -- is that a concept that makes you weep?

200802040917 Well we've got bad news, all you fans of those radical concepts known as peace and harmony. Those folks in Florida who have been working to have a potential gay marriage ban placed on the November ballot have succeeded in obtaining the petition signatures they needed to bring the anti-gay ballot question to Sunshine State voters:

Florida to vote on gay-marriage ban in November [Sun-Sentinel]

This means that come November, when the nation goes to the polls to hopefully work toward healing the wounds that have been caused by 7+ years of right-wing executive rule, the crucial state of Florida will have a certain ballot question that will certainly bring out millions of would-be Anita Bryants. So not only is there now the obvious fear that grown adults are going to make the childish choice to write discrimination into their state's most precious governing document, but there is also the possibility that the far-right rally cry will bring out, en masse, the sort of Sunshine State voter whose vision of "change" would lead to a gay man living in as sex-less marriage with a female. It's scary stuff.

But let's not think about that dire possibility for now. For now let's remain hopeful that from Pensacola to Coral Gables, locals residents have connected the dots of bias to see how flawed and dangerous these sorts of marriage amendments truly are.

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