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04/24/2009
ADF to Iowa: Bias by us should be protected from bias
It's sometimes reasonable for folks to invoke the "cancer of tyranny" when talking about same-sex marriage and the denial of the same. But not when the folks in question are the anti-gay people who have turned this national conversation into a "culture war," and the "tyranny" in question is simply asking county recorders to DO THEIR CIVIL JOB!!
Here, check this out. This is a letter that A Lie In Defiance of Fun The Alliance Defense Fund is sending around Iowa:
Iowa Letter
So essentially they want people of faith to be free to use their personal convictions to get them out of their civil duties. So where does it end? If a couple comes in eating a ham sandwich, can a Jewish worker claim an exclusion? Should a staunch Catholic be free to deny any couple who's on their second (or more) marriage? And what about a devout Muslim who has strong opinions about the immodest dress of Iowa's women -- can he get a job and then ask to sit out any licensing involving a female who shows so much as an ankle?
Well of course they'll never seek these things, because only gay denials pack the socio-political wallop on which they care to capitalize. So only same-sex marriages will be presented as "tyranny" against poor religious workers who want a paycheck from their civil government, yet paid breaks whenever Bob and Steve ask them to perform a civil duty.
It's just wrong.
Your thoughts
Hey Jeremy, don't forget the example of a police officer or firefighter refusing to answer a call because of his or her conscience!
Could you *imagine* if those civil servants had the ability to pick & choose who they did their job for?
Posted by: DN | Apr 24, 2009 11:09:22 AM
Well, of course the All Liars Defending Fundies are not going to defend persons of other faiths, because once they succeed in kicking us back to the 18th century, they will need other enemies to go after. And, the favorite enemy of the radical religious right... others in the radical religious right! They have purpose and a following only when they have a clearly definable enemy. So, in a sense, their enemies are their meal-tickets. That is precisely why they are so dangerous.
Posted by: Dick Mills | Apr 24, 2009 12:41:09 PM
I would also point out that this is relative to segregationist tactics. What if a police or fire fighter simply did not answer a call because of ones race or religion or who lives in the house. What if one applied a tax penalty to one house because of religious convictions but not to the next? Where then is the rule of law?
The duty to the office may be guided by ethical principles, but the duty is the equal and uniform application of the law. Any other presentation is inherently segregationist which was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court on a number of cases.
Posted by: Tony | Apr 24, 2009 3:08:00 PM
Andy (Re)pugno, fresh off his great victory in California, will now make a name for himself in Iowa as well. The guy makes money.
Posted by: Bruno | Apr 24, 2009 4:48:41 PM
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