« Go back a post || Return to G-A-Y homepage || Haul tail to next post »
06/26/2012
Tony Perkins: Mayor Bloomberg should treat gays like he does Big Gulps
In words attributed to its president Tony Perkins, the Family Research Council is now trying to connect America's obesity epidemic to homosexuality:
Gay pride wasn't the only thing on parade in New York City yesterday--so were the Mayor's double standards. Throughout his three terms, Michael Bloomberg has made quite a hobby out of policing people's meals. From trans fats to Big Gulps, the Mayor has insisted that the city's interest in "public health" excuses his overreach on things like dietary choices. So it was more than a little ironic Sunday when the man who declared war on 32-ounce sodas told the crowd, "The government should get out of your personal life! New York is a place where you can do whatever you want to do."
First of all, refusing to redefine marriage or refusing to dispense with our First Amendment freedoms to accommodate homosexuals is not government in "your personal life." A man who outlawed school bake sales should know the difference! Doesn't the Mayor's definition of "personal life" include the kitchen and dining room? On one hand, he's happy to legislate people's food choices, using the dangers of obesity as justification. On the other, he not only promotes--but forces others to embrace--a sexual behavior that carries just as many public health risks. If that isn't hypocrisy, I don't know what is.
When the Mayor came under fire earlier this month for his Big Gulp ban, he was adamant that "We're not taking away anybody's right to do something; we're simply making it difficult for them [in hopes that it will lead to different behavior]." On the "Today" show, Bloomberg reiterated that all he wants to do is improve life expectancy. If that's the case, then perhaps the Mayor should reconsider his endorsement of homosexuality, which, as Peter Sprigg explains, is one of the greatest public health hazards in America.
The Last Straw for Mayor Big Gulp [FRC]
Yes, that's right: Frequent TV personality and well-connected GOP figure Tony Perkins just directly compared millions of LGB Americans to poor eating habits. Forget the outside introduction of disease—something Mayor Bloomberg should and does work to combat, as it applies to all New Yorkers regardless of sexual orientation—Tony and his ilk (like Peter "gays can and should change" Sprigg) want supporters seeing LGB people as innately broken and our relationships inherently dangerous. Considering the setup here, with banning of Big Gulps the topic at hand, the implications of this little "pro-family" tirade are really quite chilling!