I want to marry 'ITS & ITS'—is that really something *our* vandals would say? - Good As You:: Gay and Lesbian Activism With a Sense of Humor

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09/25/2012

I want to marry 'ITS & ITS'—is that really something our vandals would say?

by Jeremy Hooper

Minnesota For Marriage's Deputy Campaign manager tweeted the following, which is supposedly a "vandalized" sign from a local Lutheran church:

Now, I'm not going to say with certainty that this is a fake, because anything is possible. Campaign signs do legitimately get damaged, messed with, yanked, knocked over, etc. This is a sweeping, non-partisan reality in American politics. It happens (even if it's often overstated).

But that being said, this supposed example is really weird. I mean, just look at what's written on the sign. This is not the kind of thing our supporters say to help our cause—it's the kind of thing that the anti-equality side puts in our minds and mouths in order to scare folks with their "slippery slope" arguments. I don't know one actual LGBT activist or pro-equality voice who would see this as a helpful thing to say.

And not even just a non-helpful thing to say. Even if this were the act of a snarky person trying to be either funny or pointedly defiant, the message isn't really either. Again, these are the claims that *they* make against us, not the claims we say about our desires for civil marriage equality. We roll our eyes at these kinds of claims. Why would one of our supporters take the time for such a pointless bit of silliness?

Again, I want to reinforce that I'm not saying that Parrish is lying and that this is definitely a fake. But I am saying that anti-equality chicanery is certainly possible, even if Parrish himself doesn't know it. Because that is another unfortunate-yet-undeniable element of American politics in the 21st century: deliberate deception.