Liberty Counsel's Staver: 'You cannot coexist...on something that is literally an attack on God himself'

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09/09/2014

by Jeremy Hooper

I often say that when the anti-LGBT activists talk, we should believe that they actually mean what they say. I repeat that line often because I think we, as in Americans in general, have a tendency to listen to what these folks are saying about us and almost dismiss it to some other part of space and time that is detached fem real life. Which is understandable, considering how ludicrous the charges so often are; it's easy to see the people who say such silly things as being almost like caricatures of real politicos. But while it may be an easy instinct, I also think it can be dangerous seeing as how many of these anti-LGBT spokespeople still maintain very close connections within American politics and with one party in particular.

Which brings me to Mat Staver. Not only is this man the head of the Liberty Counsel, an organization that fights our rights in court, and a key figure at Liberty University, where more than a few social conservatives get their learnin', but Staver is also a regular on the conservative punditry circuit. He's also a regular speaker and leader at conferences like the upcoming Values Voter Summit, where all kinds of prominent GOP figures, including US Senators and House members, will be in attendance. Oh, and he was recently invited to testify before a House committee. Because in some circles, Mat Staver is considered a man whose contributions hold weight.

So with that in mind, listen to this clip that RightWingWatch captured. In it, Staver comes right out and admits that the has no intention to ever coexist with us and our rights:

SOURCE: Mat Staver: LGBT Acceptance Is 'Very Dangerous' To Society [RWW]

Where does this leave us? How do you even have a discussion with someone who doesn't leave even an inch of room for compromise within his quest to marginalize and subjugate a minority population of people? How do you even entertain a conversation?

The truth is you can't, and you shouldn't have to. But the other, more annoying, and more dangerous truth is that we LGBT people are still forced to do so, and often. We are told we have to debate these folks Crossfire-style, as if their attempts to stifle our existences are simply other sides of the coin. In this broken dialogue about a good and decent people's ability to experience an America with less fear, shame, isolation, and demonstrable harms, those of us who believe in the principles of equality—even if the most basic level of equality—are routinely put up against people who just plain don't want us around, at least not as we are.

That is shameful, and there are far too many people who are complacent to the point of complicit.

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