"But you know, what I can say is look, amending the Constitution with this amendment, this piece of legislation, is a bad piece of legislation. It is writing discrimination into the Constitution, and, as I say, it is fundamentally wrong."
Wait, that was Laura Bush? On Fox News?? Oh well, at least Frist still got to look like a
On a less satirical note, I have long predicted that marriage equality is a winning issue. It's not easy, and the win may not be a short-term one, but when you talk to people, really engage them in conversation, the majority can come to understand. Appeal to their humanity, to their empathy for others. Appeal to someone they know, if possible. It's easy for them to criticize Rosie O'Donnell (or any impersonal celebrity) as a "dyke" but a co-worker, a neighbor, a friend, that's a human being they respect. Again, it's not easy - all these years later and I'm still working on my own family, but it's a battle worth fighting. If Laura Bush and Dick Cheney can come around, there's hope.
1 comment:
Queer-hitching is not a "winning issue"
As strongly as we might both believe in marriage equality and LGBT rights in general, I hardly believe these are "winning issues." In fact, I think it's important that we actually heed Laura Bush's advice and agree that it shouldn't be a campaign issue. There's no "winning" on such a divisive topic. If you sat down with someone and really had a heart-to-heart about marriage equality, then you've transcended politics. We can do what you're saying with any issue - it all comes down to the people in the conversation.
I could say the same for reproductive rights: I know many women, one in particular who is very close to me, who depends on contraception she receives for free from Planned Parenthood. She has friends who have had abortions - through talking to her, it's clear to me that these women undergo immense emotional trauma. Couldn't I sit down and have a heart-to-heart conversation with an ardent pro-lifer that simply banning abortion is not the solution here? Perhaps... so is decriminalized abortion a "winning issue"?
I don't think we have the luxury of picking what issues we should and shouldn't talk about based on how likely it is that we'll be able to convince others that we're correct.
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