Thursday, June 14, 2007

FRC's Latest Marriage Hoopla

You know, I'm not sure where to file this one because it's either a case of profound ignorance or a blatant attempt to sideline any further attempt at creating same sex marriage laws and upholding existing ones. The Family Research Council issued an alert entitled, "Taxation Without Representation," aimed at Massachusetts lawmakers and their scheduled vote today on whether to send an amendment to the voters. Here's a snippet of what the alert has to say...



"On Thursday, June 14, Legislators will be voting on whether to send the
amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman to the people of
Massachusetts. This is due to the fact that VoteOnMarriage.org collected 170,000 signatures, the
most ever collected in state history, in support of traditional
marriage."



"We encourage you and your friends to phone your state representatives and
senators today at (617) 722-2000. Your legislators must hear from you now.
Demand your right to be represented - demand your right to vote!"




Not everything that is made law is put to a public vote...that's the entire point behind electing representatives whether it's at the local, state or federal level. So the idea of equating this particular situation with taxation without representation is absurd, and every person who shows up today to protest is only going to make themselves look like ignorant fools.


Then there's the other side and another possibility for this 'alert.' Could the FRC be trying to garner support by perpetuating the notion that not being able to vote on this issue is tantamount to having a civil right revoked? It sounds like they are using the usual fear mongering tactic, however, since the Massachusetts lawmakers aren't doing anything they don't have the authority to do. Would they be equally incensed if a public vote wasn't offered on some referendum regarding a different issue...like acknowledging that the Bible is to be interpreted literally? Of course not, and they would be saying exactly what I'm saying when people expressed their outrage. This is nothing more than yet another attempt to undermine equality for the LGBT community.

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