A Quote from a Rather Useless Senator, Reinterpreted

[sdelmonte]

From the NYTimes.com article on the failed anti-gay marrige vote:

"Marriage does matter," said Senator Wayne Allard, Republican of Colorado and the author of the amendment. "It matters to our children, it matters in America. Marriage is the foundation of a free society and courts are redefining marriage."

Sen. Allard says this with bile and contempt. But I would use the same words with some pride. Marriage does indeed matter. It is the foundation of our society. And it is being redefined, by the courts but also by the people. It is being redefined because it matters that much. It matters to everyone who understands what love and commitment and devotion are all about, to men and women, to gay and straight and bi and poly, to all of us. It is only fools like Sen. Allard who would define a free society by deprieving some of its members of the freedom to love and marry as they choose.

Comments

[chaos-wrangler.livejournal.com]

I'm with you on most of that, but then there's this: Marriage does indeed matter. It is the foundation of our society.

If you'd said "family is a foundation of our society" I'd have been willing to agree all the way, but it seems to me that lately *way* too much importance has been given to marriage (in whatever form(s)). What about people who choose not to marry their SOs? Or who have no SOs? Or who choose to marry someone knowing that their choice of spouse will separate them from their family/friends/neighbors (i.e. will in some way "undermine" society)? Right-wing religious Jewish and Christian society in this country cares a great deal about marriage, but to define "our society" by right-wing religious Jewish and Christian concerns is narrow-minded.

And on a personal note, as someone who not that long ago was seriously looking at the possibility of never marrying, I find the suggestion that "marriage is the foundation of our society" insulting because it suggests that if I had taken that route I could never be fully part of society, except maybe by supporting other people's marriages. (No, not feeling that you insulted me by writing it, since I doubt that thought ever occurred to you, but I spent enough time as an "old maid" to be sensitive about it.)

[dotsomething.livejournal.com]

I listened to quite a bit of the debate using cspan and heard Republican after Republican use phrases like "the death knell of society" and "the end of civilization as we know it." My favorite of all was "marriage is under attack."

Huh??

It's under attack?

Because...wait...gay couples want to be married. Yup. Oh sure, they definitely hate marriage, yessirree.

I agree--it's "a" foundation, but not THE foundation. Family can be defined so many different ways (speaking as someone who is unmarried and unlikely to change that any time soon, and who considers many people I am not blood or legally related to as "family").

[sdelmonte]

You are right. As someone else who lived with being single for a long time in the Jewish community - albeit without the same double standard that single women face - I should have modified my words slightly.

[dotsomething.livejournal.com]

...and I didn't mean you shouldn't feel like marriage is (one of) the most kick-ass foundations of society ever invented.

Also, "the foundation" was Sen. Allard, really, not your. Which is why I have such problems with the Right.

But amen to your spin on his words.

[greenbaron.livejournal.com]

Which is why I have such problems with the Right.
Well hopefully you find a few of us to be nice and huggable :)

This is bothering me, too. I just quit the GOP, and this is a big part of it. I'm glad John McCain opposed it.

As I see it, in the 90s homosexuals have wanted to be active in their faith, to adopt, to serve in the military, to be a part of the Boy Scouts, and to marry and serve in monogamous relationships (I support gay marraige, but I'm still pretty reactionary about divorce): sounds like potential Republicans to me. From my perspective, the GOP could have doubled its homosexual membership (and Bush receievd a quarter of the gay vote in 2000). If the GOP had Dick Morris insetad of Karl Rove, they wouldn't be shooting themselves in the foot like this.

Strategy aside, the FMA was unjust and an infringement on the 10th Ammendment. I'm glad it fell and I wish it fell by more.

[poltr1]

These quotes from Sen. Allard make me wonder if he's a member of the Promise Keepers, a conservative Christian mens' organization, or is strongly influenced by them. (Note that the org is based in Colorado.)

I hve a lot of other thoughts on the issue. I'll save them for a future LJ entry.

[stakebait.livejournal.com]

*standing ovation*