Why Same-sex Couples Will Lose

If same-sex couples lose their battle for non-descriminatory treatment for them and their families it will likely be because they had to fight the battle alone or chose to let someone else fight it for them.

Before the Holocaust Jewish people in Europe were "tolerated" if not always well-liked. They often had successful businesses, could get married, and raise children. All it took to change that was one powerful anti-Jewish leader to serve as a lightening rod for gathering low-boiling anti-Jewish sentiment. Within three decades low-grade bigotry turned into a maelstrom of hate and death that would have been inconceiveable before WWI. If you had asked a typical German in 1917 if they could ever foresee a time like the Holocaust for the Jews, I suspect most would have said the idea was preposterous.

All the enlightened Europeans who foresaw the disaster, and there were many, could not keep a "moral majority" from bringing it about.

You may think I'm using extreme language, but check out these links. I encourage you to go back into Mike's original post and read the actual articles, I did not pick up all the links he has.

From Mike Airhart at Ex-gay Watch:

"In Alabama, anti-gay-marriage activist and legislator Gerald Allen is broadening his battle -- initiating legislation to ban the mention of homosexuality in books at public libraries, public high schools, and public colleges. The censorship would include classic works of literature and science books. According to the Washington Blade, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the ACLU will fight the ban.

In Michigan, HRC is joining the fight against the state's revocation of benefits for the partners of state government workers. (Yesterday's XGW coverage.) The revocation was sought and achieved by anti-gay marriage activists, some of whom had previously said their battle was not against civil unions or benefits.

In Kansas and Missouri, fear is spreading, as gay residents in the heartland see signs emerge of a wave of antigay discrimination and vandalism, according to Reuters."


Also from Airhart at Ex-gay Watch is the Michigan back-story from the Detroit Free Press:

"...On Wednesday, Granholm aide David Fink said that negotiated contracts scheduled for adoption by the state Civil Service Commission on Dec. 15 will be stripped of the same-sex domestic partner benefits.

Fink, who holds the title of state employer, said the Granholm administration decided to eliminate the benefits because of the passage of Proposal 2, which defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman and bans same-sex marriage and "similar unions for any purpose."

"We're about following the law and honoring the intent of the voters," Fink told the Detroit Free Press.

He said the benefits could be restored before the contracts take effect on Oct. 1, 2005 if the courts have resolved the issue by then.

Republican legislators have been pressing the Democratic governor to strip the same-sex benefits from the contracts."

The situation for your gay friends and family could go one of two ways at this point, either we all wake up and see this for the battle it really is, or we stay silent and unobtrusive as same-sex couples and our society take a huge step back into the dark ages. All you have to do is look to the mid-twentieth century to see that the latter is possible and would be disastrous.

Please, don't be silent. I know peaceful relationships are very important. I work overtime to maintain them. But at times some things are more important. And true love is not always harmonious.