Dear Friends of Marriage,
Ten days ago, the people of Maine rejected same-sex marriage legislation adopted by the legislature last spring. Throughout the campaign, the Yes on Question 1 team worked to explain to voters what happens when marriage is redefined -- citing the experiences of families in Massachusetts, California and elsewhere.
Unfortunately, same-sex marriage advocates in Maine took offense at these truthful, hard-hitting ads, responding with anger, intolerance, and accusations of dishonesty. Unfortunately, the intolerance didn't end when Maine voters settled the question last Tuesday.
A column by Jeff Jacoby in Wednesday's Boston Globe shows just how determined many same-sex marriage advocates are to silence those who disagree with them. Already, the column has prompted nearly 600 comments from readers, too many of whom would rather silence Jeff's voice than debate the merits of his arguments.
Please take a moment to read the column, and then take a moment to send a short note to Jeff and the Globe editors thanking them for shining a light on this problem.
". . . When will it occur to supporters of same-sex marriage that they do their cause no good by characterizing those who disagree with them as haters, bigots, and ignorant homophobes? It may be emotionally satisfying to despise as moral cripples the majorities who oppose gay marriage. But after going 0 for 31 - after failing to make the case for same-sex marriage even in such liberal and largely gay-friendly states as California, Wisconsin, Oregon, and now Maine - isn't it time to stop caricaturing their opponents as the equivalent of Jim Crow-era segregationists? Wouldn't it make more sense to concede that thoughtful voters can have reasonable concerns about gay marriage, concerns that will not be allayed by describing those voters as contemptible troglodytes?"
If you or someone you know has been the target of hate or intimidation because of your support for marriage, please write a letter to the Globe letting them know that these problems are for real. And even if you haven't personally experienced backlash from gay marriage activists, please take a minute today to thank Jeff Jacoby and the Globe for highlighting this important problem.
Send your letters to letter@globe.com.
Keep your letter short and to the point (150 words or less is good), and be sure to provide your name and a phone number or email address so that the editor can contact you if needed to verify your submission.
It's rare that Barney Frank and I agree on matters of public policy, but I loved this quote from Barney Frank at the end of Jeff's column:
"Showing a bit of respect for cultural values with which you disagree is not a bad thing. Don't call people bigots and fools just because you disagree with them."
Right on.
Faithfully,
Brian S. Brown
Executive Director
National Organization for Marriage
20 Nassau Street, Suite 242
Princeton, NJ 08542
bbrown@nationformarriage.org
©2009 National Organization for Marriage.
5 Comments
Thanks Jeff,
Thanks for standing up for Traditional Marriage. Gay marriage advocates if nothing else be tolerant of the views held by many many Americans. Traditional marriage activists no ill will toward them, we allow them civil partnerships, if they are homeless we help, they are welcome to attend churches, they are welcome to their opinion and have a right to express views just as well as the Traditional marriage supporters.
Oh the hypocrisy, that one set of Americans would be so intolerant of another! It is a militant movement that forces people to believe in some kind of homogeneous culture. We are a diverse people. Gay marriage supporters would do well to have a measure of goodwill for others who happen to disagree.
It's not the "Boston Globe" or their "editors". Jacoby is a conservative right-wing columnist who's incapable of looking at any issue objectively. His rants are typically illogical and irrational and, much like this blog, ignore the facts and twist the truth.
Steve, maybe Jacoby misquoted Barney Frank?
Your comment illustrates what Jacoby described. Thank you.
May I quote you?
I don’t regard the redefinition of marriage as a civil rights issue; nor do I buy the argument that laws barring same-sex marriage are comparable to the laws that once barred interracial marriage. But I recognize that many people - sincere and decent people - do. By my lights they are mistaken, not evil.
Why do so many same-sex marriage advocates find it so hard to see marriage traditionalists in the same light?
In a recent paper for the Heritage Foundation, Thomas Messner surveys the “naked animus’’ that was directed against supporters of Proposition 8, the California marriage amendment that voters approved last year. His meticulously footnoted study makes chilling reading, with example after example of the blacklisting, vandalism, intimidation, loss of employment, anti-religious hostility, and even death threats to which backers of Prop. 8 were subjected.
Of course not all proponents of gay marriage display such vehement intolerance. But far too many do to shrug it off as insignificant. And voters don’t have to be paranoid to wonder: If this is the kind of abuse that opponents of gay marriage can be subjected to now, how much more intolerance will dissenters face if gay marriage becomes the law?
After 31 losses in 31 states, it’s time for same-sex marriage activists to seriously consider a piece of advice Barney Frank offered a few years ago. “There’s something to be said for cultural respect,’’ the nation’s most prominent gay political figure said in 2004. “Showing a bit of respect for cultural values with which you disagree is not a bad thing. Don’t call people bigots and fools just because you disagree with them.’’