Tomorrow, four states will have the opportunity to weigh in on the question of marriage equality, three of which will have the opportunity to embrace the freedom for the very first time. All four campaigns have had fierce efforts both for and against, with millions of dollars spent on ads. As election day approaches, here is a final look at what the campaigns have been saying to the public in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington.
Opponents of marriage equality have run fairly uniform ads across four states, largely because the National Organization for Marriage has been the primary source of funding in every one of those campaigns. Most of these ads have relied on misleading claims that individuals who would prefer to discriminate against same-sex couples as victims. Others rely on the false threat that schools will suddenly teach young children about sexuality. One of NOM’s final ads compiles all of these lies into one clip that attempts to scare voters about the “broken promises” of marriage equality. Despite these very negative scare tactics, NOM’s last ad paints opposing equality under the veneer of love and respect for gay people. Watch the Minnesota version of this underhanded ad:
Meanwhile, the state campaigns for equality have actually run very independent campaigns, featuring individuals who live in the state rather than imported scare tactics: Read more
FINAL POLLS: Minnesota Marriage Inequality Amendment Set To Lose |
Two final polls suggest Minnesota’s constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage is going to fail. The final Public Policy Polling survey shows 52 percent opposed to the measure with only 45 percent of voters wanting to approve it. Survey USA has consistentlyshown more voters favoring the amendment, but its latest poll also shows opponents winning 48-47. Even if the amendment “wins” a plurality of votes, it must have a solid 50 percent “yes” vote from all votes cast in order to pass, which means that if any voter skips the question on the ballot, it counts as a “no.” Opponents of equality boast that they always win on this issue, but Minnesota could be an important setback to their record.
The National Organization for Marriage and Family Research Council have unveiled two new videos today in an attempt to reinforce theirargument that heterosexuals are somehow made victims when LGBT equality advances.
NOM’s newest clip in its so-called “Anti-defamation Alliance” collection is one of its weakest yet. In an attempt to drum up support from individuals who oppose unions, NOM interviewed Sara Rowe, a firefighter in Duluth, Minnesota. When Rowe’s union came out against the state’s marriage inequality amendment, she disagreed and wrote a letter to the editor expressing her dissent. That’s her entire story; there was no backlash or discrimination or legal issues of any kind. She simply “was made to feel uncomfortable and unaccepted” for who she is, and it seems the irony is lost on her. Watch the clip:
Meanwhile, FRC has reached out to Kathleen Crank and her 14-year-old daughter Sarah, who testified against marriage equality to the Maryland Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee in January. Kathleen’s concern rises from the offensive negative feedback left on Internet comment threads after Sarah’s testimony was posted online. Watch it:
Bullying a 14-year-old girl as these trolls apparently did is no doubt wrong, but not exactly a compelling argument against marriage equality. And Kathleen shares her own burden for posting offensive comments online. When ThinkProgress posted Sarah’s testimony, Kathleen actively engaged in the post’s feedback thread to defend her family’s anti-gay views. Many of those comments seem to have been deleted, but some remain. She claimed that Sarah “wrote [the testimony] herself,” but admitted that she is “thankful that she has embraced my values” — perhaps not surprising considering Sarah is homeschooled. In various comments, Kathleen laid out exactly what those values are:
CRANK: I simply pointed out that AIDS is devastating an entire continent. AIDS is a terrible disease, and in the US [men who have sex with men] are 44 times more likely to contract it than heterosexuals. [...]
I have had friends who chose that way, I have family that chose that way. The problem with the GLBT community is that there is this viewpoint that if you love me, if you accept me, then you must celebrate my behaviour and give me everything I want. To me it is similar to alcoholism or drug addiction. I know many many people who have successfully come out of that lifestyle. [...]
Truthfully, the best kept secret in the GLBT community is that very few GLBT people want to get a marriage license or parent..so speaking out against this legislation is not speaking out against gays. I do believe the practice of homosexuality is harmful and destructive to individuals and society, as I testified several years ago, and that is borne out by the health stats. [...]
Nature itself forbids same sex couples to marry. The parts don’t fit and no children can be created. No laws will ever change the natural law. The rage of the GLBT community is really against God and nature.
These are apparently some of the best arguments that opponents of equality can come up with: pity the woman who disagreed with her union and the mother teaching her daughter a distorted reality about the lives of gays and lesbians.
POLL: Minnesota Inequality Amendment Race Still Tight |
A new Survey USA poll shows that the Minnesota marriage inequality amendment is still hotly contested. According to the latest numbers, 48 percent support the discriminatory amendment, 47 percent oppose it, and 5 percent are undecided. A similar poll two weeks ago found about the same result, 48-47. Both have a margin of error of just over 4 percent, so the change is negligible. Though there seems to be more support than opposition to the measure, it still requires a full 50 percent vote to pass, meaning that those who skip the question on the ballot will be counted as a no vote.
The campaigns against marriage equality in Maryland, Maine, Minnesota, and Washington are all running some variation on an ad featuring David and Tonia Parker, a Massachusetts couple who in 2005 objected to their kids learning in school that same-sex marriages existed. Conservatives regularly highlight David Parker as a victim to scare voters, but his story is told in incredibly misleading ways.
There is a big difference between mentioning that some kids — including students in the class — have same-sex parents and teaching about same-sex sexuality. The former is what happened in schools, but the latter is what the Parkers claim they objected to. In fact, David Parker so objected to the use of materials including all families that he appeared at the school to protest and refused to leave, forcing an arrest for trespassing. Parker then sued and a federal judge dismissed his complaint, saying that schools are “entitled to teach anything that is reasonably related to the goals of preparing students to become engaged and productive citizens in our democracy.” Parker has since become an outspoken enemy of LGBT equality; Jeremy Hooper has a round-up of his various interviews, in which he calls homosexuality a disease, claims that gay people “use” and harm their children, and urges schools to promote harmful ex-gay therapy.
Parker responded to Hooper’s clips to make one clarification about whether homosexuality is a “disease,” choosing instead to describe it as an “addiction” that people are “drawn in” to:
PARKER: I could have been more clear about the “disease” correlation. If you really listen — I was led down this thought path unprepared — and went reluctantly and clumsily. Let me clarify — I believe that engaging in homosexual conduct becomes more addictive with practiced frequency until a person “feels” like that’s “who they are.” It shouldn’t be contriversial [sic] that a “sexual feeling” has a physiological addictiveness — when something “feels good” to a person — psychologically, they are compelled to do it more. I also believe that intense love for the same gender is NOT “homosexuality” — as is commonly understood. I also, VERY strongly believe that sexuality is fluid — especially when young. And, I do not look down on persons with same-sex attraction; my worldview informs me that ALL of humanity has urges and temptations — and the more you “give in” the more you are “drawn in.” I hope you except [sic] the authenticity to genuinely put forth my clarification, though, I know this is not an explanation that you will embrace.
David Parker does not have any known psychological qualifications to inform his positions, which is likely why his understanding of homosexuality in no way aligns with what all professional social science organizations have been saying for decades. Given that many consider addictions like alcoholism to be a disease, his clarification here is a distinction without a difference. He clearly sees gays and lesbians as disordered and troubled and not worthy of respect in society, which is why he has no problem serving as a spokesperson against equality at every opportunity.
Watch a mash-up of the Parkers’ ad as it’s running in all four state campaigns, with comparisons to fear-mongering ads of the past:
POLL: Minnesota Amendment Still A Tight Race With Proponents Leading |
Unlike a poll last week showing Minnesota’s marriage inequality amendment could lose by a full majority, a new Star Tribune poll shows a much tighter race. According to the numbers released Sunday, 48 percent support the amendment and 47 oppose it, with just 5 percent of voters undecided. This slight lead does not guarantee a victory for proponents, however, who require a full 50 percent majority — not just a plurality — to pass the discriminatory measure into law. Democrats and Republicans remain traditionally divided, with the Independents mirroring the full sample at 48-47-5.
NEWS FLASH
POLL: Minnesota Inequality Amendment Could Lose With Full Majority |
Advocates have been optimistic that Minnesota’s proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage will fall short of the full 50 percent of yes votes required to pass, but a new poll suggests it might lose outright. According to a St. Cloud State University Survey, 51 percent of likely voters plan to vote no, while 44 percent support it. An additional 3 percent said they will not vote on the question, which further hurts its chances of passing, with little help to be expected from the 2 percent who “Don’t know.” (HT: Joe.My.God.)
Here are some of his findings that reveal greater child endangerment in same-sex households than households headed by a mom and a dad:
Parental pedophilia: 23 percent of children with a lesbian mother reported having been touched sexually by a parent or adult, compared with 2 percent of those raised by biological parents.
Higher number of rape cases: 31 percent of children raised by a lesbian mother and 25 percent raised by a homosexual male report that they were forced to have sex against their will, compared to 8 percent from intact families.
Suicidal tendencies are shocking: 24 percent of children raised by homosexual men and 12 percent of children raised by lesbian mothers admitted to having recently contemplated suicide, compared to 5 percent of those raised by biological parents or even a single parent.
He concludes:
The social experiment of legalizing same-sex unions will prove disastrous for kids and bring untold dysfunction and damage to children and society.
Of course, the Regnerus study only included two children that were actually raised throughout their childhood in same-sex parented homes, so there is nothing legitimate to substantiate these claims. Clearly, Lindquist has absolutely no problem publicly scorning and stigmatizing gays and lesbians, encouraging people to believe that they are pedophiles and that they harm children. This is the perspective Anoka-Hennepin School Board Chair Tom Heidemann thinks will help protect LGBT youth in their community — he couldn’t be more wrong.
Chris Kluwe Records ‘Lustful Cockmonster’ Ad For Minnesota Equality |
In September, Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe took aim at Maryland Del. Emmett C. Burns Jr. (D) for his opposition to marriage equality, pointing out that loving gay and lesbian couples “won’t magically turn you into a lustful cockmonster.” Now, that colorful turn of phrase has been incorporated into a new radio ad against Minnesota’s marriage inequality amendment. In the ad, Kluwe says that he and his wife just want their daughters to marry whoever they love when they grow up, but the amendment will prevent them from doing that. Listen to it:
NEWS FLASH
Former Prop 8 Advocate Defends Marriage Equality In New Ad |
David Blankenhorn of the Institute for American Values was supposed to be the star witness to defend California’s Proposition 8 when it was challenged in court in 2010. Though his intention was to obstruct marriage equality, he admitted on the witness stand that the children of same-sex couples would benefit from their parents marrying. This foreshadowed the change of heart he eventually had earlier this year when he proclaimed that legally recognizing same-sex couples is a “victory for basic fairness.” Now, he has recorded an ad opposing Minnesota’s proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriage because “there are powerful reasons to believe that we will be a better society if we include gay and lesbian people and their relationships as full and equal parts of society. Watch it:
Tomorrow, four states will have the opportunity to weigh in on the question of marriage equality, three of which will have the opportunity to embrace the freedom for the very first time. All four campaigns have had fierce efforts both for and against, with millions of dollars spent on ads. As election day approaches, here is a final look at what the campaigns have been saying to the public in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington.
The campaigns against marriage equality in 
