Saturday, May 12, 2012

Marriage: Why the Media Matters


I've become quite disappointed with the media in the way they continue to cover the marriage equality issue in this country. First, they keep asking the question, "Do you support same-sex marriage," and when you really think about it, that's the wrong question. What you personally support, based on your religion or whatever else makes up your personal viewpoint, is a different issue than what rights you believe citizens in a free society should have access to. In 1966, about nine in ten people didn't "support" interracial marriage. But on June 12, 1967, The Supreme Court made it clear that "The freedom to marry has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men." 


Secondly, I'm angry that the media isn't doing a better job calling those opposed to marriage equality out on their talking points. They keep saying "I'm not anti-gay, I'm pro-marriage." Well guess what, when you impose your unique religious view of religious marriage into the realm of civil marriage, you're voting to exclude a group of citizens from access to civil marriage licenses and all the rights and benefits those licenses afford them. That's not just Anti-gay (with a capital A), it's Arrogant, and worth the media calling bullshit on. It would be the same as someone saying "My religion tells me being black is bad, so I'm voting to prevent blacks from being able to marry. But I'm not anti-black."

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