Forgive them, for they know not what they do

The day before yesterday I received an e-mail from Marc Shaiman, a composer and musical director, whose main claim to fame is as the composer of "Hairspray," for which he and his partner won the Tony. OK, Marc didn't send it to me, it was forwarded.

Shaiman was writing to inform the world of how the artistic director of the California Musical Theater company in Sacramento (I knew it as "Music Circus" and saw several performances there) had donated $1000 to the Yes on 8 campaign. Shaiman, rightfully incensed that a man who leads the creative process in a world where gay men make up a huge percentage of the creative talent both on and behind stage would so callously work against their interests, called for a boycott of CMT.

He got more than that. After a firestorm of e-mails and publicity, with many other theater professionals vowing to join the boycott, the artistic direction (Scott Eckern) resigned this morning. This is despite his issuing an apology yesterday and promising to donate an equivalent amount to the Human Rights Campaign.

As you can imagine, this has raised hackles on both sides of the issue. Those who support Eckern argue that he is entitled to express his personal opinion and that this has nothing to do with his job. Of course, those who were offended by Eckern's actions are also free to express their opinions by refusing to support his work.

My personal view would normally be that Eckern paid too high a price. He did apologize and match his donation, after all. Unfortunately, I think he deserves to lose his job -- not for his political opinion, but for sheer stupidity. Andrew Sullivan labeled him "Dumbest Man Alive" in a posting yesterday. I mean, really, you work every day with gay actors, writers, dancers, set designers, etc. and then you actively contribute to a law that would enshrine them in the Constitution as second-class citizens? It's not just stupid, it's thoughtless and cruel.

But wait, it gets worse. It turns out Eckern's sister is gay! That's right, he donated $1000 to help ensure that his sister and her partner could never enjoy the benefits of marriage. A man that displays that level of insensitive idiocy needs to find another job. Perhaps at a meat processing plant or a recycling yard or a toxic waste dump.

That said, let's move on to some more over-reactions to the Prop 8 vote. Apparently an activist group called "Bash Back" disrupted Sunday services at a church in Delta Township in Michigan. You can read the story here. You're not helping the cause, fellas. Hate can't be defeated with more hate. The only cure for hate and intolerance is love and understanding. Same thing is true for the morons who ripped a giant foam cross from the hands of an old woman who'd shown up at rally in Palm Springs protesting the passage of Prop 8. These idiots surrounded the woman, shouting at her and crushing the cross under their feet.

I wish I'd been there. We need to meet intolerance with understanding and hate with love and more love. We must counter stupidity with wisdom and fear-mongering with rationality.

We need to come together, not tear each other apart.

Concise, party of one?

It's an argument I have made on several occasions -- but never with more brevity than this:

"A frequently overheard slippery slope is:

Gay marriage = Less procreation = Human extinction.

But this slippery slope only works if we all become gay.

What process originating in gay marriage will make me divorce my wife and marry a man?

What process originating in gay marriage will make any appreciable number of straight people turn gay?"

From a commenter on the blog, Volokh Conspiracy.

A Mormon on Separation of Church and State

"Eliminates" It Is

The judge has ruled: Proposition 8 will be listed on the ballot as "Eliminates the right of same-sex couples to marry."

Easily the best news of the week.

As expected...

...it looks like the court will not be altering the Attorney General's language change on Proposition 8. The ballot, it seems, will still read, "Eliminates the right..."

The Sanctity of Marriage, Part 3

I only wish they had shown the ring exchange.

Leave Marriage to the Churches

Today's USA Today has an interesting editorial suggesting that the way out of the increasingly rancorous debate on marriage equality, something I've been fine with for some time: requiring all couples to obtain a civil union. Then, those who want to be married can go to whatever church will have them.

The question is, how easy is that to accomplish? What legislation will be required to navigate the many hundreds of laws that currently deal with "marriage" that would now have to recognize civil unions?

Their cup runneth over...with anger and vitriol

Here's a comment posted on OneNewsNow, a Christian "news" service (Hey, if they can put marriage in quotes...) on a story about a therapist in the Bay Area who feels under attack because most of her colleagues oppose Proposition 8.

"The homosexual community is going to cause a civil war in the streets if they continue to keep pushing us around. They better back off becuase (sic) the sleeping giant which is the heterosexual community is awakening and getting sick and tired. Once we begin to push back, the homosexual community isn't going to know what hit them."

Do what you will -- you'll never find our Weapons of Mass Fabulousness!

The Foes

This is the sort of thinking that is out there (this being a quote from the comments section of the Napa Valley Register, asking for people's opinions on Prop 8):

"John Richards wrote on Jul 19, 2008 7:50 PM:
" Even if we accept that gays are born that way, that does not mean that homosexual activity is normal or acceptable. I believe all of us are born with some sort of handicap or 'thorn in the flesh'. How well we deal with that handicap has great bearing on what happens to us in the next life. Some people are born cripple, yet (unlike gays) they don't insist on running foot races with able-bodied runners."

No Complacency, Please

Promising new poll numbers out yesterday. According to a Field Poll, 51% of likely California voters plan to vote "no" on Proposition 8. 42% plan to vote to write discrimination into the California Constitution and 7% are undecided.

Remember, though, that on Proposition 22, the most recent vote on marriage equality in the state, polls showed the measure barely winning and it ended up taking 61% of the vote. Bigots, it is not surprising, tend to lie about their bigotry to pollsters.

More analysis here. What you'll see in that breakdown of numbers is that every age group opposes Prop 8.

Tell Your Friends

I've just returned from an organizing meeting in the "No on 8" campaign. It was wonderful to be in the presence of like-minded people (including quite a few heterosexuals) ready to stand up for equality.

110 days until the election -- if you believe in equality and don't want discrimination written into the California Constitution, you need to vote no on 8, and ask all your friends and family to do the same.

This won't be the last time I ask you this. This is very important. It's the biggest battle for civil rights since the 60s. You are going to be part of history. The question is, which side of history will you be on?