Now that I've calm down a little bit (and I finished my accounting homework), I can explain at least the Tennessee adoption ban.
The law is proposed by Senator Paul Stanley in January of 2009. The new law would make it illegal for any unmarried couple to adopt children. (I erroneously said earlier that single people were excluded.) So in addition to the regular, rigorous investigation that the state adoption agencies perform on candidates, now they have to determine if the "roommate" is sexually active with the adopter.
This is what I like to call a "Backdoor Law." They proposed gay adoption bans and the laws failed to pass in Tennessee. Now there's no mention of homosexuals in the new law (though it would still ban them, as gay marriage is not only illegal but a constitutional amendment - which passed with 82% of the majority vote btw), so it cannot be ruled as prejudicial.
Quite clever, these bigots. Most southern people would read the law and think, "Well I don't believe children should happen outside of marriage. I agree with that." They'll vote yes without thinking of the actual consequences of this law. These bigots know that. The average person thinks only about 5 minutes ahead. The Big Picture is rarely seen. Supporters of this law aren't necessarily bad people or mean people...just short sighted people.
And once again, anti-gay legislature is hiding behind children. "We're saving the children!" Really? Denying them homes so they can spend most of their life in foster care is in the best interest of the children? These people actually believe that foster care is better than being raised by an unmarried straight couple or a committed gay couple.
Here's the rub: this law actually hurts those older children in foster care. The older a child gets, the fewer the chances he/she has to be adopted. People want brand new babies. If they can't have their own, they use fertility drugs and surgeries until they fail. Then they might adopt, but if they do, they want a brand new baby. An 8 year old and an 11 year old don't have a chance in hell.
So on top of exploiting children, lowering their chances of finding homes, and limiting the rights of one targeted minority group, these Christian policy makers are hypocrites. How many unwanted kids have they adopted today?
It's Big Brother government using Jesus Christ as a battle axe.
Their ultimate goal, by the way, is to make homosexuality illegal. They want to force all gays and lesbians into a straight, Christian lifestyle (i.e. a straight, miserable marriage that will contribute to the high divorce rate). For people arguing that homosexuality is a sinful choice, they seem to forget that Christianity is a faithful choice, one where the individual must decide for him/herself. I was raised Christian and I'm fairly certain there isn't a verse in the Gospels where Jesus beat some poor pagan into the ground with a stick until he finally relented and followed.
But that's the difference between the Jesus that's in the Bible and the Jesus that's cohabiting the $80 million mega-churches that liter the south like mansions in Beverly Hills. These churches have their own gyms, their own schools, some even have their own Starbucks. It's a world within a world, one that's exclusive. Imagine Jesus' horror at the thought of Christians building palaces to themselves in order to keep the rest of the world outside.
I'm not sure why they're trying to "Christianize" America. I've read online a belief that if they make America (and only America) a Christian country, that Jesus will come back and the Rapture can begin. Not soon enough, I think. I really wish I did believe in the Rapture: that way, these Christian Warriors can be beamed up to heaven (or whatever planet they're from) and leave the rest of us alone.
Now, there is something that we can do and that's publicly oppose this law and all like it. Anyone who lives in Tennessee and even people who don't live in Tennessee, you can email Senator Paul Stanley and the state legislature. How? Simple. Follow these links:
Email Senator Paul Stanley
Call Your TN Representative
Suggestions for Sound Arguments To Make Regarding This Law
Donate To The Tennessee Equality Project
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This past election, they passed Amendment 2 in Florida using equally tricky wording and a very tricky campaign. What the amendment proposed was to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman, but it also prohibited the recognition of any union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent to marriage. This meant that not only same-sex couples were affected by this; all unmarried couples lost their benefits and no longer have their relationships recognized in the state.
ReplyDeleteEven though I am for legalizing same-sex marriage (obviously), that amendment would NOT have made same-sex marriage legal if it had passed. But the campaign for the amendment was smart. They toted it as the "protect the family" amendment. That way, people didn't seem to understand that they were not voting for the legalization of same-sex marriage; they voted for unmarried couples to not have rights and not be recognized in the state. This included couples cohabitating for 10+ years, unmarried couples with children, and lots of other heterosexual couples (not JUST gay couples).
But those bigots are smart. They know how to word things so that they get what they want. No matter how many people I explained this to while waiting in my 2 hour long line to vote this past election, my point fell on deaf ears. "Protect the family" was much more effective than my logical (and correct) description of the amendment.
As a total side note, anytime I see one of the "protect the family" bumperstickers or a "Choose Life" license plate or a McCain/Palin or Bush bumper sticker, I have an immediate urge to rear end the car. I can't help it.