There is a storm a brewin'.

There's a storm gathering.
The clouds are dark and the winds are strong.
And I am afraid.

Bad emo poetry? Nope.

Just anti-gay fear-mongering.

The National Organization for Marriage has crafted a ridiculous ad which they plan to air on FOX news (no surprise there), CNN, and MSNBC. The full ad is below.





Of course those that aren't bigots can see through the stupidity of such an ad. The Human Rights Campaign has put together a rebuttal and even released the audition tapes of the actors in the ad.

The general argument of the ad is that the push for marriage equality isn’t just about rights for same-sex couples, it’s about imposing contrary values on people of faith. The examples they cite in the ad are:

(1) A California doctor who must choose between her faith and her job

(2) A member of New Jersey church group which is punished by the state because they can’t support same-sex marriage

(3) A Massachusetts parent who stands by helpless while the state teaches her son that gay marriage is okay

The facts indicate that (1) refers to the Benitez decision in California, determining that a doctor cannot violate California anti-discrimination law by refusing to treat a lesbian based on religious belief, (2) refers to the Ocean Grove, New Jersey Methodist pavilion that was open to the general public for events but refused access for civil union ceremonies (and was fined by the state for doing so) and (3) refers to the Parker decision in Massachusetts, where parents unsuccessfully sought to end public school discussions of family diversity, including of same-sex couples.

All three examples involve religious people who enter the public sphere, but don’t want to abide by the general non-discriminatory rules everyone else does. Both (1) and (2) are really about state laws against sexual orientation discrimination, rather than specifically about marriage. And (3) is about two pairs of religious parents trying to impose their beliefs on all children in public schools.

The Human Rights Campaign has created EndtheLies.org to combat this kind of anti-gay rhetoric. The site features an interactive wall that features the words and actions of various anti-gay extremists and the hate they peddle.

As I said in my review of Milk, Harvey Milk died believing that we were on the cusp of a new world filled with peace and equality. 31 years later, we aren't much closer to achieving his dream. It is just sad that there are organizations peddling hate and discrimination like this. Organizations that use fear-mongering in a feeble attempt to justify bigotry.