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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHow the Mind Rationalizes Homophobia
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/02/how-the-mind-rationalizes-homophobia/283998/?n1cun0
A sign outside the Supreme Court in March 2013 encapsulates a typical argument against gay parenthood. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters)
For gays and their allieswho now make up a majority of Americans the past year has been a time of heartening election results and Supreme Court victories. But for the substantial minority of Americans who continue to oppose gay marriage, a siege mentality has taken hold. Some go so far as to argue that if gays were ever the victims of prejudice, the tables have now turned.
Thats the rationale behind a wave of new state bills. Last week Charles Macheers, a Republican state representative from Kansas, had these words to say in support of a bill he described as a shield against discrimination: Discrimination is horrible. Its hurtful It has no place in civilized society, and thats precisely why were moving this bill. That bill died in the Senate, and similar bills in Idaho, South Dakota, and Tennessee have also stalled. But on Wednesday, the Arizona Senate passed a bill allowing any individual, association, partnership, corporation, church, religious assembly or institution or other business organization to refuse to serve people if they feel it violates their free exercise of religion. The bills sponsor, Republican Senator Steve Yarbrough, argued during a two-hour debate on the Senate floor that this bill is not about allowing discrimination but about preventing discrimination against people who are clearly living out their faith.
Ever since it became déclassé to be anti-gayits hard to put a date on it, but some time around the start of this centurythose who oppose equal treatment for gay people have made similar efforts to avoid appearing homophobic. Theyve insisted that theyre driven not by a prejudiced view of gay individuals, but by a larger concern about the negative impact gay equality could have on society. In Virginia, for example, the state banned gay marriage by arguing that allowing same-sex marriage would trigger unforeseen legal and social consequences and inflict serious and harmful consequences to the social order. (That ban was struck down last week.) Its the same claim that opponents of openly gay military service made in support of dont ask, dont tell: The policy wasnt about prejudice, but about concerns that gay troops would harm unit cohesion and the security of the nation. (Dont Ask Dont Tell ended without a hiccup in 2011.)
Meanwhile, opponents of gay marriage often cite (discredited) claims that same-sex parenthood harms children. Just this week, Mitt Romney struggled to explain why children of same-sex couples in Massachusetts, the state he governed, seem to be thriving. Ultimately, Romney said it would take generations for his doomsday predictions to come true.
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How the Mind Rationalizes Homophobia (Original Post)
xchrom
Feb 2014
OP
The guy in the photo looks familiar. Didn't he used to be in the Village People?
Mister Ed
Feb 2014
#5
WovenGems
(776 posts)1. Who'da thunk it?
that Arizona would want to replace Kansas as the most idiotic state?
world wide wally
(21,758 posts)2. Florida
booley
(3,855 posts)3. they've been vying for that title for a while now
didn't even know it was a competition, did you?
dickthegrouch
(3,188 posts)4. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion
IMHO this ridiculous attempt to prevent discrimination falls foul of that. Just like the anti same-sex marriage laws do.
Mister Ed
(5,946 posts)5. The guy in the photo looks familiar. Didn't he used to be in the Village People?