Maryland pastors vow to press fight against gay marriage

[davidinalameda]

http://www.advocate.com/new_news.asp?ID=14379&sd=11/19/04

Inspired by the recent success of ballot initiatives amending state constitutions to ban same-sex marriage in 11 states, 70 pastors have pledged to renew their efforts to ensure that such marriages never become legal in Maryland.

Describing themselves as the largest interdenominational group of clergy assembled to fight gay marriage, the pastors hope to assemble 100,000 protesters in a "Defend Maryland Marriage Rally" at the statehouse in Annapolis on January 27. Their goal is to pressure legislators to stiffen laws against same-sex marriage, even though the Maryland general assembly rejected two such bills by wide margins last session. One bill would have prevented the state from recognizing same-sex marriages from outside Maryland. The other proposal was a state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

"We are in an all-out war. Annapolis needs to know we are serious. We're gonna do this for the glory of God," said the Reverend Clifford Johnson, senior pastor of Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in the suburban Baltimore community of Rosedale

glory of their god or to fatten up their bank accounts?

[yellowcanine]

1. "glory of God" my ass - glory of Clifford Johnson is more likely.

[arcane1]

2. if I hear the catch-phrase "defend marriage" one more time...

I think I just may lose it...

defend it from WHAT?????

the people need to just get a fucking life already :eyes:

[Emillereid]

6. That's why we have to reframe the message --

We have to counter with our own language. We're for freedom to marry and equal rights!Check out this article by Lakoff:
http://www.progressivetrail.org/articles/040219Lakoff.shtml
Whose Family Values?

by George Lakoff

What's in a word? Plenty, if the word is "marriage."
<snip>

Idealistic progressives see beyond the material benefits, important as they are. Most gay activists want more than civil unions. They want full-blown marriage, with all its cultural meanings—a public commitment based on love, all the metaphors, all the rituals, joys, heartaches, family experiences—and a sense of normality, on a par with all other people. The issue is one of personal freedom: the state should not dictate who should marry whom. It is also a matter of fairness and human dignity. Equality under the law includes social and cultural, as well as material benefits. The slogan here is "freedom to marry."

Language is important. The radical right uses "gay marriage." Polls show most Americans overwhelmingly against anti-gay discrimination, but equally against "gay marriage." One reason, I believe, is that "marriage" evokes the idea of sex and most Americans do not favor gay sex. Another is that the stereotype of marriage is heterosexual. "Gay" for the right connotes a wild, deviant, sexually irresponsible lifestyle. That's why the right prefers "gay marriage" to "same-sex marriage."

<snip>

But the progressives who are not running for office can do a lot. Progressives need to reclaim the moral high ground—of the grand American tradition of freedom, fairness, human dignity and full equality under the law. If they are pragmatic liberals, they can talk this way about the civil unions and material benefits. If they are idealistic progressives, they can use the same language to talk about the social and cultural, as well as the material benefits of marriage. Either way, our job as ordinary citizens is to reframe the debate, in everything we say and write, in terms of our moral principles.

The rest of us have to put our ideas out there so that candidates can readily refer to them. For example, when there is a discussion in your office, church or other group, there is a simple response to someone who says, "I don't think gays should be able to marry, do you?" The response is, "I believe in equal rights, period. I don't think the state should be in the business of telling people who they can or can't marry." The media does not have to accept the right wing's frames. What can a reporter ask besides "Do you support gay marriage?" Try this: "In San Francisco, there has been a lot discussion of the freedom to marry, as a matter of equal rights under the law. How do you feel about this?"

Reframing is everybody's job.

[Malva Zebrina]

3. and they could not summon 100,000 protestors to protest an illegal

and immoral war?

[yellowcanine]

4. They will be lucky to get 1000, let alone 100,000. The only way they

get 100,000 is if they bus them in from the red states.

[Rincewind]

5. Who?

Just who the hell is forcing pastors into gay marriages?

[Anakin Skywalker]

11. Welcome to DU!

:)

[Catfight]

7. Too bad they don't fight pedophilia as hard as they fight two consenting

adults. These type of people really make no sense to me. They exert so much energy on fight two adults who love each other while turning their backs on the hungry, homeless children, sex offenders and law breakers, all the while crusading against one small group of people that want nothing to do with them. They are really just an organized mob and instead of the KKK they are the CCC Christian Clux Clan. God spoke of loving thy neighbor, not condemning thy neighbor. I say an all out war against baptist since they tend to enjoy casting WAR on everything they can see. War against drugs, terror, crime, gays, but never war against there sick lack of moral leadership and guidance.

Baptist preach oppression and hate. Not even God can save them from themselves. If Jesus returned a Baptist would be the first one to call him a liar and a faggot.

[maveric]

8. Shouldnt these fucking pastors be feeding the poor and healing the sick

or doing other things that Jesus would do?

[grumpy old fart]

9. How 'bout a war on poverty, intolerance, hunger......

WTF is wrong with the world? Get over the homophobia and address the issues that actually impact folk's lives. Jesus said ZERO about homosexuality, but lots about the poor, the oppressed, etc....These supposed Christians need to get their heads out of conflicting passages in the Old Testament and get right with Jesus.

[lawladyprof]

10. Reframe as encouraging fidelity and monogamy

Not condemning gay people to chosing between celibacy and illicit unions.

[colonel odis]

12. if they want to defend marriage, make it harder to get divorced.

make it harder to re-marry once you are divorced. after all, jesus said very plainly that re-marrying in lots of situations could be committing adultery. and adultery is mentioned in the 10 commandments, whereas same-sex marriage isn't.

so if they want to make it where certain people can't get married, let's make it where certain people can't get un-married.

[arwalden]

13. Everyone Knows... GOD HATES FAGS!!

www.godhatesfags.com

[geniph]

14. I just have to wonder how many of these Bible-beaters

use a King James Bible. You know, *that* King James - the one in whose reign the first "authorized" English-language translation of the Bible was published - the GAY King James.

Does the irony strike anyone but me? Wouldn't you think, that if God were all that dead-set against men loving other men, he'd have intervened to keep an evil man-lover from putting his name on God's own autobiography and self-help manual?

[VegasWolf]

15. New way to raise the sagging tithe revenue! n/t

[Riddler]

16. Maybe I should vow to press the fight against evangelical hypocritical

jerks who use God and religion to advance their own homophobic views, while completely forgetting about that little snippet that says "love thy neighbor".

[GoddessOfGuinness]

17. Maybe it's time to picket some of these churches

and protest their message of hate and intolerance.

[struggle4progress]

18. Let the churches do marriage. Let the state do civil unions.

Keep the state completely out of "marriage." Keep the clergy completely out of contract relations.

Separate church and state ...