Anti-gay marriage rallies as NY ceremonies begin

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By GEORGE M. WALSH

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Thousands of opponents of gay marriage took to the streets in loud and sometimes tense protests Sunday, the first day that legal same-sex weddings were performed.

The National Organization for Marriage held rallies in New York City, Albany, Rochester and Buffalo, saying Gov. Andrew Cuomo and lawmakers redefined marriage without giving voters a chance to weigh-in, as they have in other states. Protesters chanted "Let the People Vote!" at rallies across the state.

A rally in New York City that started with several hundred people crowding the street across from Cuomo's Manhattan office quickly swelled to thousands of people out in loud opposition to the new law.

They waved signs saying "Excommunicate Cuomo" and "God cannot be mocked."

Edit. I don't agree with the protests. I have friends and family that are gay and I fully support them.

Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20110724/D9OM9B300.html

---

A stuffed dog sits next to a sign at a protest against gay marriage in front of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's office in New York, Sunday, July 24, 2011. New York became the sixth and largest state to recognize same-sex weddings in a close state Senate vote on June 24 after strong lobbying by Cuomo and advocates. The first gay marriages in New York were performed just after midnight and continued through the day at municipal offices that opened for special weekend hours. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

[kestrel91316]

1. Um, yeah, because gays are not human beings.

(re the photo with the stuffed dog)

[Divine Discontent]

46. to the bigots we're not humans. it says a lot when most of their party's candidates think of being

GLBT as a mental defect or perversion. They are haters of love, of joy, and frankly, their bullshit comment of "God will not be mocked" makes me respond with, "oh really? You folks mock him every day with your judgmental behavior towards God's children who are GLBT!"

Almost definitely in every couple generations of a family there is a GLBT person or two, of course, but these people don't want to even think about it or they are ashamed of them and treat them badly. God forbid they behave like Jesus commands in saying to love others as you love yourself... oh, wait, that's right, they don't love themselves...

[Ninjaneer]

2. My, my the slippery slope fallacy is strong in this one... n/t

[RKP5637]

3. Yep, NOM, imagine where civil rights in this country would be today if the majority

always voted on civil rights for minorities.

[Bluenorthwest]

5. Obama thinks States should be able to vote to deny us rights

He said so.

[RKP5637]

10. Yeah, I heard that and it's outrageous, absolutely outrageous. Each day I

wonder more and more WTF about many things.

[RKP5637]

15. This is a really really stupid statement by Obama. Imagine if civil rights

for black people had been enacted that way in the 60's, letting states vote and decide on civil rights. What a stupid position for him to take as a president over a diverse population. It's sooooo damn RW sounding.

[awoke_in_2003]

24. if it came to a vote...

Jim Crowe would still be strong in the south.

[RKP5637]

26. Exactly!!! It is just a bizarre line of reasoning he's using IMO. There are far too

many examples in the world of what happens when a majority decides the fate of a minority. It's particularly even more bizarre IMO for a statement made by a black man.

[awoke_in_2003]

36. yep...

the whole "tyranny of the majority" concept.

[Maraya1969]

30. I just sent him that very same message in a letter to the White House

Maybe you could too???

[RKP5637]

35. OK! n/t

[Unvanguard]

18. Obama thinks that sexual orientation is a suspect classification

and anti-gay discrimination should get heightened scrutiny.

The practical meaning of that standard is that every same-sex marriage ban in the country is unconstitutional.

[RKP5637]

29. And in Kansas they just recently voted (legislature) to keep being gay a criminal offense. n/t

[Unvanguard]

32. True, though it doesn't have any legal effect because of Lawrence v. Texas.

There are clearly parts of the country that will take a very long time to reach full equality if it's entirely up to their elected officials (or to the referendum process.) This will end with a Supreme Court ruling eventually, just like the movement to repeal anti-sodomy laws.

[ruggerson]

44. Yes, but he clearly enunciated the state's rights argument just a few weeks ago

He is anything but consistent on this issue.

[Unvanguard]

45. "States' rights" is a principle with multiple meanings.

He has at no point suggested that the courts should defer to the judgment of states in determining what does and does not qualify as providing equal protection to same-sex couples. Indeed, in pushing for heightened scrutiny in the courts--which frankly is a much more definitive and more important statement than ambiguous language in speeches and public statements--he has suggested quite the opposite.

What he said about New York is that marriage is a matter traditionally determined by state law, not federal law. That's correct. Congress and the President cannot constitutionally legalize or prohibit same-sex marriage. But in the context of the constitutional stance his Administration has taken, this is simply not a carte blanche for state-level majorities to discriminate against gay people. There is no inconsistency here: there are different principles of federalism at stake. On the one hand, the federal government does not have plenary police power, and one of the powers it has traditionally lacked is power over family law and domestic relations. On the other hand, states are bound by the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment not to discriminate against same-sex couples. Articulating the first principle is not inconsistent with articulating the second. If you asked him, "Are state-level same-sex marriage bans unconstitutional?", the answer you would probably get is something to the effect of, "I think that matter is best decided by courts" (or some other way to dodge the question), not "No, states should be permitted to do as they please."

I don't mean to be disingenuous. Obama's stance requires parsing of this sort only because Obama is being intentionally evasive. He could say "I think all same-sex marriage bans are unconstitutional," but he hasn't and he won't. He could just say, "I think marriage is a state matter, but I support states legalizing same-sex marriage," but he hasn't and he won't until probably after the next election. But evasiveness is not the same as affirmatively articulating a view that's hostile either to same-sex marriage or to the application of constitutional equal protection principles to anti-gay legislation.

See also Chris Geidner, who I think got this exactly right.

[sakabatou]

4. Hey

You need any more Teflon for that slope?

[66 dmhlt]

6. Is it just me, or is that dog damn cute? Anyone know if he's single?

[NorthCarolina]

38. LOL

Cute.

[DinahMoeHum]

7. The human JPACer behind that sign can go have

"Sex With Ducks"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXPcBI4CJc8

:evilgrin:

[Fearless]

8. Let's get out the big ole spotlight and point it right in these bigots' faces.

[and-justice-for-all]

9. Lucky for us we do not live in a theocracy....

so the bigot fucks of NOM can go fuck themselves.

I do not feel that a basic civil right should be voted upon, its a given. People like those of NOM need to learn to mind their own fucking business; the sky is not going to fall and their imaginary friends will not give a shit, I promise.

[RKP5637]

11. We don't live in a theocracy yet, but most of the republican presidential candidates

would love that I'm sure. The US is its own worst enemy over and over again. After 8 years of Bush, the citizenry of this country scares me when it comes to voting.

[jmowreader]

12. I think there are worse threats to "traditional marriage"...

than "homosexual marriage" or "dog marriage" or whatever the fuck they're screaming about this week.

It seems to me that so-called Christians committing adultery is a MUCH bigger threat to marriage than "homosexual marriage" ever could be...because while "the presence of two guys married to each other in a house three blocks down the street" is not grounds for divorce, "putting your dick in a woman not named on your marriage license" IS.

[RKP5637]

23. If these folks think their marriage is that precarious to begin with, then it's

not going to last anyway. And, isn't the divorce rate in this country something like 50%. Sounds like these folks need to get their own act together and quite blaming other people for their inadequacies at holding their marriage together.

[awoke_in_2003]

31. well, their faith in god is so strong...

that if anyone dares question it they have a royal tizzy over it. Their belief in god, and their belief in strong marriage, is pathetically weak.

[HillWilliam]

42. Or their god is pathetically weak

hiding behind their skirttails, always the victim, always needing "defending".

Feh and a pox on their imaginary friend.

[awoke_in_2003]

43. He is either...

omnipotent and a sadist, or all loving and impotent.

[BiggJawn]

13. That's really odd.

I was awake at midnight last night, and I didn't hear hetero marriages exploding all around the village. And I didn't wake up this morning with somebody at the door demanding that I marry their box turtle, either. Has anybody ever gotten an answer to the question "What are you 'protecting' straight marriage from?"? Anybody? Me neither.

Anyway, big shout out to all the newlyweds in NY state and the falls looked AWESOME!

[awoke_in_2003]

33. maybe you don't live in a cul-de-sac...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-id4GKsaQk

[BiggJawn]

39. No, I live on a state highway...

Maybe I *SHOULD* move to a cuddly-sack. The matching pumps would liven up the place a bit.

That was a hoot! Thanx for the link!

[awoke_in_2003]

41. No problem...

it is from "Red, White, and Screwed". Lewis had a lot of good stuff in that one.

on edit: the pumps were very tasteful :)

[alp227]

14. Anyone remember the Sup. Ct. decision about the Westboro Baptist Church?

From what I'm reading here I'm glad that no actual weddings have been picketed.

Given how these protesters can find only emotional, narcissistic, self-serving reasons to oppose gay marriage, that's why I'm glad I've never observed religion.

[RKP5637]

16. Same here. I left religion years ago because I felt it was so F'ed up, irrational

and bigoted and I've never looked back.

[Unvanguard]

17. Dear NOM et al.: you lost. Equality, freedom, and justice won.

Deal with it, because there's no going back.

[FLPanhandle]

19. Why do I suspect that those protesting the most are probably just jealous?

I'm straight and gays getting married is no issue to me. I think they are upset that people are getting to do something they can only dream about.

[Unvanguard]

20. They're enemies of joy.

And furious that other people can be so happy without abiding by their arbitrary rules for how men and women ought to behave.

[FLPanhandle]

22. Probably because they are so miserable abiding by their own arbitrary rules.

Misery loves company.

[RKP5637]

34. I think there's an underlying level of hatred in these people for many things, but

the gay marriage thing allows them to focus their hatred. They just have to have something to hate.

[NYC Liberal]

47. At least with abortion, their claim that fetuses are human beings

would mean that it affects other people.

Same-sex couples getting married has absolutely zero effect on anyone!

[fantomas]

21. When your best argument involves dogsex...

You lose me.

[freshwest]

25. Oh give me a break about the dog!

[awoke_in_2003]

27. "Mazel Tov"...

what really saddens me is seeing Jewish American and African Americans getting behind this kind of stuff- do they not understand their own history?

[Unvanguard]

28. Lots of white Christians opposing marriage equality too.

And the vast majority of Jews support same-sex marriage.

[awoke_in_2003]

37. very true...

I just hoped that some people would know better, but prejudice knows no boundaries.

on edit: just wanted to add that this proves that no group is a monolith.

[Zorra]

40. More hatred by conservatives.

They just never quit hating.

[No Elephants]

48. We all have friends and family who are gay. Some of us know it.

[ileus]

49. Idiot asses....that's all I have to say about thses protesters.