The Procreative Guilt-Trip

Don't let anyone fool you, at the core of the opposition to gay marriage is intense heterosexual guilt surrounding sex as a recreational act.

This debate was never about marriage per se. This was always about sex. Because of our cultural attitude towards sex the only realm where sex could take place without shame and humiliation is of course, after marriage in the attempts to make a baby. That's it. And don't try and tell yourself that there's any dogmatic underpinnings to the "fostering the unitive bond between husband and wife" that's all boo-shit as they say on "The Wire." That sentiment was made up by American Protestants who are always looking for new ways to water down dogma so they can tell themselves that they are still getting into heaven. Just an update, it doesn't look good for any of us...

The truth is for many Americans, babies are the ultimate moral cleanser washing away all that nasty that created them in the first place. That's why the SCOTUS decision legalizing sodomy in Lawrence v. Texas was so important. It's not that Texas wasn't upholding and enforcing its anti-sodomy laws. It's that Texas was enforcing its anti-sodomy laws unfairly by only prosecuting homosexual activity and not heterosexual sodomy.

Because by definition homosexual intercourse cannot be procreative, gays do not have access to their sexual "immorality" eraser! They have no biological progeny to somewhat justify the fact that they had sex FOR FUN! THIS is the real reason why people oppose gay marriage. It's because they believe that marriage and specifically procreation is the gate for socially and morally acceptable sex.

Unfortunately for opponents of same-sex marriage, equal rights do not have to meet some generic idea of what a "moral" sexual act is. Over time brave gay and lesbian members of our society  have come out, and we've seen up close very loving spouses and extremely capable parents. Denying gay American citizens the right to marry (and all the federal benefits that come with it) just because they can't biologically produce a baby to mollify our own collective shame about sex is the height of absurdity.

And remember, Jesus is watching you ALL THE TIME!

Happy unitive bonding!

Story of the Day

Now, a whole host of people, including same-sex partners, can designate visitation rights and power of attorney to their partners in case they get sick thanks to an executive order from President Obama.  Read the full story here. Key excerpt below [emphasis mine]:

"Every day, all across America, patients are denied the kindnesses and caring of a loved one at their sides whether in a sudden medical emergency or a prolonged hospital stay," [Obama] wrote.


Affected, he said, are "gay and lesbian Americans who are often barred from the bedsides of the partners with whom they may have spent decades of their lives -- unable to be there for the person they love, and unable to act as a legal surrogate if their partner is incapacitated."


Officials said Obama had been moved by the story of a lesbian couple in Florida, Janice Langbehn and Lisa Pond, who were kept apart when Pond collapsed of a cerebral aneurysm in February 2007, dying hours later at a hospital without her partner and children by her side.


Obama called Langbehn on Thursday evening from Air Force One as he flew to Miami, White House officials said. In an interview, Langbehn praised the president for his actions.


"I kept saying it's not a gay right to hold someone's hand when they die, its a human right," she said, noting that she and Pond had been partners for almost 18 years. "Now to have the president call up and say he agrees with me, it's pretty amazing, and very humbling."


The new rules will not apply only to gays. They also will affect widows and widowers who have been unable to receive visits from a friend or companion. And they would allow members of some religious orders to designate someone other than a family member to make medical decisions.

Hat tip to Dan Savage at the Savage Love Blog or Slog.

The civil rights issue of our time, Part II

Unfortunately, the New York Senate voted down the Gay Marriage bill by a vote of 38-24. Here is Senator Diane Savino (D) - Staten Island giving a very well argued speech about her vote to support the bill.