Count Four

Calling a Spade a Spade

Maggie Gallgher has a piece over on Yahoo Opinions in which she decries same-sex marriage proponents’ use of the term “bigot” to describe those who oppose such unions. She quotes Senator Brownback in his (correct) assessment of the situation:

Same-sex marriage proponents argue that sexual orientation is like race, and that opponents of same-sex marriage are therefore like bigots who oppose interracial marriage. Once same-sex marriage becomes law, that understanding is likely to be controlling.

She then goes on to argue that:

[f]or the foreseeable future, Americans are going to live with some deep moral disagreements on the marriage issue. Conducting this debate in a spirit of mutual respect and civility would be a lot easier if gay marriage advocates stopped pretending that only fear, hatred or bigotry is at the root of these disagreements.

The only response I have for her there is to look to the propaganda from her own side first before condemning that coming from the other. “Bigot” is relatively easy when up against “disordered,” “morally corrupt,” and “disgusting,” to name a few of the terms fired off by opponents of anything related to same-sex relationships. Reasonable people may disagree on whether ‘marriage’ as a civil institution should be extended to same-sex couples (and, yes, to more than two persons of the same or opposite sexes), but when faced with rhetoric that denies the very humanity of the persons at issue, opponents of this change should not be shocked when proponents fire back with an equal amount of vitriol.