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WORD COUNT
693
JUNE 25, 2008
POLS USE GAY MARRIAGE
AS A DISTRACTION – by Martha Burk
Legalized gay
marriage and the ceremonies started in
California
June 16. First across the threshold were Del Martin and Phyllis Leon,
two women in their 80s. Omigod – civilization as we know it is coming to
an end. No telling what these wild blue-hairs will do now that they’re
legal after 50 years together. The celebrations all over California
(with the exception of a couple of counties who quit performing all
marriages to get around the law) can’t possibly be matched by the angst
and anger of right-wing anti-gay groups and grandstanding politicians.
To hear the
homophobic politicians tell it, Americans are obsessed with banning gay
marriage. Some are – there are a number of ballot initiatives planned
for November that would amend state constitutions to enshrine marriage
as strictly a man/woman thing. But for most citizens, gay marriage falls
way down on the list of most important problems facing the country. And
depending on how the questions are asked, it doesn’t even show up on the
radar most of the time.
Banning gay marriage
is what I call a “False Prophet” issue for crusader candidates and those
already in Congress who go into hysterics at the thought that someone
could love another of the same gender. The FPs don’t really want to
solve the “problem” of gay marriage – if they did they wouldn’t have
anything to run on next time. What they do want to do is whip up
emotions so we won’t notice that we’re five years into two futile wars,
gasoline is nearly $5 bucks a gallon, food is both scary and
skyrocketing in cost, and more and more Americans are doing without
health care.
The rights of gay
Americans to marry each other or form same-sex legal unions emerged in a
big way in the 2002 elections, with conservative candidates stumping for
a constitutional ban. President George W. Bush took up the call in his
State of the Union address of 2004. In 2006, conservatives placed bans
on gay marriage and/or same sex unions on the ballots in eight states.
Seven passed, although by smaller majorities than in the past. A
majority of voters defeated the ban in Arizona because it would also
have taken rights away from cohabiting heterosexual retired couples.
While national polls indicate that a bare majority (51 percent) is still
opposed to gay marriage, opposition has declined significantly from 63
percent in February 2004. And no poll has shown that a federal anti-gay
amendment has anywhere near the level of support needed to secure
two-thirds approval in both houses of Congress and ratification by
three-quarters of the states.
Women support gay
marriage in greater numbers than men (41 percent to 31 percent) do.
Fewer people overall oppose civil unions (granting legal status without
state-approved marriage), and there is an even larger gender gap. Women
are considerably more inclined to support civil unions than men (51
percent to 39 percent). In any case, banning gay marriage through a
constitutional amendment is extremely low on the priority list of most
pressing issues facing the country — it doesn’t make the list at all
when pollsters ask the open-ended question "What do you think is the
most important problem facing this country today?" When “Social issues
such as abortion and gay marriage” is specifically included in a list of
desirable top priorities for the federal government, only 3 percent of
respondents choose that option.
False-prophet issues
are also called wedge issues -- “hot button” social issues, calculated
to divide voters along false fault lines. They are almost always
presented simplistically or outright dishonestly. Some other examples?
Banning abortion. Building a border fence. Gun control. And the silliest
of all –– tort reform. When was the last time you sat around the supper
table and lamented the poor corporations getting hauled into court for
bad products (pass the tomatoes please) by out-of-control
lawsuit-wielding citizens?
When you hear FP
candidates pontificating about gay marriage or any of the other wedge
issues, ask yourself why they are talking about these issues in a
misleading way, or why they seem obsessed with them while ignoring
problems about which voters really care. But don’t get mad, get even.
You’ll have your chance on November 4.
--
Martha Burk is author
of “Your Money and Your Life: The High Stakes for Women Voters in '08
and Beyond.” A photo of Martha Burk is available
CLICK HERE
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