tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21079623.post2323589521345350745..comments2023-04-20T23:23:08.705-07:00Comments on NeoMugwump: Gay Marriage, the GOP and Political CourageDennis Sandershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06115504318620722199noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21079623.post-28758515246913760562009-04-20T07:14:00.000-07:002009-04-20T07:14:00.000-07:00I've been discussing morality verses civil rights ...I've been discussing morality verses civil rights with regards to gay marriage lately. I think that if we look at gay marriage and only moral grounds, it's never going to enjoy widespread support. Simply put, too many people feel it conflicts with their morality. Even many people who are okay with it take the libertarian position which is that they may think gays are doomed to hell, but it's a free country. <br /><br />If we go the 'civil rights' route there is a much greater chance for acceptance and majority support eventually. The problem there is that removing morality from the conversation is the grease on the slippery slope arguement. Without morality as a factor, polygamy comes next. That's inevitable. There's also the question of adoptions. <br /><br />What I am most wary of is the GOP only accepting gay marriage as a 'it's going to happen sooner or later so we might as well get on board now so we don't look like bigots' proposition. We saw what happened when the GOP failed to support civil rights for blacks 40 years ago. Even though I would argue that we later redeemed ourselves, we are still looked at by many as the party of racists. We can't let that fear be the only motivating factor in a decision to accept gay marriage. Real concerns have to be addressed and I don't think it's unfair to say that the responsibility for that lies with gay marriage supporters.Mike at The Big Stickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11510309563965977831noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21079623.post-90486319637196654972009-04-18T19:50:00.000-07:002009-04-18T19:50:00.000-07:00The GOP would lose votes? The GOP doesn't have ma...The GOP would lose votes? The GOP doesn't have many votes to lose. If The GOP needs to learn from the Democratic leadership: hard-core party activists will whine and complain a lot when you tack to the middle, but no matter how annoyed they get, they'll never vote for the other party. And if they defect to a 3rd party and cause you to lose, they'll learn their lesson and not repeat it.hPastor Alanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02636328925170699124noreply@blogger.com