Should I answer this e-mail?

[trof]

Miz t. says "no". That's what that little "delete" key is for.
It's from a member of Miz t.'s women's club. She's a former "Mrs. Alabama". I've met her a few times, and she seemed a nice enough lady.

Miz t. and I are both against this amendment, which I don't think has a chance in hell of passing anyway. Miz t. says don't add fuel to the fire, and just ignore it. To me, that seems like tacit approval.

"It's time to stand up and be counted! We MUST let our congressmen know how we feel!

The God-ordained institution of marriage is under attack in courts across the nation, and your help is needed to save it before the one man-one woman definition of marriage is completely and radically redefined. Go to www.nogaymarriage.com and sign the petition supporting a federal marriage amendment."

Answer, or delete?

[CO Liberal]

1. "God-ordained institution of marriage"

If that were the case, only Jews and Christians would marry, yet the concept of marriage exists in virtually all civilizations, including pagan ones.

They're full of it.

[rogerashton]

7. Perhaps pagan gods also ordained marriage?

And don't forget Muslims, who, after all, worship the same God.

[CO Liberal]

12. And Perhaps It's Just Human Nature....

...to commit yourself to one person.

[NewJeffCT]

16. Marriage also occurs in China, an atheistic society

Chinese are generally not religious - and, not just because it is State / Communist Party policy. Yes, there are millions of exceptions, but I was referring to most.

[cheezus]

24. Does she REALLY want a biblical marriage?

I mean, really? REALLY?

[trotsky]

2. You could point out...

how people in the past opposed mixed race marriages, and listed the same reasons they do today to oppose gay marriage.

[gratuitous]

3. Forget it

Mrs. Alabama sent it on without any insight or thought. She's just pushing a button on a computer. She doesn't have any idea what sort of anguish she's causing, and it would take about five emails just to get that idea across to her. And she still wouldn't be able to comprehend how the spread of hate and discontent applies to her.

The amendment has no chance of being introduced in any significant number of state houses, and less chance than that of getting loose for a popular vote. The wingnuts thought the gay marriage issue was some low-hanging fruit, a bit of easy pickings to fire up the electorate. They miscalculated badly.

Their amendment is going nowhere; their cause is lost. If it makes them feel better to engage in a little faceless online bigotry, what does it matter? You're not giving approval, tacit or otherwise, by ignoring her bad manners. Pretend she just farted, and take no notice.

[ieoeja]

11. I disagree

I pretty much ignored these throughout the Clinton years. Ditto the 2000 election. Then, even with the Republicans in control of both houses of Congress and the White House, they kept right on at it with all the lies about the Clintons trashing the White House, etc.

That finally made me decide to stop ignoring this ignorant shit.

At first I was greeted with shock. My family and friends knew my views, but they thought I would, you know, just shutup and take it like a good little pussy liberal. And even if I wasn't the absolute worthless coward that most liberals are, I surely knew I would lose any debate when facts were brought into the argument.

That was in 2000. Today many of these same people now forward these emails to me to ask me for the full story. Over the years they have discovered just how poorly informed they are and have come to depend on me to fill in the missing pieces. I don't know if I have changed a single vote. But I have certainly opened up some minds that were one-sided only because their only knowledge of the other side was what they heard on the radio or local television or read in the local newspaper.

When I visit down home I entertain the folks by providing commentary throughout the news. "What the reporter just said was reported in Chicago as well, but he left out the following information also reported in Chicago and which will show you that, in fact, the situation is the exact opposite of what he just concluded...".

It is amazing how much information is simply not broadcast to people in certain parts of the country.

[tandot]

4. Mess with their Petition:

My input:

First Name: EqualRights
Last Name: ForAll
E-Mail: [e-mail]
Address 2: LetGaysMarry Ave 1111
City: StopDiscriminating
State: Texas
ZIP: 76305

(on edit: I made up the email address. I hope the person who is really using that email address isn't swamped with hate email)

[pezcore64]

5. I just wrote a letter to the webmaster.

but it came back undeliverable!
COWARDS!
it read, and mind you i didnt proof read or do much thinking while writing it..cause well..its a no brainer for me.

"heres an idea!
make a law that says no multiple partners!

Oh wait, I forgot. You guys are just bigots!
oops!
Gosh, this gay marriage stuff sure is crazy!
I guess the 'blackies' should get out of the 'white' schools too eh?

marriage has been around longer than christianity.
sorry, its a social institution. it can be changed.
if a church doesnt want to marry someone, thats their right, but the government has no right to say whether or not two people can have a title that signifies a bond between them.

i think you guys should maybe re-read the bible again before you go casting first stones.
you mite as well add 'and blacks, hispanics, and asians are less intelligent than whites' onto the amendment while your are at it!
talk about a step backwards in civil rights if theres an amendment! what a shame that would be! punishing a certain group of people IN OUR CONSITUTION! SAD!

I have no problem with people being against the idea, as the bible does say homosexuality is bad, but people can not be the judge of them. thats God job. If they are in the wrong, then they will be punished in the afterlife.

sorry if i offended at all, i just think the website is pretty sad.
when will you be opening your KKK one?"

ah well.
it would have been nice to gotten a reply from the bigot bastards!
;)

[ieoeja]

18. You just hit upon the problem.

if a church doesnt want to marry someone, thats their right, but the government has no right to say whether or not two people can have a title that signifies a bond between them.


There are many states in which you can NOT get married EXCEPT in a church or synagogue. There is at least one, South Carolina, where you must be married by a "preacher of the gospels". There, if you're Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Atheist, etc, you still have to be married by a Christian religious authority.

So by South Carolina law your statement, "if a church doesn't want to marry someone, that's their right" is an argument against gay marriage since there ARE no marriages outside of chruch.

[pezcore64]

21. thats crazy

i didnt know that still went on?

Hell, even in my state(Kentucky), you can just go down the courthouse and as long as you have witnesses, you can get married right on the spot! all its takes are a few signatures!

So no other religion can marry someone in South Carolina? So ordained ministers of other religions have no marriage rights? I am ordained and find that HORRIBLY troubling.

What I find most troubling is that Kentucky is still thought of as more backward than the rest of the south by most people. if i had a dollar for the people who said 'you guys where shoes?!' and 'are there many black people in kentucky, i hear they are all racist!', id atleast have 10 bux ;) lol.

by the way, i still stick to my statement. I just think South Carolina needs to revise its marriage laws in its own state now. lol.

[GOPFighter]

6. I believe we all have an obligation to respond to these emails

After all, she is the one who sent this political message to you. She started it. Maybe if she realizes not everyone shares her beliefs, and may even take offense at these types of advocacy emails maybe she will stop sending them.

For about a year now, I've been responding to these kinds of emails by explaining why I disagree. So far no one has held it against me, and some have even sheepishly apologized and thanked me for letting them know I disagree.

[NewJeffCT]

17. I agree

We always have to respond to these sorts of emails... There are so many wingnut emails out there that they take on a grain of truth they are so prevalent!!!

[Cheswick2.0]

8. You must respond

It may not change her mind now, but years from now when she finally realizes how wrong she is, you will have been part of her journey.

[xchrom]

9. it's hard for me to feel polite about

people who claim to own god and god's intentions.

the straight community has been threatening and more than threatening the community for how long? and there's some pretence to politeness, why?

her intentions -- underneath it all -- are violent. she means no peace for gay folk or their supporters.

[BlueEyedSon]

10. Don't forget to deny Atheists the institution of marriage.

:)

[salin]

13. In this case - silence IS tacit agreement.

Esp in your geographic area (okay - am making an assumption based on quite a bit of time spent there in the late nineties - and the popular support for Judge Moore).

One doesn't even have to give a whole long explanation (that would probably go right over the head) - just a "to let you know that not everyone thinks that messing with the constitution is a good idea." type of response. If she wants more information per the reason you disagree ... and thus would indicate she is willing to dialogue... she will respond and ask. Otherwise you are just registering on her radar screen that it isn't quite as unanimous and "obvious" of a position as she seems to think. Sometimes just that awareness alone, is the beginning of raising folks' awareness.

[Delano]

14. It's important to answer.

People like Limbaugh are always telling these freaks that they are the "mainstream" and the rest of us are weirdo commies from hell. It's important to let these folks know that plenty of normal folks are totally in FAVOR of gay marriage.

It amazes me that the bible-thumpers actually consider themselves mainstream!

[reprobate]

15. First, they are wrong. Marraige started out as a property rights thing.

The idea of formal marraige contracts began as a means to assure continued family property rights in estates. The marraige contract specified which property each partner contributed to who. It assured continued power to the wealthy.

And only the wealthy needed marraige contracts. The church only got involved later.

[gpandas]

19. ignore it...

even the mention of it here gives it greater dignity than it merits

[ibegurpard]

20. One of the things that keeps the anti-gay brigade going

is their belief that "people like them" (married, straight, "normal" Americans) must automatically agree with them. It would do this woman a world of good for you to politely tell her that she's full of shit.
This reminds of people who would make bald-faced racist remarks to me and assume that I would be in agreement because we shared the same skin color.

[beyurslf]

22. Ask her if the "God ordainded institution" includes

marrying more than one woman (as they did in the Bible) or if the "God ordained insitution" of slavery (which was acceptable in the Bible) should also be recongized.

[Jeff in Cincinnati]

23. My wife is very polite

and simply nods a lot when her friends start talking politics (they are mostly the Stepford Wives of golf-playing Republicans). Because she doesn't wish to offend them, many made the serious mistake of thinking we were conservative Republicans (we're white, middle-class, suburban church-goers -- so we fit the profile). When they discovered our true colors, many were actually offended.

[GOPisEvil]

25. You might politely point out the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.

The one that guarantees every person equal protection under the law. Tell your friend that you do not believe that a person should be treated as a second-class citizen just because of their sexual orientation. Tell her that the laws of this land are meant to apply equally (unless you're a Republican politician ;-)) You might leave that last part out.

[trof]

26. I'm going with 2 and 4.

Thanks all.
I usually follow Miz t.'s advice, but not this time.
I'll be nice.
I'll make sure she knows it's from me.
Appreciate your input.

[troublemaker]

27. Other: You should move fast and register www.enolagaymarriage.com