As the Washington legislature enacted marriage equality this evening, it's interesting to see how those who made lots of political hay demonizing gay people are finding in six short years they woke up one day on the wrong side of history.
The New York Times reported, "One of the leading opponents, Senator Dan Swecker, a Republican, said he worried that approving same-sex marriage would 'create a hostile environment for those of us who believe in traditional marriage.'" Credit where it's due: Swecker was right on the money when he opposed a 2006 antidiscrimination bill: "The passage of this legislation puts us on a slippery slope towards gay marriage..." (Only Swecker was railing against judicial activism: he thought the state Supreme Court was going to get all judicially activisty and impose it. When the court rejected same-sex marriage in 2006, it also said, very clearly, such an issue was the legislature's business, and if the legislature wanted to pass something, it was free to do so. It did.)
Another christianist who made a good living from homophobia is Rev. Joe Fuiten of the Cedar Park Assembly of God Church, who "contended that churches that oppose gay marriages could be stigmatized, hurting them on getting help and donations for charitable work." It's a far cry from his 2006 declaration, "'We should not call this a civil rights law,' said the Rev. Joseph Fuiten, chairman of Faith and Freedom Network, a lobbying group in the state . 'Rather, it will become known as the law of unintended consequences. When fifth-graders in school have to learn about homosexual sex to be able to keep from discriminating against homosexuals, we will have reaped our reward.'"
Among other members, it's heartening to see how hearts can change. In 2006 a Republican state senator, dying of cancer, explained how he had to show his daughter what's what: "'Having a child who chooses to be homosexual is very painful,' he told senators. 'I know this because my daughter has chosen the life of a lesbian,' [Sen. Bob] Oke said. 'From the very first day she shared with me what her lifestyle was, she has been trying to change me. And I, quite frankly, have been trying to change her.'
Oke said his daughter called a while back and asked to come visit, bringing her partner. "There was a long hesitation on my part and I said, 'I can't have that,' " he said. 'That's called tough love.'"
"Oke said he opposes the bill because he believes it endorses homosexuality. 'By passing a law that makes homosexuality a protected behavior, we are turning our backs on the people who need our love, guidance and understanding to become right in God's eyes,' he said.
Compare Oke's posturing to what happened this year, as reported by Frank Bruni: "In Washington, final-hours support came from State Senator Brian Hatfield, a Democrat who considers himself a devout Christian and who said in a statement that he 'went as far as to ask God for a sign.' It came, he said, in an e-mail he got from former State Representative Betty Sue Morris, a fellow Democrat, who recounted how much she regretted a vote she cast against same-sex marriage in 1996 — and why.
The New York Times reported, "One of the leading opponents, Senator Dan Swecker, a Republican, said he worried that approving same-sex marriage would 'create a hostile environment for those of us who believe in traditional marriage.'" Credit where it's due: Swecker was right on the money when he opposed a 2006 antidiscrimination bill: "The passage of this legislation puts us on a slippery slope towards gay marriage..." (Only Swecker was railing against judicial activism: he thought the state Supreme Court was going to get all judicially activisty and impose it. When the court rejected same-sex marriage in 2006, it also said, very clearly, such an issue was the legislature's business, and if the legislature wanted to pass something, it was free to do so. It did.)
Another christianist who made a good living from homophobia is Rev. Joe Fuiten of the Cedar Park Assembly of God Church, who "contended that churches that oppose gay marriages could be stigmatized, hurting them on getting help and donations for charitable work." It's a far cry from his 2006 declaration, "'We should not call this a civil rights law,' said the Rev. Joseph Fuiten, chairman of Faith and Freedom Network, a lobbying group in the state . 'Rather, it will become known as the law of unintended consequences. When fifth-graders in school have to learn about homosexual sex to be able to keep from discriminating against homosexuals, we will have reaped our reward.'"
Among other members, it's heartening to see how hearts can change. In 2006 a Republican state senator, dying of cancer, explained how he had to show his daughter what's what: "'Having a child who chooses to be homosexual is very painful,' he told senators. 'I know this because my daughter has chosen the life of a lesbian,' [Sen. Bob] Oke said. 'From the very first day she shared with me what her lifestyle was, she has been trying to change me. And I, quite frankly, have been trying to change her.'
Oke said his daughter called a while back and asked to come visit, bringing her partner. "There was a long hesitation on my part and I said, 'I can't have that,' " he said. 'That's called tough love.'"
"Oke said he opposes the bill because he believes it endorses homosexuality. 'By passing a law that makes homosexuality a protected behavior, we are turning our backs on the people who need our love, guidance and understanding to become right in God's eyes,' he said.
Compare Oke's posturing to what happened this year, as reported by Frank Bruni: "In Washington, final-hours support came from State Senator Brian Hatfield, a Democrat who considers himself a devout Christian and who said in a statement that he 'went as far as to ask God for a sign.' It came, he said, in an e-mail he got from former State Representative Betty Sue Morris, a fellow Democrat, who recounted how much she regretted a vote she cast against same-sex marriage in 1996 — and why.
"She shared her story with me on the phone on Monday. 'In December of 1998,' began Morris, 70, who then started crying. 'Excuse me. I just remember it so vividly. My beautiful daughter, Annie, was home for Christmas, and she told us that she was gay.'
"In the days that followed, Morris said, she remembered her vote and 'felt like I had denied her something. A wholeness. A freedom.'
"'Here’s this precious child that you love and you care for,' she added. 'You don’t want to be a part of making them grieve for anything.'
"As it happens, she said, Annie didn’t even remember the vote. Now 47, she lives in California and married her longtime partner in 2008, just before Proposition 8 overturned the state’s short-lived same-sex marriage law. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to rule imminently on the proposition’s constitutionality.
"Morris told me: 'Whenever someone opposes this, I always counsel: you never know. You never know when it will be your child or your grandchild. And you will eat your words.'"
Washington State Senator Bob Oke never got that chance. He died in 2007. An obituary read, "Oke was estranged from his lesbian daughter, as well as from his one son, said his spokeswoman, Penny Drost."
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