The Difference Between Hate and Stupidity

Marc Campos wonders aloud (well, actually ... in print) why it is that Dems who vote to ban same-sex marriage get a free pass while those who vote against allowing gay & lesbian foster parents do not.

I have to admit I'm a bit perplexed at how Marc fails to see a difference. On the one hand, we've got something that's already illegal but certain legislators want to create a double indemnity against it, for whatever silly reason (cough*reelection*cough). So it is that gay marriage faces super duper, double illegality in the state of Texas. That's not hate, that's not necessarily even mean ... it's just stupid.

On the other hand, we have something that's already allowed under law, has served foster children well for a number of years, but now some yokel comes along and wants to yank that out from underneath our society and keep foster kids where they belong - away from loving families willing to care for them. When someone writes a law that says if you're gay or lesbian and you had the nerve to care for a foster child, then we're likely to send the Texas Rangers out for the kid lest they learn any decrepit bahvior. That's hate ... and that's the difference.

Furthermore, it is not the policy of the Democratic Party to favor all-out gay marriage. There are more than a few God-fearing progressives who do maintain that marriage is something that derives from religious origin and also serves society when defined as a monogamous heterosexual relationship between a man and a woman. As flat-out stupid as HJR 6 is for consideration in even our already nutty legislature, voting for it is not, in and of itself, an expression of hate.

If one wants hate, let's take a look at one of Houston's good guy legislators taking Al Edwards to the woodshed (submitted to the SA Express News):

Dear Editor:

As reported in Tuesday's Fort Worth Star Telegram, Rep. Al Edwards called homosexuality a "social ill" on the floor of the House. He stated, "I take offense when people associate me and my race and my culture with a social ill. I don?t see how the two relate."

Representative Edwards ought to be ashamed of himself. His comments are bigoted, hateful and just plain wrong. No one is comparing race with sexual orientation -- they are not the same thing, but discrimination is discrimination. As an African American, Edwards should know what it feels like to hear such hurtful words. The only way to stop prejudice is to practice what you preach. Bigotry says a lot more about a bigot's own insecurities than it says about those they target.

-- Representative Garnet Coleman (Houston)

Rep. Coleman represents District 147 in Houston and is the Chair of the Legislative Study Group (LSG) and the Texas Legislative Black Caucus (TLBC).

Amen!

Being a Democrat does not mean avoiding passing judgement or solely passing said judgement on the other team. As one who is no stranger to the occassional discordant view within my own partisan circles, I'm more than willing to defend them as consistent with progressive ideals. And for much the same reason, I remain a rather avowed defender of "everyone else's favorite target" US Senator Joe Lieberman for precisely the same reason ... he puts his views in the context of progressive ideals and defends them strongly. Whether we agree in full or not after each section of the party checks in is not something I view as mandatory, but respecting how we place our views within a progressive framework ought to be. The problem for some (and let's face it, the Craddick-crats here in Texas seem to be the guiltiest most often), they aren't even bothering to do that. Al Edwards calls gays and lesbians a social ill. Sylvester Turner misses votes when it's convenient and then turns around and suggests a vote was cast while he was inconveniently away from his desk. If one wants more detail on the remaining actors in this drama, they're more than welcome to flush out a blogger from Kevin Bailey's district, or Jim McReynolds district, or Vilma Luna's district. I've lived in Turner's district and have seen him up close since he started out in elective politics. I now live within mere blocks of Edwards' district and have seen him up close on a few occassions in recent years. In both cases, something just ain't adding up even with all the help of their paid consultants. There's only so many passes I have to hand out before I start calling it like I see it. I just don't have an apology to offer for that. In the end, the truth outs. It always does.